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A set of doors opened on their hinges, wooden from top to bottom, about twelve foot high and framed in ornate copper, of which a rectangular knocker was made in the very center of the double doors, crafted to split in two halves when the doors swung open. Rain splashed down on the marble floor until the muscled figure entered the hallway and hastily forced both doors shut. With a purpose he left the lock off the doors, leaving them open to the outside. The figure tugged down the khaki hood that covered his head, to reveal long, dazzling, golden hair, soaked through by rainwater and brushed to flow around a small pair of horns protruding from his forehead. Amber eyes glowed as they gazed watchfully down the long marble corridor that was the entrance to the large house. Koell was home.

With a grace most unusual to a man of his size, Koell moved down the corridor, a pair of enormous wings folded at his back, made up of ice white feathers that were unflawed all but one or two missing from the mesh and the water dripping from each individual feather. He knew he must keep quiet in case his father was in the house already. He had managed to convince Kaehlin earlier that evening to go into an umberhulk cave alone, predicting successfully that his father would send Koell home rather than let him fight the colossal creature alongside him. Koell hadn�t headed home though, instead choosing to make his way to the mines not far from Rovandon city. Of course, there was a small chance Kaehlin might not have defeated the umberhulk and had served as the beast�s last meal, but if Koell knew his father well enough�

�Where have you been, boy?�

Koell managed a small smile of knowing and turned around to face him. Yes, his father had survived the fight and returned home in time to meet him. The young half-demon, half-celestial realized he needed to think quickly; the chances that his father would accept that he had been busy raping his mother as a good answer were pretty slim.

�I went to hunt a dire boar� for our meal.�

His father�s crimson eyes roamed over the boy, examining first his dripping hair and then his rain-soaked robes. Koell could see Kaehlin sniffing the air, and was very thankful the rain had destroyed any scent that might have been left, washed away all signs of sweat, and straightened out any creases in his hair and clothes. The tiefling�s eyes were lingering on Koell�s hands, remaining steady and focused, but the double axe strapped to his father�s back momentarily distracted Koell�s.

�Then where is the boar?�

Koell swallowed heavily, managing not to smile at the answer he could feel caught on his lips. He took a breath, meeting his father�s flaming eyes and then looked down at the marble floor dejectedly, letting the answer slip out softly.

�It got away.�

Kaehlin snorted and shook his head, letting a mocking laugh leave his lips, revealing his razor-like teeth to the air. Koell gave his best efforts to remain unmoved. Kaehlin boomed out disgustedly:

�Should have known. Son of mine can�t even kill a fucking boar.�

And with that Kaehlin whirled around, his cape spinning and swirling with the movement and exited the corridor, leaving his drenched son to shake his head and grin. That was certainly more palatable than the response he�d have got from telling the truth. That response would likely have been the last words that would ever have left Koell�s lips. He had seen his father in a rage more than once and often had he pitied the creature or person on the receiving end of it. There had been that one human who had called Koell�s mother a whore� Kaehlin had scattered that man�s limbs all over the town with roughly three swings of his double axe. Koell chuckled dryly and made his way up the stairs to his sleeping chambers.

Only an hour ago, when the lust had been drained out his body had Koell began to question his own actions. He had enjoyed every moment, of course, from the second his hand stroked her injured thigh, to the moment he removed her skirt, touched her where she had forbidden him to touch, and to the second he unlaced her corset and caressed her warm skin. He had enjoyed the tearful sparkle in her beautiful golden eyes, the flushing crimson of her usually pale cheeks, and the dampness of her lips as she tried to lick the taste of his from them. But despite all of that, Koell had reminded himself that she had been in pain, she had resisted� at first. She had melted into him towards the end, but he had aimed to achieve such an effect; he hadn�t wanted to chain her, as his father would have, though he was more than prepared to if need be� Koell brought a hand up and touched a long coil of thick rope under his robe shirt.

He chuckled softly, pulling the drenched shirt up over his head and tossing it down at the foot of his bed, not bothering to remove the rope from its folds. He sat on the edge of the bed now, soaking the bed sheets in water as he did, allowing his feathered wings to wrap around himself, their tips stroking along his own rain-dampened chest absently; so cold. He had not been cold as he had climbed on top of Am�naelihn, his mother, straddling her in a way that he hadn�t since he had mistakenly intruded on her bathing. How he had longed for her since that day; ached for her at night as he relived the images. But he had also missed that look in her eyes, the look she had given him that recognized him as her innocent and only son� he had sacrificed that to satisfy his lust that day in the baths. And he had put the final nail into that coffin this passing night when he had entered her.

Koell sighed as he fell back to lie on his bed, ruining the rest of the sheets with rain water from his back, amber eyes fixed on the ceiling above him. This was it now, he had done it and it could not be undone. He had loved this woman all his life, and she had been the only one who had ever cared for him. His father, she had once told him by mistake, had not wanted him born at all� and no one outside of the household would accept him. To everyone he was a freak, even to the celestials, which saw him as demon spawn, and to the demons, which saw him as celestial scum. Of course it made sense that he would love Am�naelihn, he thought. Nobody cared for her as he could, and the same applied in reverse. Why had she resisted him? How dare she brush her son off like that, she had no right! Did she not love him as he did her? No wonder his father beat her so�!

Koell�s fist made the damp mattress vibrate beneath him and he took a deep breath, closing his amber orbs behind eyelids� she had told him he was just like his father� she failed to see the blinding differences, Koell was sure of it. But he was also sure she had felt the differences in his lips, his hands� his hips. That was the only way she would learn the difference if she hadn�t already. He needed her now, wanted her and she�d let him have her, damn it! Of course, whether she realized it or not� she really had no choice in the matter anymore�

He faintly heard the door opening and closing downstairs, faintly heard voices before he drifted into a slumber that would more than likely be filled with dreams, nightmares, or a mixture of the both