SPELLBOUND

A thick and heavy silence reigned for a long while between them. Gideon was so still, staring back at Kione with an even more dangerous aura, where its intensity could be even said to be bordering on murderous.

"I know this sounds very unlike the normal person that I usually am. But I'd like to tell you now. I think it's not possible for me to just back off quietly and ignore this thing that is happening. To tell you honestly, I have already tried getting her out of my mind, just a while ago, but it's not as easy as I thought it would be. So I think I'll just go with the flow for now and see where this will lead to. You know as well that I'm not good at hiding what I feel and what I think. For me, it's pure idiocy to do that. Why should we suffer and hurt ourselves, denying something that obviously is happening within?" Kione added and Gideon furrowed hard, his eyes looking as though they belonged to a wild beast's now. Though Kione's rationalisations made sense, however, when Gideon thought of how all that had reference to Vera somehow or another, his anger boiled over to an even higher point.

But Kione was unbothered by his gaze as he continued. "And since as far as I know, you and Vera aren't in a relationship yet, nor I suspect that you ever might be in one. Therefore, I believe it's not too late for me to pursue her." He justified his points out.

Their gazes clashed and held each other's. And it was as if lightning were sparking and colliding between them.

"I'm not going to let you have her." Gideon said darkly. But with this man's temper, Kione found it surprising that he did not even move to grab his collar yet. It seems that Gideon could tell he was not bluffing this time and was finally taking his words seriously.

"I don't think that you can be the one to be deciding that at all, Gideon. You and I should let her choose who she really wants to be with, without trying to force her choice." A small smile curved on Kione's face as he said that, and Gideon's eyes twitched a little.

The storm-like intensity in his eyes swirled in dangerous waves as he kept his eyes locked onto Kione's. Then without a word, he turned his back from Kione and disappeared.

A long and deep sigh left Kione's lips the moment Gideon's figure was no longer in sight. And he shook his head when he realized how relieved his sigh sounded even to his own ears that Gideon chose to leave without throwing another punch first.

In that moment, Azrael finally approached where Kione was standing at. The big man began slowly circling Kione for quite a long while, continuously rubbing his chin in a contemplative manner, not saying anything at all but just letting out little hums from time to time.

"Stop doing that Azrael, damn it," Kione snapped impatiently, and Azrael finally halted in his tracks and exhaled forcefully.

"Don't put all the blame on me when it's you who are suddenly acting out of character. Are you sure you're not an imposter?" Azrael still was looking at him funny and rubbing his smooth shaven chin.

Kione scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I wish I was! Damn it!" he spat out loudly then sighed again. "This will be a major headache… but I refuse to go down a crazy spiral by trying pointlessly to hide or stop whatever these feelings that are surfacing within me." Kione threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"So you've really fallen in love with Vera?" Azrael asked in shock.

"I believe so." Kione nodded and shrugged helplessly.

"Now that's very interesting." Azrael began to laugh out loud until Kione got irritated and elbowed him. Hard.

"Stop laughing, you idiot!" he muttered unhappily.

"Well, I believe this might be what people call karma, Kione." Azrael continued laughing, wheezing through the pain of his elbowed ribs. "You've hurt one too many women. Therefore, the gods have now decided that it's your turn. The tables have been turned on you!"

"When did I hurt any woman, you dumb-ass? Aren't I the most gentlemanly and gracious dark fae in the entire Under Lands? All I did was to give them the pleasure they were craving for."

"I don't think you even realized how many hearts you had broken, you idiot." Azrael tut-tutted and shook his head at Kione.

"Who the hell are you calling idiot, idiot?"

"Now I can't wait to see how all this will pan out." Azrael side-glanced at his friend. His smile was now looking like he was starting to feel sorry for Kione. This buddy of his is going to be in for the ride of his life.

"Stop looking at me like that, you big oaf! I haven't even started yet. You can't be biased and root only for Gideon. Don't forget I'm your friend too!"

"Well, if Gideon won't move on from Leah and keep seeing Vera as some kind of substitute or whatever it's called, I guess you'd definitely have a fighting chance there, my friend. Though I won't root for you yet unless I make sure that you really are capable of becoming a one-woman man." Azrael replied seriously and Kione silently shut his eyes as he leaned his head back against the door.

"Even I don't know of that as I've never tried it before." An ironic smile curved across Kione's lips. "I, myself, believe that I can't do that as I don't even have an idea on how the hell could someone be loyal to only one woman for his entire life. But I guess it's actually not as impossible as I thought it would be. Though for now, I shouldn't be thinking of that yet."

"And what are you supposed to be thinking about for now, if not this issue?" Azrael looked confused and scratched his head.

Kione just glanced at his friend and sighed again. "It just dawned upon me that I have never tried pursuing a woman… not even once in my entire lifetime. I just know it's definitely not the same as seducing. Therefore, right now, I have no idea how or where to start."

Azrael clapped down on Kione's back hard. "Congratulations.. That's indeed a problem the so-called lord of the rakes definitely deserves."