13. Auslin

Chapter 13

Auslin

A fter a delicious meal, Auslin and Kitaro headed back to their room to retire for the night. Although his training hadn't been physically intensive, after the walk to and from the temple, Auslin felt in desperate need of a bath. He was extra paranoid about his odor when living in a castle full of dragon shifters who had sensitive senses of smell.

"Would you mind if I bathed?" Auslin asked once they returned to the room.

Kitaro headed toward the bathroom. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

"Oh, I'll go after you, then."

"Nonsense. There is no reason we cannot both make use of such a large bath at the same time."

There are plenty of reasons that's an awful idea , Auslin thought in annoyance, but he didn't voice his issue aloud. "No, it's fine. Really." The last thing he wanted to do was humiliate himself by bathing together with the impossibly perfect shifter. "I don't mind waiting until you're finished."

"I won't stand for it." Kitaro gestured for the human to join him. "Come."

Auslin wished he was brave enough to dig in and refuse, but he walked into the bathroom where the shifter prince was already disrobing.

Kitaro's body was truly a thing of beauty. The shimmering silver shifter lines caressing his pale skin only enhanced his visual appeal. He looked like a chiseled god walking amongst men.

Auslin felt physically inferior standing near the shifter with his much smaller stature and tanned skin from too much traveling under an unforgiving sun.

Disrobing as fast as humanly possible, Auslin skulked into the water. He wanted his body on display for the least amount of time.

Kitaro continued at a leisurely rate and got them both towels from the closet.

Auslin kept his eyes firmly trained on the water as Kitaro finally lowered himself into a sitting position across from the mage.

It was clear the dragon prince shared none of Auslin's discomfort as he made himself comfortable in the hot water. "Do you have a natural inclination toward embarrassment, or was that instilled in you as part of your training as a mage?" Kitaro asked as he rested the back of his head on the rim of the enormous bathtub. He studied the human with curiosity.

Auslin tried not to die of embarrassment. "Probably a bit of both."

"What use is embarrassment here?" Kitaro asked, gesturing vaguely at the room.

Auslin thought his mortification couldn't get any worse, but clearly, it was possible. He sank deeper into the water. "You have the clearest mirrors I've ever seen. I know you've seen yourself."

"And?"

"Please don't make me spell it out." Auslin groaned as he wrapped his arms around his knees to hold them close. As much as he didn't want to have to explain it, the shifter still looked baffled over what could trouble Auslin so much. "How is anyone supposed to stand next to you and not feel inferior? Look at you!"

"But you are not unattractive,"

Auslin's face was so flushed it felt like it was on fire. "No, we're in two totally separate leagues with that. There is literally no comparison between us."

Kitaro furrowed his eyebrows. "You have many fine features and qualities that make you quite appealing."

Auslin's brain didn't know how to process Kitaro's assertion. "Me and my weird-colored eyes aren't anywhere near your level of beauty. "

"Do not be so quick to dismiss yourself. Your lavender eyes are remarkably stunning."

Kitaro finding any part of Auslin attractive flustered the human. "Plus, people who look as gorgeous as you are supposed to be assholes, but you're so impossibly nice ."

"Rest assured, I am more than capable of playing the part should the need arise," Kitaro said with a flip of his hair for good measure. "I still fail to see how my appearance causes you any consternation."

"How can anyone feel like they're enough compared to you?" Auslin wondered if he would ever stop feeling self-conscious about being near Kitaro. "You're like the Beauty Power walking amongst men. There's no comparison."

Kitaro chuckled. "You are more than worthy to stand by my side, Vanra. But I believe my sister would take umbrage at your last assertion."

While part of Auslin was secretly dying at Kitaro's compliment, he was more in shock over the other revelation. "Wait, you have a sister ?"

"Why does that surprise you?"

Auslin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Earlier, you only said you had two brothers."

"In the cave, you only inquired if I had any brothers," Kitaro replied. "You did not mention sisters, so I did not bring her up then."

"Does she live somewhere else?" Auslin asked. Kio had never once mentioned having a half sister .

Kitaro nodded. "Yes, she resides in the Divine Realm. She spends very little time here in the Living Realm."

"Is your sister a Power or an Inciter?" Auslin asked in shock. They were the only two beings in the Divine Realm who could travel to the Living Realm.

