"Can't sleep?" 

Kydyn had dozed off for a long time, but Cinder hadn't found an ounce of sleep at all. Cinder was on his side as he gazed out into the dark room. The curtains were pulled shut, helping to keep the dawn out. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No."

He means yes. Cinder had been tossing in the bed out of frustration. He couldn't find a comfortable position. Not that falling asleep fully clothed was all that comfortable either, but he'd done it before. Cinder couldn't get the visions out of his head. Worry was thick and it was making him sick to his stomach. 

"Come here."

Cinder heeded the request and rolled over so that he could be wrapped up in Kydyn's embrace. They were silent for a long time again and Cinder was pretty certain the warlock had drifted yet again. He just lay there, letting Kydyn hold him however he wanted. "Your eyes are extremely beautiful to look into when you're star gazing."

The sudden compliment startled Cinder. He looked up to see Kydyn grinning at him. Heat pricked across his face and Cinder looked away. Curling closer, he kept his face hidden from the warlock who enjoyed making him blush as well as irritating him. He wasn't sure which one Kydyn liked most. 

"Whys that?"

"They reflect the night sky. A thousand glittering stars appear in those green eyes of yours. It's really amazing. I like watching you when you star gaze."

"That's creepy."

Kydyn snickered at him. "If you could see what I see when you do it, you would agree with me."

Cinder smiled despite not wanting to. He laughed too, burying his face against Kydyn's chest. The jacket was gone, yanked off at some point during the night when they'd climbed into bed, but his shirt remained. Cinder almost wished he hadn't kept it on. Or any of his clothes for that matter. He recalled how he'd kissed Kydyn and earned his sexy arousal partway through. 

"You know. We never finished," Cinder said playfully. He traced his hand down Kydyn's chest, enjoying the lean muscle he could feel under the cloth. 

"Finished what?"

"Don't play dumb. You know what."

Kydyn laughed. "You're the one who started it and never finished. So don't blame me."

"Oh, so you were waiting on me? How unlike you. You're so selfish all the time I was expecting you to jump me once we got in here."

"I'm not that much of a jerk," Kydyn scoffed. "Besides, you weren't exactly in the mood for sex. It would have been wrong."

"The hot headed warlock has a sense of guilt? Wow. I never took you for that."

Kydyn laughed. The sweet kind that Cinder had only heard once before. He could listen to that sound all day and never get tired of it. Cinder smirked as he watched Kydyn. It took the warlock a little bit to get over his laughter and Cinder was feeling rather proud of himself for it. Cinder was learning that Kydyn had more than just the jagged edges to his personality.

Cinder had leaned forward, getting closer to Kydyn as he planned on kissing him and reigniting the passion that had sparked in the backyard before he star gazed. Instead of kissing though, Cinder flinched as a resounding boom echoed through the house. Both of them froze, looking toward the door in confusion. Kydyn was the first to get up off the bed. Cinder sat up and watched as he went to the door. 

"Hull huiln," he said as he pinched his fingers together and drew them up at his side. The floor became a disk of lava, his hell hound rising up from its depths. Cinder crawled off the mattress and stood behind Kydyn. "Stay here," the warlock ordered. 

Cinder bit his lip. He knew the vision he'd seen couldn't possible happen at the house they were in, but terror was pulsing through him anyway. If Kydyn walked through that door without him, he had the horrible idea that he'd never see the warlock again. Shaking his head, he rushed after Kydyn as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. 

"No, I'm going with you," Cinder snapped as he followed right behind him. 

"Son of a bitch! Cinder, get back inside the room!" Kydyn whirled on him and snarled the words in his face. 

Despite his angry look and the sparking of purple lightening through his eyes that added to his eerie appeal, Cinder shook his head. "No."

"Damn it—"

"Either way works for me. I'll be taking him in the end." The familiar voice sent chills down Cinder's spine. Kydyn twisted around and snapped his fingers to get his hounds attention. 

"Kill him!" The warlock shoved Cinder backward as he shouted the order to his contracted demon. Cinder stumbled as he was pushed back into the room. Thankfully he caught himself before he could hit the floor on his ass. Cinder watched a streak of fire go flying behind Kydyn and his eyes widened in fear. The dog had been hurled backward. Another boom shook the house and Cinder spread his arms as everything rocked. 

"Make this easy, warlock. Give him to me and I won't kill you."

"Not happening," Kydyn retorted. 

Cinder rushed to the door that Kydyn had left unattended and peeked out into the hallway. He watched as Kydyn flung blasts of air at Iriyn who simply batted them aside as if they were mere flies and nothing more. Following the tornados that tore up the floor of the hallway, Kydyn flooded the corridor with blinding light. The magic crackled, sizzling down the carpet and igniting little fires along the floor as it went. Cinder felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. 

When the light faded, Cinder had to blink a few times to clear his vision that had spots lingering in his sight. His heart pounded hard as he watched Iriyn brush off his clothes, the hood to his cloak piling around his neck as it had fallen off from the attack. Kydyn cursed, his Irish thick and rolling as he took a step back and prepared for another spell. From the stairs, two people made the landing and stepped up on either side of Iriyn. They wore masks over the lower portions of their faces, the insignia that Cinder had thought to belong to the rebels was stitched on the shirts they wore, right over their right breast. 

