Cullen shook his head fiercely. He didn’t believe him. Hedidn’t. But panic was a living thing in his chest, squeezing tightly and cutting off his air–
"You can't think I'm this stupid. You're so full of shit, Leviathan!" His voice rose. "It's just some subconscious bullshit or something! I feel like it might have something to do with being kidnapped by a crazy monster–"
Leviathan chuckled. "You're so defensive right now, pet. You must have suspected this was the case."
His cheeks flushed. “Shut. The fuck. Up.” Yes, he had certainly thought it was something outside his own mind holding him back, but for it to be something likethis?
Leviathan’s eyes narrowed. "You'll see. I give it two more days at the most.Then you'll be mine."
Cullen sucked in a breath to calm himself, running his hands through his hair.No no no no no.“You said it's insanity and death without it, right?"
Leviathan gave a nod, his head cocking slightly to the side.
"Then I guess I guess that's how it will end for me." He muttered, picking up his own goblet. “At least I’ll be freed from you if that happens.” He drained the cup and slammed it back down, relieved when the wine hit his empty stomach. He wished he had a shit ton more to get drunk on.
Leviathan scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're really such a stubborn bastard that you'd rather be driven insane and die than let me fuck you?"
Cullen shrugged, feigning indifference, and Leviathan sighed, annoyed. If he wasn’t freaking out so bad internally, he might have been glad to see he’d annoyed him again.
But he said nothing, only pushed himself to his feet, flushing when he felt his legs tremble. “I’m going to bed. Dining with you has been a mistake. I won’t make it again.”
Leviathan’s face went carefully flat. Cullen turned away without a word–and Leviathan was instantly in his face, blocking the way to the door. Cullen flinched but did not back down this time, remaining close to him. Too close. The scent of him sent his heart hammering.
Dammit.
“Do something with me tonight.” It wasn’t a question.
“No.” He snapped, moving to step past him. “Leave me–”
Shadows burst in front of him, making him cry out. He barely registered Leviathan’s fingers curling around his wrist before the darkness covered them.
When they emerged again, they were standing on the wide balcony he remembered seeing outside Leviathan’s bedroom. The darkening sky loomed overhead and those terrible barren mountains stretched out across the horizon. In the distance, he could see some kind of strange pattern in the stone, like some sort of maze…
Leviathan moved away from him, drawing his attention again. Cullen gaped at him for a long moment, glancing anxiously towards the closed glass doors that led into his bedroom before turning back to him and straightening. “Take me back.” He would have turned and walked in himself but that giant bed loomed on the other side of the glass, like a silent threat…
“I won’t touch you.” He murmured, resting his hands on the wide railing. “I just wanted to show you something.” His head tilted to the side, his gaze falling on Cullen’s face. “Come here.”
He hesitated, glancing nervously at the gaping darkspace under the balcony. The ground was hundreds of feet below and the fall would take ages…
“Cullen.”
Something about the softness in his voice had Cullen stepping forward, his hand coming to rest hesitantly on the railing. A warm, smoky breeze blew against them, ruffling his hair and clothes. His skin tingled at the brush of the fabric, but he ignored it, glancing at Leviathan before slowly following his gaze to the sky.
“Do you miss the stars?” He asked softly, startling him.
It took him longer than it should to answer, his throat working a bit at memories of sitting at his bedroom window while he watched the stars bloom in the sky one by one. Finally, he admitted, “Yes.”
Leviathan’s cheek turned up in a soft smile and seconds later small pinpricks of light began to dot across the sky, spreading outwards until the dark blanket was covered with stars.
“H-how?” He whispered, shocked. “I look for them every night but the sky is always pitch black…”
“I control damn near everything in this dimension, Cull. Perks of being a fallen angel and all that.” He waved a hand.
To his surprise, his throat started to grow thick with tears. It had been so long since he’d seen something so beautiful. Something…normal. He choked back his emotions and wrapped his arms around his chest. “It…it’s beautiful.” He mumbled, not taking his eyes away from the sky. It was the first thing that had distracted him from his own body in weeks.
“Yes.” Leviathan murmured, an edge to his voice. “It is.”
His eyes flickered to his face–and widened when he saw that he was watching him again, his lips pulling downunhappily. He shifted away from him, his eyes falling to the darkness under the balcony again.
