Author's Note: This weeks wonderful fanart comes from @witchybunnyblood on IG. This picture of Ridley is absolutely gorgeous! Haha, no wonder he can easily steal Vandel's heart looking this lovely! Also, I'd like to thank everyone so much for over a million reads on this story. It means so much to me! 

Ridley

We stood awkwardly in the woods where the tunnel had dumped us. I clutched the paper tightly in my hand as if it could still be snatched away from me at any moment.

Vandel had been unusually quiet since leaving Stefan's room and I couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be avoiding looking at me.

Dusk had fallen over the woods now, the gentle hum of the crickets seemed to perfectly orchestrate the purple blue sky above, the flash of the night's first fireflies beginning to peak out from the underbrush.

"Hey," I said nervously, taking a small step towards Vandel.

The demon's gaze immediately fell to his hands, as if he was determined to look anywhere but my face.

"I'm sure you have questions," he responded slowly.

"I do...I mean...how couldn't I? But, you really don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to," I mumbled. "I just...I want to make sure you're okay."

Vandel finally glanced up now, a genuine look of surprise on his face. "I..."

He looked like he was about to dismiss it so I took another step nearer. "Listen, I was standing next to you...I know how hard everything you had to do in there was for you."

Vandel let out a low breath. "I hate him," he said softly. "I hate him so fucking much. And...I just feel so fucking dirty because I let him...I let him..."

He was shivering and I wasn't sure what from. No matter the reason I found myself immediately stripping off my shirt and draping it over his shoulders.

Vandel looked to me, his expression unreadable. "You're so noble Ridley. You always are. You must have been...you must have been disgusted by me for...for doing something like that." I went to shake my head but he continues before I even had the chance. "You're probably wondering what all that marriage shit was about, right?" He laughed dryly. "That absolute dickhead is convinced the two of us are going to get married. I ran into him at the demon palace before coming here for the feast and I couldn't figure out why the hell my mother would've consented to the match. Honestly I had just thought she was using him but..." he sighed heavily. "Now I realize the whole time he must have been planning on killing his father and framing Annette so he'd become the heir. My mother probably found out about his plan and that he had the corisathium and decided to swap out her initial scheme with Annette for...well...a crown prince who was practically begging to marry me, no kidnapping required." His head drooped, his gaze falling back to the forest floor once more. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I...I don't know..."

A strange silence fell between us.

Finally I looked to him. "You know you can tell me," I said awkwardly. "If you want to I mean..."

Vandel arched a brow. "What's there to tell?"

"What happened between you two." Vandel shifted uncomfortably beside me, his gaze still glued to the ground. I quickly shook my head. "I...I meant that uh...as in...only if you felt like it would make you feel better to talk about it...or rant or...I don't know. Obviously now I realize you probably don't want to... especially after-"

"No," Vandel said suddenly. "Maybe you're right....maybe it would help to finally talk about it." He sighed heavily. "It was...a long time ago. Not a long time for me I suppose since I've been around...well, ten times your life time. But...Gods it still feels like centuries." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I was doing a patrol in the forest when I saw this carriage. There had been some sort of bone monster attack and it was completely wrecked. I thought everyone inside was dead. Honestly...it was just a bloody mess and I was fully prepared to just pass on the entire thing and move on but that's when I heard crying. So I...I came closer and I saw a kid."

"And it was Stefan?"

"Yeah." Vandel swallowed hard, clearly building up the resolve to go on. "I hadn't even seen him at first because he was pinned under the carriage. He was in pretty bad shape. To be perfectly honest I was about ready to call him a goner and just leave when suddenly he met my gaze. It was surreal...I don't know what came over me. He looked so desperate...so determined to live. I knew I shouldn't but he was just a kid...I don't know why but...I decided to save him." He sighed heavily, running a hand through his dark hair. "How stupid, right? You think you're doing a good thing and end up fucking a million other things up. No good deed goes unpunished."

"I remember hearing about the attack on the carriage. The royal family was terrified Stefan had been killed when they got word of it. Then he turned up in Pecore a few months later and assured everyone he'd been rescued by a family of hunters who had nursed him back to health."

