Sorry for the long delay folks. I am changing jobs and its driving me crazy. Once I settle down in my new job next month, I will update more frequently. Nice folks have been giving me awesome feedback and also some have help me out with names. Thanks a ton to all of you.

“See that man leaning on the idiot prince?”

“Yeah…” Chen and Chanyeol craned their neck to see the man their master was pointing to.

“Do you know who that is?”

“How would we know? You were the one who met him.”

“But he didn’t give his name. Just that he is babysitting that dark matter.”

Chen looked thoughtful. “He does look familiar somehow…”

“Find out who he is. Now!”

“Huh? Okay, if I get close, I can perhaps charm him into a conversation…” Chanyeol thought aloud and Tao considered the idea but then they heard Chen clearing his throat.

“That is the former king of Asegi, Suho aka Red Lightning.”

“How the hell did you find out?” Chanyeol blurted out indignantly for which Chen just cackled loudly.

“Hahaha! I just asked.”

“What in the name of Chronos is a king of Asegi doing in the land of Demons?”

“There seems to be some story about a curse involved.”

“Let’s find out shall we.”

“Jongin, for the last time, we are not leaving yet. This party is to honor the engagement of you and the dragon prince. In fact, you should go and greet him.”

Without missing a beat, Jongin mimicked Suho, “Jun, for the last time, there is no engagement between me and that lizard. And we should go, you are getting too tired.”

“Then leave me to rest and go to the prince, Lay will take me back to my chambers.”

A literal growl emitted from the demon prince.

“Lay will not touch you. And no, you will not go to your chamber, ‘we’ will go to mine and ‘you’ will sleep in ‘my’ bed.”

“Jongin… Please stop being…”

Suho didn’t complete his request because the dragon prince and his entourage had just walked up to them. With a polite bow, the Dragon prince greeted Suho and Suho alone. Jongin’s hands tightened at Suho’s waist.

“Good day to you my savior, meet my friends and familiars, Chanyeol the Lord of Fire and Chen the Lord of Lightning.”

The situation would have turned very stately if not for Chanyeol and Chen bursting into giggles over the formal phrasing of their prince. That said, both understood one thing, their prince was besotted with the frail human in front of them.

Suho bowed and pulled Jongin into a bow as well.

“I myself am a guest in these lands, hence I cannot welcome you, but I am pleased to make your acquaintance. The Demon prince though, will welcome you.” That said Suho looked up expectantly at Jongin. Not wanting to disappoint Suho, Jongin did the honors.

“Welcome to the great Demon kingdom. I hope you find your stay pleasant.”

Tao pretended not to notice. There was something about prince Kai that he didn’t like from the beginning and the sight of the said prince’s hand around the waist of Lord Suho annoyed him even more.

“Would you care for a walk around the garden Lord Suho? You look like you would appreciate some fresh air.”

Even before Suho could reply, Jongin rudely interrupted, “No thanks lizard, we are retiring.”

“I didn’t ask you dark matter!” Tao retorted.

Knowing where this was heading Chen intervened, “Are you not well lord Suho?”

“Err…, yeah, I…”

Chen did not wait for Suho to explain. Without any warning, he took Suho’s hand into his own and closed his eyes. A very unique power of the Lord of Lightning was his ability to see the flow of life force among all creatures. It had helped him a number of times in battle and even more in helping the dragon healers who find it difficult to ascertain the health of the dragons otherwise. Suho’s life force was sluggish and unlike in normal life forms where it constantly moved and wound around the being, Suho’s life force flowed out of him and into the Demon prince.

“Hey, let go of him.” And with much force, Jongin pulled Suho away from Chen’s touch.

Chen opened his eyes and stared at the demon prince. His eyes hardened in anger as he scoffed.

“So the great demon prince is nothing but a parasite who is feeding on a hapless human to death. How disgusting!”

The others stared at Chen.

Suho fearing that Jongin will hit out in anger and held the hand on his waist tightly but Jongin stared at Chen in silence. Then asked.

“What do you mean?”

Chen scoffed again. “It means what I said. You are him dry of his life force.”

Jongin pulled harder on his Jun as if to hold him tighter.

“No, not any more.”

Suho looked fearfully at Lay who had wandered nearby. While Jongin knew he fed on Suho while he was still inside him, all of them including the demon king and Suho himself have been lying to Jongin on the actual reason for Suho wasting away.

“Chenshi, I am tired. I think prince Kai and I will retire for the day.”

