ZaiWin sighed, feeling sorry for the kid’s innocence.

“Things just don’t work like that, Snow. Celestials don’t go traveling around, from place to place, much less from Province to Province.”

“Why not? If it’s needed.”

“Because they don’t. You’re measuring other Celestials’ actions and way of thinking by yourself. You have to stop doing that.”

Snow frowned again, clearly unable to understand what he meant.

“They’re not like you. The Celestials I know spend their days leisurely strolling around the Temple’s gardens, drinking tea and eating sweets. They are mostly quiet, calm, and collected. Always delicate and well educated. Always smiling softly to anyone that crosses their path. But in truth, they’re the most selfish beings on the face of the earth. They don’t care about anything or anyone, except for the wellbeing of their Chosen Ones. And that’s only because if anything were to happen to them they would also die. And I know that this coming from me raises a few doubts, since I’m well known for hating the whole lot of them with a passion. But you can ask whoever you want. I’ve never seen one of them use their gifts to help other people. As far as I know, they only cast their golden arrays at parties and events, and only for the entertainment of the Palace’s guests. As for those who are bound to the El’Gin³Literally el (supreme) + gin (gold). Name given to the male children of the Emperor. Could be translated into prince in the common language., I’m sure they have never even set foot on a street. Whenever they visit their respective Provinces, they’re simply portalled from the Palace to the main Household of their Clan. Much less go outside, who knows where to, just to try and cleanse a piece of land.”

“But then … what do they do when the darkness comes …?” Snow asked, clearly still having trouble integrating what ZaiWin was telling him, and ZaiWin took a deep breath.

“That’s just it. Signs of corruption aren’t supposed to appear in Provinces blessed with a Celestial. That’s the whole point of the El’Dur⁴Literally el (supreme) + dur (ruler). Name given to the Emperor taking on so many different wives. Like VinWei⁵Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) said, by the time the corruption starts manifesting on the land, the Celestial is either dead or dying. And there’s no way to hide something like that.

“If the Province in question is an important Province for the economic stability of the Empire, like Tei is, the El’Dur will have probably designated a new Governor by then, in an attempt to stop the corruption from spreading. And if the case is really serious, he’ll take one of the girls from that Province’s ruling Clan as his next Janwan⁶Literally jan (flower) + wan (fire). Could be translated as Concubine.. If he’s already married to one of them, he’ll try his best to produce an heir as soon as possible, in hopes he’ll become a Chosen One so that the land may be blessed again.”

Snow lowered his gaze. He didn’t understand the first thing about royalty or politics, or imperial customs. But somehow all that sounded very sad and wrong.

VinWei had told him that the Tien’Elhar⁷Literally tien (Heaven) + el (supreme) + har (girl child). The Heavenly Beings also known as Celestials in the common language. were many times used and even exploited by their Chosen Ones. But if things really were like ZaiWin was saying, weren’t the Chosen Ones being used as well? And what about their mothers? Chosen to marry the El’Dur only so they could produce a future Chosen One?

He couldn’t exactly say how. All he knew was that things weren’t supposed to be like this.

Still, that wasn’t the main point here, he reminded himself, raising his head to look at ZaiWin again.

“Even if this wasn’t supposed to happen. The truth is that it’s happening! Aren’t they going to do something about it? Are they just going to leave it like that?”

“Apparently they are,” ZaiWin confirmed in a dispassionate tone. “Even though all the Provinces are a part of the same Empire, their Governors tend to care only for their own land.”

“But what about the Governor of Tei, then? What about their Tien’Elhar? Can’t they see that something’s very wrong with their land?” Snow insisted, clearly frustrated, his tone of voice rising to that of what could be considered a normal tone of voice, and ZaiWin couldn’t help smiling inwardly. He liked it when Snow forgot his self-imposed restriction of having to whisper all the time. It was a sign that he felt at ease near him, enough to allow him to be more like himself.

“I really can’t say if they can see it or not. Would you have been able to feel if something was wrong in Nox⁸Literally nox (night). Where Nox is the name of the Clan, also the name of a Province., even if you were far away?”

“Of course!” Snow immediately replied, as if he’d just asked the dumbest question in the world. “I couldn’t understand it before, because I had never been here. But I’ve always been hearing Nox’s whispers inside my head.”

“Always?” ZaiWin immediately asked, reaching out to hold Snow’s hand, and Snow blinked, looking confused at his sudden eagerness.

“I guess …”

The open smile that took over ZaiWin’s face left him even more confounded. What was he smiling about?

Warm fingers gently caressed his hand, making his heart jump, immediately reminding him of what VinWei had told him about the link they shared. It was really uncomfortable and awkward, not being able to control the way his mind and body reacted. Still feeling out of sorts, Snow couldn’t help stare as ZaiWin grabbed his hand and took it to his lips, placing a hot kiss on his palm, the warm sensation lingering there for a long time.

“I understand that you’re worried about Tei,” ZaiWin declared, leaving Snow even more confused. Somehow he hadn’t expected to go back to that subject. And besides, ZaiWin’s blue eyes were now glistening in a very intimidating way, that didn’t match his relaxed tone of voice at all. “I can even understand that … knowing all this, having access to this kind of knowledge, can be very disturbing for you. That it makes you want to do the right thing and go there to help in whatever way you can,” ZaiWin went on and his large hand squeezed his a bit harder, startling him, making his heart jump again. “But know this. Even if by some strange miracle the others decided to do something about it. Even if they asked us for help. I would never allow you to set foot in Tei.”