"Half-Power. She is the child borne of my father's passionate rivalry with the War Power, Arenthia. Kizoshi was blessed with an exceptional command of both the powers gifted to her by her mixed heritage. She is quite the force to be reckoned with, especially given she inherited both of their fiery tempers. She has very little interest in the creatures of the Living Realm, so she spends almost all her time in the Divine Realm."

Auslin recognized the name Kizoshi immediately as the reigning War Power in his time, who had a fearsome reputation. She had come to power after her mother passed to the Beyond Realm when Tatsuki had been killed in battle. She had declared there was no creature left in the Living Realm that was worthy of her efforts. Auslin felt foolish for never connecting Kizoshi to Kio and Kitsuki through the Tatsuki connection.

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me your sister is the Kizoshi?" Auslin asked in disbelief, needing to be certain.

"You know of my sister and yet knew nothing of me? How hurtful," Kitaro teased in a mocking tone.

Auslin immediately felt awful for the unintentional slight. "I'm sorry! Please don't take it personally. I only know more about Powers because of my activities at the temple and?—"

Kitaro waved away Auslin's concerns. "I jest, Vanra. No real offense has been taken."

"I'm still sorry." Auslin stared down at the water, feeling like he had somehow failed Kitaro by not knowing of him. It also made him wonder why he had never heard of Kitaro in his own time. Thinking that Kitaro didn't survive into Auslin's time in the present made his heart hurt. He tried to push the dark thought out of his mind.

"Please do not feel bad," Kitaro said in a gentle voice. "I did not intend to cause you any emotional disturbance."

The comment confused Auslin until he realized that Kitaro most likely had smelled the shift in his emotions. "Isn't it inconvenient being able to smell emotions like that?"

"Given how quickly you can cycle through a wide range of them, I have gained a new appreciation of the insight my sense of smell provides me with you. Without it, your quick-fire emotional shifts would be utterly mystifying to me."

"I will try to control my emotions more," Auslin promised, not wanting to be any more of a burden to Kitaro than he already was.

"There is no need to do such a thing. I find it a fascinating experience. "

It was not the response Auslin had been expecting to hear. "Why?"

"You feel things so deeply, with all your heart," Kitaro answered him. "Shifters are more reserved by nature, so it has been an interesting learning experience to witness the breadth of your vast emotions."

Although Kitaro's words sounded like a compliment, Auslin was still worried. "I feel like I'm subjecting you to something unpleasant by being so human."

"You should not trouble yourself with such concerns when it is your very humanness that I find pleasant." Kitaro's look of fondness made Auslin blush an even deeper shade of scarlet. "You are free to be yourself here, Vanra. I hold no expectations for you to be anything other than yourself."

"Thank you." Auslin took a small measure of comfort from those words. However, between the embarrassment and the heat, Auslin was light-headed. "I think I need to get out now, though. The last thing I want to do is embarrass myself further by fainting."

Kitaro gestured Auslin was free to do so.

Auslin reached over the edge of the inset tub and pulled the towel closer to him so that he could wrap it around himself as soon as he exited the bath. The sudden movement made him feel woozy. He swayed as he stood still for a moment while waiting for the weird feeling to pass .

Kitaro was out of the water and by Auslin's side in an instant to help steady him. "Are you unwell?"

"No, I just stood up too quick after being in the hot water for so long." Auslin hated that he worried Kitaro. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"Shall I carry you to the bed?" Kitaro brushed his hand against the mage's flushed cheek.

The small point of contact between them was already too much. Skin-to-skin contact while being carried by a naked Kitaro was too overwhelming for Auslin. He took a step backward. "No, no, no, I'm fine. Promise."

Kitaro didn't look convinced as he followed Auslin into the bedroom.

The human stood by the bed and looked down at it while he debated about what to do with his towel.

"I will take care of your towel for you," Kitaro said before removing it.

Auslin's heart was in his throat as he was bared. He squeaked out a strangled "Thanks."

Kitaro chuckled as he returned to the bathroom.

Auslin got into bed under the covers before the shifter prince came back. He hid his face against his pillow while his heart hammered wildly in his chest over what had just happened. It was one thing for Kitaro to embarrass him when they both were clothed. It was a totally different matter when they were both naked and that close to each other .

Kitaro returned and got in on the other side of the bed. "How are you feeling now?"

"Fantastic," Auslin mumbled into his pillow, unable to bring himself to look at Kitaro yet. He needed to be more careful. The last thing he needed was an inconvenient crush on someone who would never be interested in him.