Lay stepped up to engage the visitors nervously but Chen ignored him and watched the pair incredulously. Tao and Chanyeol just looked on confused.

“What! You have a death wish. The longer you spend with him, the faster you will die.”

Chen turned to Lay, “what kind of a doctor are you if you are knowingly enabling the death of a human being. Or don’t you even know that life force cannot be created and can only be transferred from one to another.”

Jongin’s face turned ashen. He could not comprehend what was going on but a vague sense of understanding began to descend on him.

“Chen! Please explain.” Tao demanded.

Chen threw his hands up in frustration.

“Fine, let me spell it out to you all. Lord Suho’s life force is intertwined with Prince Kai’s. But it’s a one-way track. Prince Kai’s life force is feeding on Lord Suho’s and has almost completely depleted him. The day prince kai the last drop of lord Suho’s life force, he will drop dead. Is that clear?”

Jongin world was spinning. He stepped away from Suho and looked at him fearfully. The commotion had attracted a small crowd including the Demon king.

The demon prince approached Lay and looking directly into his eyes asked, “Is this true? Am I killing my Jun.”

Lay turned his face in shame. He kne`w that someday the truth will come out and Lay will face the demon prince’s wrath but he certainly did not expect it to happen this early in their scheme. He had hoped that by the time the demon prince gets to know the truth, they would have found a way to break the curse. He badly wished Sehun had returned with some good news but the death demon is yet to return from the underworld.

Jongin turned to Suho and looked at him. The former king of Asegi was a frail man now. His hands have become boney and his frame had begun to cave in like an old man.

“Jun… Tell me this is not true.”

Suho couldn’t say anything, he blindly fumbled to reach Jongin. But Jongin stepped back.

“Jongin… please….”

Jongin felt a kind of rage he never felt before. The lies the deception he had been fed all along by the people he had trusted were all carefully orchestrated for him to devour the person he loved the most in the world. But it made no sense. Why was he so important and why was his own Jun a part of the scheme.

“You lied to me… you all lied to me!”

No one said anything except Tao. “Apparently they did you foolish prince. You don’t deserve Suho or his kindness. Stay away from him and I will save him and protect him for long years to come.”

Jongin was in no shape to even comprehend what was going on but one thing he knew and that was the truth that he will not allow anyone else to have his Jun. He snarled at the dragon prince and lunged forward, only to have Chanyeol and Chen step before their prince.

“Don’t think I will cower before you. I am a dragon and if I choose to, my familiars and I can burn every last demon to a handful of ash.”

“Prince Tao! You do not know the truth behind the situation you are callously stepping into here. What I offer prince Kai is of no consequence to you and I do not need you or anyone to protect me. My life force is freely given to my Jongin and I suggest you do not meddle in things you do not know anything about.”

Tao laughed. The human before him intrigued him in unexpected ways and Tao is not a dragon for no reason. He will take this human and he will possess him. He will shower him with love and he will break the spell the demon prince had cast, for Tao, had finally met his true match. A man strong enough to stand up to him and yet sweetly cuddle him when needed. He will win this human rightfully and fairly and then he will cure this beautiful creature of its sickness.

“I am a dragon and I will not squander the treasure I found. Prince Kai, here is an ultimatum to you. In a fortnight from now on the dawn of the next full moon, I will face you in battle to win a chance to save Lord Suho. Even the Gods cannot save you from my wrath if something happens to Suho before that.”

With that the dragon prince left the halls followed by his familiars.

Kai shook with rage and the entire building rumbled.

Siwon who had been watching the scene unfold had had enough of his son’s dramatics.

“Enough, stop this foolishness. You are supposed to marry the dragon prince and now you have offended him over a human.”

Kai stared hard at the demon he called his father.

“I am not marrying that lizard. I will win the fight and find a way to save Suho on my own terms. If any of you stand in my way, I will kill you.”

Siwon pulled his son by the collar.

“Listen my stupid son, if you are so hung up on the pathetic human, keep him on the side. Hell, share him with the dragon prince for all I care, but you better marry the prince and take the throne, or…”

Jongin lifted the demon king off the ground by the throat and stared at the demon who was his father. All around him black miasma started to cloud the air and the ground trembled. People screamed and ran out in fear.

“Jo…gin… St…op. Please…”

Suho’s feeble voice broke through Jongin’s rage and with a final shove, Jongin flung Siwon to a corner. Everything came to an abrupt stop and in a moment Jongin was next to Suho who was clutching his chest and heaving on the ground.