Snow gaped wordlessly at him for a split-second, and then frowned, outrage warming his blood.

“Helping is what everyone should be doing right now!” he insisted and ZaiWin pulled his hand, forcing him to lean forward towards him. Snow’s eyes widened in alarm when ZaiWin lowered his head, his face standing right in front of his, their noses almost touching.

“I would never allow you to set foot in Tei,” ZaiWin repeated, word for word, and Snow blinked when his warm breath washed over his skin. “They’re all selfish bastards. But I’m no different from them. None of them has ever lifted a single finger to help Nox when we needed it. They laughed and mocked, and made bets on how long it would take until Nox became an ungoverned Province again. They can all drop dead, for all I care,” ZaiWin whispered against his lips, sending a cold shiver down Snow’s back. The blue eyes staring at him were hard and emotionless, like they’d been when he’d first met him at the Fortress. And there was a scary, undeniable truth to every word out of his mouth.

As if that weren’t enough, warm fingers curled around the back of Snow’s head, holding him in place.

“And you … you are mine, remember?”

Snow swallowed dry, the skin under ZaiWin’s hand quickly warming up, making him feel suddenly hot.

“And I’ll die before I allow them to lay one single finger on what’s mine. Much less allow you to exhaust yourself for their benefit! Do you understand?”

Snow immediately nodded, even though his heart was beating so loud now that he wasn’t sure he had been able to hear every word ZaiWin had said.

As if his quick reply had somehow reassured him, ZaiWin exhaled softly, closed his eyes, and leaned his forehead against his. Snow just sat there, motionless, staring at that face now so close to his. He didn’t know what to do but, on the other hand, even though his heart kept drumming against his chest, just being like that didn’t feel all that bad.

Closing his eyes, Snow took a deep breath.

It was so strange. ZaiWin always smelled nostalgically good. It reminded him of rain and wet dirt. And he was always warm.

Acting without thinking, Snow rubbed his nose against ZaiWin’s.

The hand still curled around the back of his neck twitched and lost its hard grip, allowing him to move more freely.

He really smelled good, Snow thought, softly nuzzling ZaiWin’s neck, breathing in the scent of his skin. It made him want to curl comfortably against him and simply go to sleep.

Oh! That’s right! He’d almost forgotten. Snow might belong to him. But ZaiWin was his as well. So logically, if ZaiWin was allowed to touch him and grab him as he wished, Snow could also do the same to him!

The strong fingers wrapped around Snow’s had finally released him. Instead, an arm surrounded his waist, pulling him closer. Snow willingly obeyed, ending up climbing on his lap and straddling his legs, before burying his nose on the base of his neck again.

ZaiWin chuckled.

“Hey … instead of doing that. Won’t you give me a kiss?” ZaiWin asked, half-joking, and Snow slowly raised his head to look at him.

Snow looked almost sleepy, if not for the strange glow dancing in his half-lidded pale eyes. And ZaiWin couldn’t help smile when those same eyes slid down his face to stare at his lips.

Damn! How a freaking brat could look this enticing was beyond his understanding. But worse yet was that he was actually eagerly waiting to be kissed.

Holding ZaiWin’s face between two cold hands, Snow lowered his head and pressed his lips against his, leaving a breath of relief in ZaiWin’s chest. More than eager, he’d really needed that, he realized, feeling as if finally his inner world was settling back into its rightful place.

Leaning forward, ZaiWin was about to kiss him back, when Snow suddenly pulled back and quickly slipped away, crawling on his hands and knees across the bed, until he was safely hidden under the blankets.

ZaiWin frowned and blinked in confusion. Snow had been so fast that he could still feel the sensation of his soft lips against his. And now all he could see of the boy was the top of his silvery head.

What the … What had happened? could that even be called a kiss? It wasn’t as if the brat didn’t know how to really kiss!

“Hey! Was that it?” he demanded, feeling somehow deceived, but Snow ignored him, pretending to be asleep.

Following his example, ZaiWin crawled across the bed and pulled down the blanket, uncovering his face. He’d expected to find him awkwardly embarrassed or something. But the pale eyes that stared back at him look unexpected and disappointingly calm and clear.

“Was that it?” he repeated, and Snow crooked his head to one side, looking innocently up at him.

“You asked for a kiss.”

“Was that a kiss?”

“Wasn’t it?”

ZaiWin opened his mouth, but the words escaped him. He frowned.

“If that was a kiss, what were the other ones you gave me before?!”

“Healing method?”

“Healing meth … You freaking brat! Are you mocking me?”

Snow sighed and pulled his blanket over his head again.

“It’s late,” he declared in a muffled voice, and ZaiWin was left staring at a small human ball covered from head to toe.

Slowly, a smile crept onto his lips.

“Fine, fine. Let’s sleep then,” he declared, lying down beside him, and skilfully reached out under the blanket, dragging the human ball closer to him.

Snow’s body immediately tensed up, especially when ZaiWin pressed his chest against his back, but there was very little he could do against ZaiWin’s strength.

Curling his much larger body around Snow’s, ZaiWin nuzzled the back of his neck making him cringe, before he pressed his lips against the soft, cool skin there.

Closing his eyes, he couldn’t erase the smile from his face. Beneath his open hand, pressed against the boy’s chest, Snow’s heart was beating so fast that he could feel its drumming rhythm all the way up to his arm.

Silvareiel

Ah, ZaiWin actually managed to be all possessive and Snow didn’t complain! Lol. Poor kid. He really must feel overwhelmed by the whole ‘You’re mine’ thing ?