Past the borders of the Arcane Formation, Caius could still feel the effects but they were starting to wane so he could at least walk with a normal gait. He could also think better.

He had questions;

Why was Leonce Duval using a part of his Event building as a Dungeon?

Why did he even need a Dungeon at all? Why not just kill the Vampires from the onset?

If Caius were to make a guess for the answers to the last two questions, he would say Leonce needed answers from his Vampire captives. He was probably trying to find out where their Covens were so he could root them out entirely. But that was only a guess and Caius couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that.

"You were here before Caius," Alexia said to Lyanna who was looking at Caius with concern.

"I was looking around the building," Lyanna answered easily, "I guess I lost my way."

"You came to get her?" Alexia asked Caius with narrowed eyes.

"And what if I did?" Caius asked with just the hint of annoyance in his tone.

He could tell that Alexia was getting back to the topic they had been having before he left the Hall and was starting to feel irritated.

"You rat bastard—" Alexia started with gritted teeth.

"Is anything the matter?" Lyanna asked with concern, confused why she was suddenly sensing such tension.

"You!" Alexia said and rounded on Lyanna then, her finger punted at the Leopold Lady who couldn’t help but flinch and take a step back.

Lyanna was a magical genius. She had impressed many in the Leopold Family (Humans and Vampires) with the speed of her advancements. Even then though, she couldn’t help but be intimidated by the magical and martial might swelling from Alexia’s form right then.

"Stop that!" Caius snapped and smacked Alexia’s arm aside,

"Don’t yell at her."

"Don’t tell me what to do!" Alexia growled at him.

"I’ll leave you two alone," Lyanna said then, and after looking between the two with some concern for Caius, she walked away with her guards and returned to the Function downstairs.

"What’s the matter with you?" Caius asked, his tone a mix of annoyance and a bit of confusion,

"You’re acting insane."

"And you are acting like an unfaithful asshole," Alexia said stepping closer to him, her black eyes glaring.

It became especially clear—with how imposing she was being right then—how tall she was. Especially when using Caius as a comparison.

Caius had grown even more in the weeks past and now stood at an impressive 6’3. Yet, Alexia seemed exactly his height thanks to the extra four inches from her shoes. Her height was perfectly balanced by her physique, making her look statuesque.

It was no wonder that Duncan had taken his shot at asking her out. Really, Caius expected many of the Male Nobles at the Function were sizing her up, thinking of when best it would be to approach her.

Why was Caius noticing so much about Alexia right then and letting his mind wander to how appealing she was? He had no idea. The fact that it was happening when she was questioning him made him consider that he might be discovering another kink about himself. He didn’t care for it. Not in this particular moment anyway.

"Well?" Alexia pressed when Caius’s purple eyes just regarded her without saying anything,

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What do I have to say for myself?" Caius chuckled, "Nothing. I have no time to waste on this nonsense. You’re meddling in things you don’t understand."

And with that, he turned away, making to walk back down the corridor and away from her. But Alexia was suddenly in front of him. A spell circle flashed, conjuring Magical energy that created a wall of wind.

The wall of wind slammed into Caius, pushing him at least two steps back before he locked his knees and adamantly remained in place.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He asked in a raised voice.

"Don’t you walk away from me!" Alexia said and then she let out a groan of frustration,

"Ugh, I can’t believe I was being considerate. Trying not to hurt my little cousin. If I had known what you were... If I had known you didn’t deserve her, by the Gods, I wouldn’t have bothered."

Caius paused then.

"Considerate? Deserve?" He mumbled the words as he looked over at Alexia whose face was turned away, and then things finally clicked.

’Oh, I get it now,’ he thought, ’How could I have missed it?’

"That’s why you’ve been avoiding me," Caius said out loud, "You’ve been feeling guilty for feeling the way you feel about her when she’s with me."

"What are you talking about?" Alexia said with a heavy sigh.

"She’s mine," Caius said as he stepped closer to Alexia now.

"What?" Alexia said now, not in confusion but rather in outrage.

"You heard me," Caius smirked. He was now only an inch away from Alexia, an intensity in his purple eyes so strong she had to do a double-take.

And then she smirked.

"You can’t take possession of her. She’s a person not a thing."

"She is a person. And she’s mine... Just as I am hers," Caius said,

"So don’t bother feeling so guilty that you can hardly bear to be in the same room as me. There’s nothing to feel guilty about.

You can spend as much time as you want with her— be her friend and whatever. But that’s where it ends because... well, you know."

"Oh, but I don’t know," Alexia said and stepped even closer to Caius, her breasts touching his chest as she leaned her face closer to his,

"Imagine being so possessive about someone you don’t even treasure."

They were so close now that their breaths were mingling. Caius could tell Alexia was aware of this and was just too proud to step back. So he smirked, noticing her eyes drop from his eyes to his lips and back in the space of a second.

"You want to kiss me, don’t you?" he said.

Alexia scoffed.

"I question your faithfulness to your lover, and you make a move on me, your own cousin? Have you no limits?"

"You didn’t say no," Caius noticed.

"You’re not my type," Alexia said without backing away.

"Are you sure?" Caius asked with a suggestive tone.

Alexia’s lips parted to speak but before a word could even be produced, Caius leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. As quick as her reaction speed was, Alexia didn’t seem fast enough to avoid him.

"Mmph!" She let out in surprise, her eyes wide, looking into Caius’s open purple eyes that seemed to shine with desire.

There was a strange pull about those eyes, that dragged Alexia’s deep black orbs into a violet abyss. Only one second had passed but it felt like an eternity with the sheer amount of thoughts rushing through her mind.

Some of them were;

’What the HELL?!!’

’Is he mad?!!!’

’What is happening?!!!’

’Why are his lips so fucking firm?!!!’

Caius wasn’t done. He wrapped one arm around Alexia’s waist and raised his other hand to the back of her neck, grabbing it firmly while pressing his thumb against her smooth cheek.

Alexia grabbed his hips with both of her hands and tried to push, but for some reason, her strength failed her. Her physical superiority was nowhere to be found as her mind turned to mush.

Her wide eyes became normal-sized and then became half-lidded. Suddenly, she wasn’t just standing there for Caius to press his lips against hers...

’Oh, gods!’

’No way!!’

’No fucking way!!!’

... she was actively engaging and pressing her lips against his. Kissing him right back with even more fervor than he used on her.