“Jun! Jun! What happened?”

Lay knelt beside Suho and checked him over.

“You drained his energy too much too quickly my prince.”

Jongin made to touch Suho but stepped back as if stung on Lay’s words.

“Well, can’t I give it back to him, take everything of mine just just….”

“It doesn’t work like that prince. I am sorry, the curse allows for only you to take from him.”

Jongin pulled up Lay by the collar and shook him in frustration.

“At least stop me from draining his life force, you useless scum!”

Lay just whispered, “I wish I can prince, but there is no stopping the curse anymore.”

Jongin shook the healer further in frustration but dropped him to the ground when the reality of losing his Jun hit him. His eyes watered and his breath hitched and he stepped back further is fear of hurting Suho more than he already had. But a feeble hand clutched his wrist.

“No, Jongin, don’t… don’t leave me. I am okay. I am okay with everything, so don’t cry.” Suho whispered feebly.

With a deep breath, Jongin calmed himself. With so much care and gentleness, Jongin cradled Jun’s head and brought him close. Even as Suho’s eyes widened, rough chapped lips descended on his in a delicate kiss.

“Jongin… we can’t”

“We already did Jun. Tell me you don’t love me, tell me you don’t know that I love you. Touch your heart and tell me.”

Suho felt the beating heart of the demon he made out of his own flesh and blood and didn’t find it in him to lie. Accepting the truth was like coming home and he didn’t have the energy to resist any more. He simply folded and rested his head on the only shoulder he had ever leant on.

“You have given me life Jun, now I am giving you something precious too. I am giving you hope. Hold it in your heart Jun and feed on it to stay alive until I save you the way you saved me.”

“Jongin… my Jongin… I… I have faith in you. I believe in you and I will fight with these feeble hands to cling to life as long as you need me to. I promise Jongin.”

Jongin smiled and pulled Suho close.

“You are mine Jun, only mine. I will never let you go.”

Siwon sighed in defeat as he watched his son lift the pathetic human and walk out of the hall. Demons ruled the world for so long until Asegi rose as a center of power. Siwon had seen the glorious days when his father ruled the lands ruthlessly and brutally subjugating every tribe and every kingdom that stood in their way. Siwon had inherited the strongest nation on land and had proudly ruled just as his father until rumors spread of an unassuming tiny man who morphed in a monster that destroyed any demon that stood in his way. Along with Yifan, a prince of Asegi, the man nicknamed Red Thunder had started to push back the rising demon armies. Asegi itself started to prosper as the duo took turns ruling the human kingdom. Siwon had faced the duo in battle and had lost. Although the humans were never able to conquer the demon lands, they did not lose any part of Asegi either and thus emerged a situation of constant border skirmishes that lead to no loss or gain for the warring nations.

Siwon had hoped for a strong son and his hopes had come true with the birth of Kai. Instinctually, Siwon knew that his son was stronger than him and would become the strongest demon emperor ever, surpassing his grandfather himself. Kai’s powers had to be restrained by strong runes and yet the demon power used to hang like a fog oppressively over the capital city and Siwon dreamed of a day the demons would rule the world. But as he grew, Kai started showing weaknesses like kindness, hurt and compassion. The worst of Kai’s mistakes still haunted Siwon in the form of Sehun. The demon king began to understand that power was not enough, he needed to goad his son to use his power and thus began his habit of berating and humiliating his son.

When Kai had died, all hope had been lost for him and his people. But then he had come back. Siwon had hoped for a Kai without his weaknesses this time around, but he was grossly mistaken. This Kai was worse – he was powered up on foolish sentiments and ridiculous ideas like love.

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“Who are you?”

“We, we need to… speak to the king.”

“yeah, right away your highness.” The soldier mocked.

“Please, please give me some water, please help my friend, we, we have important information.”

“Yilan, get them some water and food. We can interrogate them later.” A captain who had just arrived barked.

“Yes sir!”

Luhan and Minseok were guided to a nearby guard house and fed water and gruel along with some vegetables.

Luhan looked down at Minseok who was almost unconscious. Thankfully, they have made it. They had travelled long and hard to reach Asegi and had survived in the wild somehow. But now that they were almost at their journey’s end, Luhan sighed in relief.

The captain came back inside and looked at them curiously.

“Tell me, what news do you bring.”

“We would like to talk to King Yifan alone… It’s, it’s about your former king Suho.”