Chapter 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

SILAS

"I finally have Dandelion bathed and put in his own room," Callisto says, looking relieved.

"It's like you have your very own child," I tease. "Isn't that right, ‘Papa'?"

"Please… let me forget the error of my ways," he mutters. "This is karma. That's what this is. I'm going to go get washed up now. You look much cleaner."

"Thanks," I say, since I've already bathed and trimmed my facial hair. I kind of wanted to wait for him so we could bathe together, but I thought it might be inappropriate since we haven't even been here a day yet.

He waves toward the room. "I… guess this is your room."

"It seems like it."

"And this one is mine." He gestures toward the other.

"Also seems like it."

He's so fucking cute. It's obvious he doesn't want to go to his room alone, but clearly, he doesn't know how to ask me.

"Before you go to bed, can you stop by my room? I want to talk to you about something," I say.

Callisto nods far too vigorously before realizing what he's doing and then tries to play it off with some weird handwave. "I guess I could do that."

"You guess?" I tease.

"Kind of guess," he says before hurrying off.

He's so fucking cute. How has no one just devoured him yet?

I head into my room and sit down in the chair as I wait. The room is ridiculously nice without being obnoxiously luxurious. It's large and open with simple but beautiful furniture and big windows that I have to assume overlook the grounds, but it's hard to see since it's dark out.

I'm lost in my thoughts when there's a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in."

Callisto steps in and I have to admit… I think I forgot that he could get even more beautiful. It's really no wonder everyone was willing to call him a prince; he looks like he was born to be one. And while he'll always be gorgeous, there's nothing like a clean Callisto after seeing him battle against death. His white hair is a little wet as it hangs in waves around his face. His blue eyes with accents of purple instantly find me as he rushes over before slowing, like he doesn't want to seem too eager.

"You… uh… wanted to talk." He's trying so hard to play indifferent… does he really think I just brought him here to talk?

"I did," I say.

He seems embarrassed by my gaze and turns his attention to the window. "It's, uh… a night. I mean, a nice night. You know. Nice… for… night things… yeah."

His back is now to me, so I'm forced to wrap my arms around him and pull him down onto my lap until his back is against my chest.

"And this just made it nicer."

Callisto laughs before shaking his head. "You're talking nonsense now."

"How's your wound?"

"Perfect."

"I'll need to check it so I can see if you're telling the truth," I say as I pull him back even more so I can peer around to his front. I let my fingers trail up his smooth skin as I draw his shirt up and look down to see that the elixir and time really did do the trick. It's not perfect, but compared to thinking he might die mere days ago, he looks quite well. Thankfully, the elixir Madden brought was pretty powerful.

He shivers beneath my touch. "Y-Yeah, I feel very good."

"What else do you feel?" I ask as I pull him back far enough that he can feel my cock against his ass.

"Hmmmm. Uh… well… uh… I feel like… I ate a lot because Dandelion kept feeding me."

I grin as I slide my hand down to his pants before trailing a single finger over his cock. "What else do you feel?"

"Like my face is on fire."

"Why's that?"

"No idea. Ha ha. I'm rambling. Honestly, I'm confused why you'd even look at me when you have Madden."

"Madden?" I ask in confusion. "He's simply a friend." That's when I realize that I'm being a bit dense because I've never looked at Madden that way, but I suppose that's not how he sees it. "Were you jealous? Is that why you were destroying all plant life? You murdered so many plants."

"That was… because of something else."

"Yeah?" I ask, letting my finger trail back as he squirms a little on my lap. Fuck, I love the feeling of my cock against him, and when he moves like this, he's just rubbing his ass harder against me. "Please, enlighten me what it was, then."

"There was… a… bug… that flew into my eye."

"Ah. Makes sense. But Callisto, I promise you, you don't need to worry about any of that. My eyes are only on you," I assure him before sucking gently on his neck. "I want to make you moan and cry my name and come."

"Fucking hell," he whispers.

"And I think your cock is very interested in that idea," I say as I dip a finger under the band of his pants.

"Y-Yeah, I think so," he replies quietly, like he's too embarrassed to say it out loud. "And at least this time Dandelion doesn't have to watch. Ha ha… I have so many regrets."

I stand, picking him up with me and carrying him over to the bed which I lay him down on.

"S-Silas, I feel like I'm really bad at this and I don't know what to do with my hands. And then I feel like a fish just flopping around like Madden said," he rambles.

I raise an eyebrow as I look down at the delectable man. "Oh? I never thought I'd find a fish sexy," I tease as I hover over him. "Let me tell you a secret. You don't have to do a damn thing until you feel ready to. I am more than happy to do it all for you."

"I don't want you to get bored of me or something."

