The Tyrant's Pet

"Never been better."

"Good." Her smile stretched in relief before shifting her attention to his wings. "Can I touch it?"

"Be my guest." He shrugged, coaxed enough to give her the world.

Aries swallowed a mouthful of saliva before raising her trembling hand to touch it. She hesitated when her fingertip was an inch away from it, but mustered enough courage to touch it. As soon as she did, her heart clenched. It felt like she was touching his muscles without skin.

No doubt. They were painful to spread free, much more, expose in the sky where the wind was harsh.

Her eyes softened before she leaned in and planted a soft and brief kiss. She didn't even mind the blood that clung to her lips when she drew away.

"There's blood." He pointed at her with his chin. "Wipe it —"

Abel was about to wipe it with his thumb when she licked her lips clean. His brows creased, his mouth falling open as she used her thumb to wipe the blood left on the corner of her lips, only to lick her thumb, eyes on him.

"Hmm…" she hummed a tune, smacking her lips to get a better taste of it. "Not bad."

"Not bad?"

"Mhm!" Aries nodded profusely. "It's not bad. I thought it will taste bitter or like poison, but it's a little bit of both with a touch of sweetness? I think you're eating too much sugar, dear."

His eyes fastened with amusement before he laughed. "I'm not fond of sweets." He leaned his face, smiling deviously.

"The only sweet I liked for dessert is you."

"So flirtatious." Aries clicked her tongue faintly, studying his face.

"Well, flirting is better than saying you just insulted me."

"I did?"

He rocked his head. "Not bad," he repeated. "If one of our kind heard you, they will rip your throat to fix the way you speak, darling."

"Really?" her eyes dilated as her complexion instantly paled, frowning when he grinned from ear to ear. Aries glared at him and punched his chest mildly.

"That scared me for a second."

"Haha. They hate me enough to cheer you on throwing that insult at me. They don't have the guts to make such a statement, knowing they will drool if I bled even just a tiny bit." He shrugged, moving closer to her until his arms were wrapped around her waist. "My blood is precious, darling. So precious they would rather use me as… a drinking supply."

She frowned, moving from her spot on the floor to his lap. Her arms were still over his shoulder. They stayed on the floor and both of them didn't mind it.

"Can we make a profit out of it?" she humored.

"Are you in dire more money?"

"Will you put it in the market if we do?"

Abel nodded in all seriousness. "If you need it, then why not?"

"I'm kidding." She rolled her eyes, resting the side of her head near his neck.

"I love you," she whispered when she didn't know what to say anymore. "I don't even want to share... much more sell you."

Abel gazed down at her and smirked. "I love you most."

Aries chuckled at his reply but didn't argue with him. In her heart, she already knew she had won.

"So… were you human before?" she asked out of plain curiosity, still having a vague idea of what sort of creature he was. All she knew was there were vampires and humans could gain their abilities. Abel looked like a human, after all. No one would ever suspect he was a vampire or whatnot.

"No."

"You were a vampire from the beginning?"

"Mhm."

Aries nodded in understanding. "Is it true that vampires had long lives?"

"It is true."

"Then… how old are you?" she asked, raising her head to look him in the eye. "How long have you lived, Abel?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does." She nodded and smiled subtly. "I want to know you. Not the current sovereign of the Haimirich Empire, but you."

Abel pursed his lips into a thin line and pondered for a moment. "I stopped counting." He shrugged, but he meant it.

"When you live long enough, you stop counting at your first decade. But if I am going to estimate, I'm about…" he hummed and calculated in his head. "… over four thousand years old?"

"You're ancient."

"I'm older than your ancestor. Did you forget?"

"But that's before civilization started."

"Ouch?"

Aries blinked twice as she processed how legit those claims were. Still, doubt flickered across her eyes as it just sounded unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. Four thousand? Did he have a dinosaur as a pet before?

"You're not God, are you?"

"Hah!" he burst out of laughter while she frowned, making her punch his chest mildly.

"I know it sounds stupid, but come on, Abel. I only exist for twenty-five years, but I felt like I'm already eighty!"

"Apologies, darling. I find it rather hilarious since I didn't see that coming." He shook his head, suppressing his laughter. When he recovered, Abel let out a deep exhale, more than willing to share more about his story, which he told no one, nor did he ever think he would even share in his life.

"For two millennia, I lived in this place where our kind dwells," he explained. "Until I was fascinated with the story outside and set off on a wonderful journey."

His eyes softened as he lowered his gaze, recalling his reason for going out of the mainland — the land of vampires — in the first place.

"I never had such thoughts before, until a boat was washed to the mainland, carrying a bunch of humans from a wrecked ship." He looked back at her and smiled. "That's the first time we met humans. One person, in particular, made an impression on me. Humans had always been greedy, but that person is a man of integrity. He is the only person I truly respected and looked up to."

"A human?" she cocked her head to the side, noticing the respect Abel still bore in his eyes while talking about that man.

"Mhm." Abel rocked his head and smiled gently. "His name is Soran."