Shadows of Avarice (BxB)

Chapter 43

It was the next day, and today Xia hoped to finally convince Osiris that he needed to go to the desert. Since his curse took over last night, then it should be safe for Xia to visit him now. The curse only seemed to last a night before disappearing. Xia didn't plan on giving up. Even if Osiris didn't believe there was a way, there had to be something they could do. It couldn't be hopeless.

Regardless of whether Osiris agreed or not, Xia was going. He just hoped to have Osiris on his side instead of doing this behind the sultans back. Xia's conscience would feel better if he could have Osiris's approval. This was a risk Xia was willing to take if it meant they could have a future together. A happy future couldn't happen if Osiris' curse threatened to destroy them.

It was during the day, but Xia didn't want to wait for nightfall to talk to Osiris. This was urgent to Xia, so he didn't care if he interrupted Osiris while he was busy with his court. Even they would see the benefit of having Osiris free of his curse. He could rule Rasea without the fear of destroying it. He also thought about Soraya, who wouldn't be forced to marry Osiris. From what Xia understood from his discussion with her, she didn't want to get married. She was only doing it out of obligation for her family. She definitely wanted power, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted that power through marriage.

Xia stopped outside of the throne room. He couldn't hear anything on the other side, but he also didn't know what it was like when the court came together. Xia always avoided this room when he knew Osiris was busy. He never wanted to bother him before, but things were different now. With a deep breath, he mustered up the courage to push the door open and walk inside.

Instead of Osiris' court being in session, there was no one in the room except for Osiris. The sultan sat on his throne with his eyes closed. Xia was confused by the silence and emptiness. Osiris was always busy and didn't have any free time during the day, so where was everyone now? Even if they were taking a break, Xia didn't notice anyone else, and Osiris was always surrounded by someone. It was rare for him to be alone like this in the throne room. Something felt off.

Carefully, Xia approached the sultan. He stopped at the foot of the steps, unwilling to take another step forward. Why did he feel afraid all of a sudden? He wasn't scared of Osiris, but of the darkness he felt emanating off him. Xia didn't have to have a magical affinity to know that something was wrong with the sultan.

"Osiris . . . ?" Xia quietly called out to him.

That was enough to get the sultan's attention. Osiris quickly opened his eyes, which were as bright as the night before. His curse didn't go away like it normally did during the day. He was still being controlled by the monster inside of him.

Osiris clenched his fists as he tried to fight the creature inside. He growled, "Why are you here? I sent everyone home for the day, and the door was supposed to be locked. You shouldn't be in here with me. No one should."

"T-the door wasn't locked. Osiris . . . please, you're getting worse. Let me help you." He might have been afraid, but he wasn't willing to back down. With the curse only getting worse, the sultan had to realize that Xia's suggestion was their best lead for now. Even if it turned out to be fake or the cave wasn't there anymore, they needed to try.

The sultan stood up from his throne. He walked down the steps towards Xia, but the elf didn't back down. He stood tall, even as he felt that darkness getting closer to him. He wouldn't be swallowed by the fear and try to escape. Maybe he should have, but a part of him was still determined to get through to Osiris.

Osiris circled Xia like a predator sizing up its prey. When he stopped in front of him, Osiris took a strand of Xia's long hair and twirled it around one of his fingers. "It is admirable how you're unwilling to give up on me, but you can't save me. No one can. I'm doomed to turn into a monster."

"Don't say things like that! It's not true, and it's not you talking. Osiris, please, if we do this together and try harder, we can save you. I'm not going to give up on you because I . . ." Xia trailed off once more, still unable to get the words out.

But Osiris seemed to understand what Xia meant. "Do you love me, Xia?"

Besides his family, Xia never told anyone he loved them. He had never been in love with someone before, so these emotions for Osiris threatened to consume him. He wanted to tell him how he felt, but he couldn't. He was scared to admit how he felt. He was afraid of losing everything after admitting those words. All of this could end in the blink of an eye.

Osiris placed his head against Xia's shoulder as he pulled him close. His grip on Xia was tight as he hugged him. "Xia . . . it's getting so hard to fight what's inside of me. There's a part of me that wants to shower you in affection, but then there's another part of me that wants to hurt you. This beast inside of me wants blood right now. Being around you is making it harder for me to fight this."

Xia could feel Osiris digging his claws into his sides. He didn't know what to say or do to keep Osiris from hurting him. One wrong move could be his last. When Osiris kissed his neck, a shiver ran down Xia's spine. He felt Osiris' fangs brush against his skin. If he bit him, he would draw blood quickly.

"Osiris . . . get ahold of yourself and keep fighting." Xia tried to help the sultan hold onto his humanity. If Osiris wasn't fighting the beast off, Xia had a feeling he would have been injured by now, or worse.

It didn't help. Xia let out a yelp when he felt Osiris sink his teeth into his neck as his grip on him became tighter. He could feel the blood drip down from where he was bitten and where Osiris dug his claws into his skin. If he pulled away, Xia would only risk injuring himself more. Xia was too stunned to do anything to get out of this situation.

He tried not to cry as he said, "Osiris, it hurts . . ."

His words seemed to snap the sultan back to reality as he quickly let go of Xia. When Xia looked at his eyes, he could see the purple color begin to fade as they were replaced with their normal brown color. Guilt washed over the sultan as he took in the blood running down Xia's neck.

"Xia, I'm so sorry . . ." The events of last night were repeating themselves. The more times the curse took over, the more likely Osiris would be to hurt Xia. The sultan didn't know if he could handle hurting him again.

Xia didn't want him to turn him away just yet. He gripped Osiris' hand and tried to give him a reassuring smile. He might have been scared, but it wasn't the sultan's fault. "I-it's okay, Osiris. I'm all right, but you're not. Let me help you."

The sultan reached a hand out to caress Xia's face, but he stopped before his fingers could touch him. He pulled his other hand out of the elf's grasp. With a sigh, Osiris said, "Meet me for dinner tonight. I need to think things over."

He didn't give Xia the chance to stop him. Without waiting, Osiris fled the throne room, leaving Xia alone once more.