"Get bored… of you? A strange fae who swapped lives with a prince, who can poison with a kiss, and who is willing to sacrifice his life for mine… I'm sorry, at what point was I getting bored?"

Callisto grins at me. "Fine."

"Fine is right," I say before kissing him. He's a little more confident this time, and when I run my tongue over his lips, asking him to open them for me, they part. He's uncertain, but his tongue tangles with mine as my hand slides under his shirt, careful of any area that might still be sore.

When I pull back, he's breathing heavily, clearly having been caught up in the touches. I slide along his body, kissing a line up to his chest as I draw his shirt up. When I reach his nipples, I twirl my tongue around one before sucking on it as he squirms beneath me.

He's so sensitive that it's like anywhere I touch he's embarrassed over how it makes him feel, but he enjoys it enough that he wants to hold on to me. I push his shirt over his head before working my way back down. I slide his legs up, spreading them so I can hover between them as I toss the oil I'd stolen from Madden down on the bed. He glances down at it and opens his mouth like he's going to ask about it until I mouth his hard cock through his pants.

"Oh fuck," he mumbles instead.

"I do want to fuck you, but not tonight," I say.

"That's not… fuck," he mutters, blushing wildly. "But… if you want to…"

I grin at him, well aware that wasn't what he was asking but loving his reaction. I just want to eat him all up, enjoy every single bit of him.

Drawing his pants down, I slide them off his legs before ditching my own shirt and pushing my pants down. His eyes instantly drop down to my cock before he quickly tries to look elsewhere.

"You can look," I taunt.

"I can't," he decides. "I can't look it in the eye."

"You're ridiculous," I say as I lean down so my face is close to his cock. "I can look at yours just fine. I can suck it just fine as well."

Callisto's eyes get wide as I twirl my tongue around the tip. And then with my eyes locked on to his, I sink down onto his cock. "Oh fuck… fuck…" he whispers before covering his face.

I quickly pull off his cock and reach up. "You are not hiding that handsome face from me."

"Please let me hide it," he whispers. "Better yet, can we get rid of the light in here?"

"Nope," I say. "We're just getting started." I rub some of the oil onto my fingers before drawing them over his balls and down to his ass. "You want more, right?"

"Oh, don't ask me that!"

"Then how will I know if you want more?" I ask as I run my finger over his hole.

"You just know, alright? You know. I'm sure you know."

"Hmm… but what if I like teasing you?"

"Because you're evil."

I grin and shake my head. "I'm positive that's not true. Do you want to feel me inside you?"

He nods before pulling a pillow over his head.

"No pillow," I say as I pull it from him and toss it. "You only have to look at me." I swirl my finger around him before teasingly pressing it against him. He's tense, clearly nervous, as I push my finger inside him and rub gently, but I want to make him realize that he has nothing to be nervous about. "That okay?"

Callisto nods again as his hands head up to his face, prepared to cover it once more. "Don't be so embarrassed. I love seeing this side of you," I assure him as I stroke his cock with my other hand. I sink back down, taking his cock into my mouth as he moans. Then he seems embarrassed by it, which is shown by him holding a hand over his mouth. At least it's not covering his entire face, so I suppose I'll let him get away with it this time.

My second finger glides around the ring of his hole before slowly pushing in to join the first. He moans, and as my tongue swirls around him and my fingers rub inside him, his back arches and his fingers dig into the blanket on the bed. His eyes are closed as he tries to stifle his moans. It's the sexiest thing I've ever seen.

I haven't even touched my own cock and it's aching for attention because I'm so fucking turned on by this man. I reach down to stroke my cock. He's hypnotizing and I can't get enough of him. I want to keep going. I want to be inside him. I want to fuck him as he squirms beneath me, but I don't want to rush him.

"I'm… I'm going to…" he whispers, too embarrassed to even say what he's going to do, but I don't let up, I sink down deeper, fingers stroking and stretching. "Fuck… Silas…"

His fingers reach down, his hand sinking into my hair. It's such a gentle touch, but I fucking love it. I love the feel of his fingers. I love the feeling of being inside him. He moans as he comes in my mouth, and I can feel his fingers tighten in my hair.

I swallow him down before pulling off his cock and stroking my own as I look down at him. His cheeks are red, his breath is heavy, and just looking down at the way my fingers sink into his body is enough to put me over the edge. My come hits his thigh, running down it as I watch, wishing I could plunge deep inside him. Instead, I gently pull my fingers out of him as he finally looks at me with my cock in hand. He seems hesitant but reaches out to me, and I let him pull me down for a kiss.

After cleaning up, I drop down onto my back, rolling him on top of me as I grab his ass cheeks, letting a finger run between them, not sure I've had enough of him to let go just yet.