Vandel sighed heavily. "Yeah...well it wasn't exactly hunters, it was me." He let out a low, shaky breath. "I ended up getting him out from under the carriage and bringing him back to the palace till he was healed. Both his legs were broken. I tried to convince myself it was for my own self interest, that he was going to owe me or we could get a ransom or...something but the truth was..." he pulled my shirt a little closer. "I guess I got attached. I never had siblings or well...even friends before and I guess I started seeing him almost as a little brother. He lived in the demon castle for months. I kept him well hidden but I think most of my staff was aware of his presence. We'd spend hours together playing board games, or reading or talking. Everything seemed fine...maybe if I had been paying more attention I would have seen the signs sooner but I never thought he was...well...violent." He laughed dryly. "Of course, now we know that's not the case. Nonetheless, it's still my fault I suppose, I should have stayed more alert. He was my enemy and my mistake was in forgetting that." He cast me an almost wary glance when he said that. "Anyway, one night I was asleep, nothing seemed to be amiss when suddenly I woke up to see him standing over me. I opened my mouth to ask if something was wrong when suddenly he slashed a dagger across my throat."

As he said this Vandel waved his hand across his neck and it was like an illusion melting away before my very eyes to reveal a long, thin scar. I couldn't help but tense at the sight of it. To even think of someone Vandel cared about him hurting him like that caused my stomach to twist to knots.

"He...he did that to you..." I said quietly.

Vandel nodded stiffly, quickly waving his hand across his throat once more, immediately causing the scar to vanish. "I still don't know why. Maybe that had always been his plan and he'd just been playing me. He managed to escape and my mother was luckily able to save me before I bled out." He laughed again. "I thought that was the end of it. I never expected I'd have to cross paths with him again...or that he'd fall in love with me. Honestly, I still don't understand it myself...I feel like there's still a piece of the puzzle I'm missing." He shook his head. "But right now...I'm just too tired to think about these endless questions and problems. It feels like for every mystery we solve another ten open up."

He turned to look at me and as he did I suddenly noticed a small reddish bruise on the side of his neck.

"Hey," I said softly, "are you okay? What happened."

Vandel stiffened, his fingers falling to the mark. "Oh..." he said softly. "It's nothing. He must have done it to me and I didn't even notice, that rude little bastard."

"What is it?"

Vandel looked to me now, an expression of clear disbelief on his face. "Okay," he said, arching a brow. "I know I make fun of you for being a virgin but do you seriously not even know what a hickey is?"

I swallowed hard. "Should I?"

Vandel snickered to himself. "I mean...yeah. Honestly it blows my mind how inexperienced you actually are. Waaaaaay too inexperienced for someone with a body like yours. No wonder you practically pop a hard one any time I kiss you."

I felt my cheeks grow warm almost immediately at his words.

How Vandel was able to tell me one of his darkest secrets one moment and then immediately turn to teasing me about my lack of sex life left me almost at a loss for words.

"So...what is it exactly?" I finally mumbled.

Vandel sighed heavily. "It's kind of like...marking someone for your own. It shows that the person belongs to you in a way. I don't really know how to explain it any better than that." Thinking about it that way....just looking at the bruise on Vandel's neck made my blood start to boil and that strange pain in my chest return. "The fact that Stefan had the fucking gall to pull this kind of shit makes me want to march right back into the human castle and rip his teeth out."

"So...you're upset he marked you?"

"Hell yeah. It was a dick move."

The words suddenly left my mouth before my mind even had time to think. "You could...you could do it to me...I mean...if it would make you feel better."

An awkward silence hung in the air the moment I spoke. Vandel just stared at me, an expression of disbelief on his face.

My cheeks burned. What the hell was wrong with me? Why had I said something like that? I quickly stared down at my feet, determined to look at anything that wasn't Vandel.

He shook his head now. "Ridley, I think you don't really get what a hickey is. It's not that big a deal. Besides it's not like I even have the right to...uh...to do that to you..."

"He unrightfully marked you so now...now you could...you could unrightfully mark me..." I stammered. Gods, it was like I couldn't even control what I was saying. I attempted to piece together a defense, some sort of explanation both to myself and to him for why I had asked something like this. "I just...I just want to make you feel better."

Still embarrassed I finally glanced back to Vandel and with a start I realized he was was staring at me intently.

"Ridley," he said softly, as he spoke I suddenly became painfully aware of how close we were standing. "Are you asking because you want me to feel better or are you asking because you want me to mark you?"

I froze. It felt like everything was hitting at once, the swell of emotions from the day, the anger at Stefan for touching Vandel like that, the strange pull I seemed to be feeling in my chest every time Vandel would smile, or laugh or stand close to me like this.

And I hated what the answer was.

I hated that no matter what I told myself deep down the answer was yes.

I wanted him to mark me.

I wanted it because...because...

No, I couldn't accept the answer I knew was inevitably coming if I continued down that line of thought. And that's when I shut everything down. I shut up the emotions, I locked them away as quickly as I possibly could, repressing every inch of me that wanted to practically beg him to take me in his arms and claim me as his.

Taking a deep breath I simple shook my head. "I just wanted you to feel better." I said slowly. "That's it. Nothing more."