The palace cell stank of incense and rusty stone.
It wasn't the worst place Elion had been kept in, but the gilded bars and silver runes carved into them made the insult sharper.
It made him feel like an expensive pet.
Elion sat cross-legged on the cot, staring at the faint glow etched along his collar. His throat swelled from Dain's hand earlier, and his lips still tasted faintly of copper.
He ran his tongue across the split, scowling.
"Monster prince," he muttered. "Even his stupid kiss is arrogant."
The guards outside the cell stiffened at his tone but said nothing. They didn't need to.
He could feel the weight of their unease.
But it wasn't him they feared. It was the shaking grounds and echoing cracks.
Eversince earlier, a low thunder rumbled somewhere inside the palace walls.
The air itself felt too heavy, like it carried the wrath a certain man did not yet unleash.
Elion's stomach twisted. 'That stupid arrogant bastard!'
He knew that energy. He still had the taste of it burning down his veins when Dain's mouth had crushed against his. That thread between them, no matter how jagged and violent, was still there.
Shouts broke out down the corridor. Guards ran past with pale faces, whispering in terror. The ground shivered and dust fell from the ceiling.
Elion stood, his pulse quickening. Something was wrong, Elion new he had to act, or at least try to.
The storm in his chest flared with Dain's very own. He grabbed the bars and shouted: "Let me out! I need to go up there!"
The guards jolted. "Stay back!"
"Oh fuck off fucking stupid idiots! That bastard is going crazy! He's losing control! That fucker needs a fucking Guide!"
"The last one that tried died before he could even touch him! You'll stay here if you value your life! He calms down after a while, just shut up and fuck off."
Elion's voice cracked, desperate. "I can feel him; this isn't normal you fool! He's going to bring this whole place down if I don't!"
The corridor shook. A chandelier somewhere shattered, with a deafening crack, shaking the ground and rattling windows. The guards looked at each other, panic etched in their faces.
"I don't care what happens! Open this fucking door!"
A crash split the air, followed by a guttural roar that was not entirely human. That decided for them. One guard fumbled with the keys,Elion bolted before they could think twice.
'That arrogant fucking asshole!! What the fuck is he thinking! He probably isn't that-' Elion froze.
The court chamber was chaos. Attendants cowered under fallen beams. Air whipped in violent currents, tossing papers and banners, and shards of marble. Flash after flash of lightning illuminated the hall, each followed by a loud crack of thunder.
And at the heart of the storm was Dain.
He stood like a statue cracked in half, eyes blazing silver-white, his energy surging in visible waves that seemed to bend the air around him. His storm lashed at everything indiscriminately, ripping everything in its way apart.
For a heartbeat, Elion only watched.
He wasn't tied and the man keeping him here was unfocused and vulnerable right now.
'He won't realize right now.' He could have run. He should have.
But his body moved before his mind caught up.
"YOU IDIOT!" Elion's voice roared through the chaos as he stumbled forward, fighting against the pull of gravity and force. His heart pounded, every instinct screaming that this was suicide.
And yet he reached, shoving through the gale, catching Dain's hand with his own.
Lips crashing on lips. Angry. Frustrated.
Elion's arms wrapped around Dain's body as he devoured the prince's mouth.
The storm screamed, and then abruptly it fell silent.
Like a breath sucked from the lung.
The chamber trembled with the echo, but the cyclone stilled. Dust floated down like ash after a fire burned down.
Dain staggered, eyes flickering back to their cold grey colour, chest heaving. His hand gripped Elion's arms hard enough to bruise, but he looked more startled than furious.
"You!" His voice was hoarse, as if the storm had scraped it raw. "How did you-"
Elion yanked his hand back, trembling but glaring. "Don't ask me. Blame your stupid kiss fuck face! Whatever thread you tied between us with that, I felt it. I felt whatever happened to you before it even started you stupid fuck."
The silence pressed between them. Attendants dared not move, all eyes fixed on the prince and the "defective" guide in front of him.
Dain's expression hardened. The flicker of vulnerability vanished.
He straightened, shoving distance between them.
"Fuck you." he said coldly. His voice carried across the hall, louder than the thunder had been.
"Lock him up."
Elion's jaw dropped in anger. "What?"
"If I can't control myself, I'll break on my own terms. I won't let a pathetic scrap the registry threw away guide me as you please."
Anger surged inside Elion's chest, hotter than fear. "What the fuck!? Why the fuck did you bring me here then!!? If I'm not needed, let me fucking go! Throw me back to the gutter, I don't care!"
Guards closed in, gripping his arms.
Elion thrashed, cruses echoing as they dragged him backward.
The prince didn't look at him. His gaze was fixed on the fractured marble floor, the storm still flickering in his veins.
To be continued...