Callisto sinks down me, his hands gently sliding over my chest like he's testing the waters. "Y-You could have done more."

"Why rush it? I want to devour you just a little more each time."

"You're ridiculous," he decides.

"Although it'd help my ego a bit if Dandelion stopped telling everyone about you riding him," I tease.

"That is so embarrassing. Why must he say such ridiculous shit?"

I grin at him before giving his cheek a quick kiss. "Don't ask me."

He's quiet for a moment, fingers gently trailing over my chest. "I… I know I'm not at all who you expected me to be… and I know I'm not… Vermillion like you'd hoped. But I really hope we can figure this out together… You know… something. I really hate Vermillion, but if that's where you insist your ties lie… I'll go back."

I can't help but feel thrilled that he likes me enough to propose going somewhere for me. "Let's not worry about that for right now." I hesitate before asking a question that'd been bothering me. "Do you know who I was? In the war?"

Callisto doesn't respond right away. "Will it upset you if I do?"

"I don't know," I admit. "But it's obvious you already do."

"Yeah."

"Markson tell you?"

"No. I've known… much longer than that."

"Much longer? You've known since the tavern? I always kept my face covered during the war… it's why no one recognizes me."

"No…" He sits up on my waist and I sit up so I can face him. He reaches his hand out and takes mine, intertwining our fingers as he stares at them before his beautiful eyes meet mine. "I met you once… when you were a teenager… during the war."

I stare at him for a long moment. I'd seen so many faces in the war that they all just blended together, so it's hard for me to even remember who all I met along the way. But if he knows what I've done… he's seen what I can do… "You saw me fight in the war?"

"Yeah. You're getting that panicked look on your face. It's okay. I mean, clearly, it's okay. I've known this long, and I still want to be with you. So please don't run."

"You saw me kill people?" I ask, not even wanting to know the answer.

Callisto grabs my other hand and pins both of them between his. "Stop. Yes, I saw you kill people." He takes a deep breath. "You… you remember that stupid little fae thief? The one scavenging shit off dead bodies?"

I hesitate. I'd seen so many people, but of course that sassy fae stands out. The emaciated child who was beaten over the head by one of his own. The child who was afraid to eat the bread I'd given him because he didn't know if he'd ever get more. The child who would cuss me out one minute but suck up to me to con me out of something the next. He called me Death so much that others began to dub me the "god of death."

His fingers fumble with mine. "I… didn't want to tell you, not because of anything you did… but because I liked you thinking of me as some pampered prince. Not some literal parasite picking things off the dead," he says as he looks down before taking a deep breath and catching my eyes.

I grab his chin and scrutinize him. "You sure grew up."

Callisto gives me a soft smile, looking almost relieved, like he thought I would actually judge him for what he did. "Yeah?"

"I guess when I met you… you were half dead."

"I wasn't half dead."

"I could see every bone. You were a little skeleton."

"Nah, it wasn't that bad."

"You were sunburned from wandering the battlefield, wearing clothes that didn't fit you. I don't even think you had shoes. It's a wonder you didn't die out there."

"Yeah… it is, isn't it?"

"How long did you do that for?"

"I don't know… a while. My dad had died around the start of the war, and I begged and stole for a while until I realized that soldiers would carry jewelry into the war. Rings… things like that. The issue was that no one was buying that shit, so they never sold for much, and all the people I was selling to knew they were stolen, so they'd barely give me anything for them. Hell, I was too young to even know what they were worth, but if they gave me some food, I'd scurry off and find some more. They probably made a killing off my findings, but I was just happy to have something to eat."

"I left you," I realize. "Things were getting rough and I just… thought you'd be better off in that village… but I didn't give you a choice. I just left you."

"Yeah… you did. But it's okay because it wasn't too long until Markson found me."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I was so caught up in everything. I wasn't handling the death well. I wasn't handling any of it well."

Callisto shrugs. "I just didn't want you to find me disgusting. I'm sure your idea of me as this pampered prince was significantly better."

"Honestly… I'm relieved," I realize.

He looks surprised. "Why?"

"Because I feel like you can understand… you can kind of understand why I did what I did." I smooth his white waves back before kissing his forehead. "Was your hair white back then?"

"Sure was. I was just filthy."

I draw him into my arms as I sink back down on the bed, my mind racing with thoughts of that stubborn little fae who was so full of himself. Who ever knew he'd end up having a sweet side?

"You'd cuss me out so much."

Callisto grins. "I was a little shit."

"How the hell did you turn out so sweet?"

"Hell if I know."

"Is that evil side still inside you?"

"Sure is," he teases.

I squeeze him tightly to myself, never wanting to let go. Wanting to learn about every side of him… everything that's ever happened to him. The good. The bad… all of it. I want to learn anything I can about him.