Daevari -II-

Chapter 7: Clarity

Ari settled into the seat a chair away from Ylanan, whose smile had yet to fade. The entire interaction felt unsettling, but Ari had resolved to seek his answers, and now, he had found them. There was no turning back, no running away—because where would he go? Back to the villas, only to face the same questions, the same uncertainty he had fled from? What good would that do him, or his heart?

Though he tried to ignore it, the weight of their eyes pressed on him, boring into his soul. Ari released the breath he had been holding and finally spoke. "To say this was a surprise would be an understatement. I knew you had not truly disappeared from my life."

Inge let out a mocking laugh but remained silent. The scar on his face seemed deeper, angrier, and uglier. He was no longer the mad doctor Ari had once known in his naivety. No, time had twisted him into something darker, more menacing. Bitterness had made him angrier.

Ylanan, on the other hand, still wore that amused smile he had greeted Ari with. His eyes, a muddy red, were framed by long, slightly wavy dark hair that fell across both sides of his face. He was handsome, as they all were, but Ari's knowledge of his true nature made him more cautious, more wary. Ylanan had once been a lover of Auovin as well. Ari knew he would need to tread carefully around him.

It was Sai's expression, however, that drew Ari in the most. His words had been true—he had not expected Ari, at least not so soon, and it had left him unprepared. Ari glanced at Inge and Ylanan before flicking his gaze back to Sai. He was not supposed to see them. Not yet. That alone was something he could exploit.

Ari rested his head in his hand, studying the three of them, wondering what schemes and machinations they were devising. If it involved even a trace of Auovin, Ari would not let it pass—and they knew that.

"Yes, well, we could not have lived as long as we have without being adaptable," Ylanan said, straightening the papers on the table, clearly away from Ari's prying eyes.

Ari's gaze lowered, and a soft smile tugged at his lips. "I see what you are doing, and I am telling you, it will not go as you hope."

"Nothing ever goes as anyone hopes. No, not really," Inge interjected.

"Are you speaking from anecdotal experience?" Ari mocked, his words sharp enough to ignite Inge's temper.

Inge rose, anger filling his eyes. "Ah, you think you are some enlightened being after a few hundred years?"

Ari stood, meeting his glare. "No, I do not. But I no longer have the mind of a naive child. I see through your guises. Every one of them."

"Oh? So you remember now?"

Ari sucked in a breath, lowering himself back into his seat.

"And that is why you have come? For answers? Now? After all this time?" Inge taunted, his voice laced with bitterness.

"Be silent, Inge," Ylanan cut in smoothly. "He has come, and that is all that matters."

"All that matters? Truly?"

"I believe," Sai interjected, his voice steady, "the least Ari deserves is answers. We give him that, and surely, he will give us something in return." He edged closer, his presence warm.

Ari tilted his head, gazing up at Sai and into those starlit eyes. They reminded him of Sascha's, though Sai's burned brighter, like the moon itself. His voice, always soothing, seemed to know just how to ease Ari's anxious mind. And his touch—so warm, so gentle.

Ari tore his eyes away, irritation and discomfort rising within him. He had come for Auovin. For answers. A foolish, naive love should not occupy his thoughts.