Mordeu looked away for a minute, pursing his lips, trying to decode the abnormal pleasing feeling that surfaced in his gut. A part of him sympathized with Cillian; it was sad that he would never experience the feeling of finding one's mate. The uncontrollable pleasure and desire that a mate provokes.
Ayra suddenly clapped his shoulder, a wide grin across her face. "I hope you have fun. Don't mind him if he doesn't say anything to you; he's quite the quiet type."
"It's okay," Mordeu said, scrutinizing the person reading a book before him. "I'm fluent in silence."
Ayra chuckled. "Well then, I leave him in your care. He has the section of the house all to himself. If you need me, you just have to find your way out, and I'm way over to the other side."
Mordeu understood only her voice. As for what she said, he could not comprehend, but there was no need for that because he was confident that he wouldn't need her to come to his aid.
Ayra left, and it suddenly became deathly quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the birds chirping that could be heard.
Mordeu took a step down to the courtyard that was five steps below where he stood with Ayra. He said nothing as he made his way over to where Cillian was seated, reading a book.
Mordeu watched him for a while, how his eyes scanned every word on the paper, how his fingers turned the page over and over, and how still his eyes were even though he was captivated by the book.
He watched, breathless and marvelled, lost in the perplexity of the feeling of serenity enveloping him, the sudden rush of pleasure, and turmoil of knowing he was in a courtyard alone with Cillian.
And just like that, while circling his way around his thoughts, eyes fixated on grey orbs, time went by without Mordeu's realization.
It was the sudden arrival of a man dressed in black attire, leather belt tied around in a crisscross pattern across his torso. His hair was brown like the evening, and his eyes dark like death. He had stubble and a rather alluring feeling to his person.
Mordeu could not deny that this man was very good looking.
And he seemed to be very acquainted with Cillian. He had come along with his deep voice greeting, "Cillian!"
On seeing him, Cillian turned his head towards the entrance, and for the first time since Mordeu met Cillian, the corner of Cillian's lips curved upwards in a smile. Bright, perfectly structured teeth exposed in that beautiful artwork of a smile.
Whoever the man was, walked down to where Cillian was seated. There was a table and a spare chair there that Mordeu had not taken note of. This man took a seat, instantly as he did, he placed a hand on Cillian's thigh, looking straight into his grey eyes.
"I was told of the attack. I was worried," his voice was deep and carried a calmness. From the sound of it, he really was worried.
Cillian scoffed, closing the book and placing it on the table. "You should know me better than that, Kai. Three barely skilled assassins can barely touch a hair on my body."
Mordeu was undoubtedly marvelled by what he was hearing. Cillian's voice was nothing like he had imagined; it was calm, but it had a noticeable high pitch to it, his voice was deep but not as deep as Kai's, and there was a hint of smug and laziness in it like every syllable was forced out of his mouth.
Mordeu hid a smile. Not like they even noticed his presence.
Kai removed his hand from Cillian's thigh and placed it on his own. "I was not worried about you. I was worried about them, how brutal were you?"
Cillian absentmindedly chuckled. "I wasn't; I was in a hurry to get back, and for some reason, they kept dallying."
Kai obviously found the first part of Cillian's answer hard to believe. "I don't believe you," he said, then he turned to Mordeu. "You were there, was he brutal?"
Mordeu was a bit taken aback that he was suddenly brought into the conversation. He cleared his throat and gathered his thoughts. After remembering how to talk, he said, "I was not there. I arrived when Ayra plucked the heart of the last assassin out."
Cillian lifted his head and turned to the direction where Mordeu stood. It was the first time Cillian's attention was fixated on him. Mordeu stiffened.
"That's why you volunteered to protect me; you don't believe in my abilities," Cillian assumed.
Mordeu furrowed his eyebrows at his wild assumption. "I'm not the only one on the list."
Cillian scoffed, peeling his eye from Mordeu. "Oh come on, I can smell your brother's desire from a mile away."
Mordeu was surprised. "How did you know he's my brother?"
Cillian brought his eyes back to him. "You smell alike."
Mordeu was rendered speechless by what he said; his brain couldn't help but fish out what Alana had told him and Fjall the first day they met.
Mordeu looked away in shame.
"Your amazing sense of smell can never not marvel me," Kai complimented, to Mordeu's dismay.
Cillian rolled his eyes. "You have something to say, Kai," he said, not like a question but a statement, like a declarative statement which baffled Mordeu.
Kai chuckled. It seemed the news he wanted to relay was unfavorable; his eyes suddenly turned worrisome, and his voice dropped the mirth. "The witches informed us of the state of the spell holding the prison."
Mordeu shifted in his position.
"What did they say?" Cillian asked.
Kai shrugged. "Just that, you should be very prepared. The magic of the spell will drop soon, and they cannot fix it," he said. "Are you ready?"
Cillian bit his bottom lip. "How can I possibly be ready to meet my death?"
Mordeu's eyes went round, his undivided attention that was fixed on Cillian faltered for a second as he tried to process that piece of information.
"Stop exaggerating. You're not going to die; he's the one that'll die. I'm just thrilled that it's only one; I cannot possibly imagine that another red wolf would spurt their heads out," Kai said.
"Why can you not imagine another red wolf spurting their heads out?" Mordeu asked.
Kai was slightly taken aback by Mordeu's sudden question; nevertheless, he answered, "Red wolves are rare, one in a century. There has not been a red wolf for years now."
Mordeu shrugged. "That's just myopic. You've not been around the world to come to that conclusion. There exist red wolves now."
Kai's and Cillian's expressions turned grave. "How many have you met?"
Mordeu scrutinized him, sensing the fear in his demeanor. "Just one."
"Who are they?" Cillian inquired.
"My reflection when I change," Mordeu answered.