"Kydyn, those are—"

"I know! What the hell did I just tell you?"

"I'm not leaving!"

Kydyn growled in anger but didn't fight anymore with him. Instead, he turned his focus on the three men who stood in the hallway with him. Iriyn straightened his cloak and ran his hand through his hair, working the brown locks back into submission. He let out a long sigh before he looked at Kydyn, giving him a smile that was too cold to be welcoming. 

"Good, you're here," Iriyn said and he had to have been speaking to the men who had joined him. "Is it done?"

"Yes," one of them answered.

"Even better. Take care of him. Do it quickly."

Cinder felt his blood pressure rise and he stepped into the hall as the two men rushed Kydyn. The first blast of air from Kydyn sent the man on the left into the wall. The second blast was redirected and tore a hole through the hallway. Cinder threw his hands up and the barrier that he'd gotten better at formed in front of Kydyn as the man got too close. Kydyn stepped back and probably would have avoided the sizzling blast of electricity anyway, but Cinder wasn't taking any chances. 

As the man's hand rebounded off his barrier, Iriyn clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Now, now. Can't be having that." Cinder looked over to him just as Iriyn flicked his hand in Cinder's direction. The floor shifted under his feet and something tangled around his legs. Yanked down to the floor, Cinder clawed at the carpet as if it would keep him from being dragged down the hallway. He shouted in fear as he tried to pull out of Iriyn's magic. As he came to a stop at Iriyn's feet, he was flipped over on his back. Cinder threw up his barrier, but Iriyn just smiled at him. 

"Cinder!" Kydyn yelled and Cinder tilted his head back so he could see the warlock. He could tell there was fear in his eyes as he tried to block the strikes being thrown at him from both men. Kydyn was losing that fight though as cuts opened and blood flowed. Cinder rolled himself back over and directed his barrier at Kydyn. Raising his hands, he felt the magic form and the next strike at Kydyn was rebounded until Iriyn's foot slammed down on one of his wrists. Cinder cried out in pain as his bones ground together under the warlock's shoe. 

A blast of wind shook the hallway and one of the men slammed into the wall again, leaving a human sized impression in the drywall. He toppled to the floor, but caught himself on his hands and knees. Kydyn was pissed as he muscled past the second man and rushed toward Cinder. Iriyn laughed softly, not loud enough for Kydyn to hear. The sound made Cinder tremble as fear clawed at his heart. He watched as Kydyn rushed forward, his magic gathering around his arm and crackling loudly. Iriyn lifted his hand and made a circular motion with two of his fingers. Kydyn's body froze as Iriyn's magic enveloped him. Cinder shouted as Kydyn was slammed against the wall. 

Kydyn's shirt was torn in several places, blood seeping into the cloth. The crimson liquid trickled from his nose and a nasty bruise was welling along his cheekbone on the left side. Kydyn's snarl of rage was just barely washed behind the sound of flames roaring through the house as another explosion went off. The shouting that Cinder had ignored up to that point were loud and angry. Fighting was going on somewhere else in the house. Cinder realized that was where the ear shattering booms were coming from. As well as the fire that had begun to fill the house with smoke. 

Iriyn's hand gripped Cinder's arm and hauled him up to his feet. He stumbled as he was forced upright. Twisting around, he managed to dislodge himself from the iron hold and ran toward Kydyn. He managed a few feet before he was dragged back by Iriyn. One hand took hold of his hair and yanked, the other around his waist to keep him from running or getting free again. Cinder screamed as he kicked hard. He felt his heel connect with Iriyn's shin a few times, but the man never released him or even loosened his hold. 

"Kydyn!" Cinder shouted, stretching his hand out to his lover. 

There was a wild look on Kydyn's face as he stared at Cinder. He strained against the bonds that Iriyn had inflicted on him. Cinder could see his body shaking with the stress. Iriyn turned and Cinder fought him every step of the way down the stairs, screaming Kydyn's name as they went. Cinder cursed his being a magus. He had no power to fight back with. Star gazing wasn't going to help him get free. The barrier was of no use either as Iriyn just kept walking through each one that Cinder erected in front of them in vain attempts to stop their descent. Cinder yanked, twisted, and kicked as hard as he could. The most it did was give Iriyn a difficult time getting down the stairs without them falling. Tears streamed both from the burning heat of the flames that were rising and his own terrors as he was dragged from Kydyn. 

As they shoved past the front door and out into the growing daylight, Iriyn tightened his hold on Cinder, wrapping both arms around him to keep him in place. Cinder shot him a disgusted look. "Fucker! You should have died in that fire."

"Is that really what you wish of your father?"

"You're not him. Kydyn's going to tear you apart and I can't wait to watch him do it," Cinder shouted. 

Iriyn smiled at him. "I'm sure you can't. But for now, let's take this somewhere else. A little more private." Iriyn started muttering. It was the same spell used for transportation and Cinder struggled again. As the sunlight dropped under the blanket of the spell, Cinder squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He could only hope that Kydyn would make it out alive. He had to believe that. Kydyn wasn't going to let those two bastards kill him, or the fire take him either. He wasn't. Cinder told himself that over and over as he felt the weightlessness of the spell take over. Kydyn would get out. And he would find Cinder. 

And he would destroy Iriyn.