"I knew you would love it. Do you want to hover in the air?" He asked her with a smile, trying to hide how much he wanted to kiss her.

"Yes!!! yes," she said excitedly as he steadied her carefully holding her by her waist. She gazed below her and threw her hands in the air.

"Yippeee, I never even in my wildest dreams imagined that I would experience something like this." She then wrapped her arms around his neck, while adrenaline pumped into her body making her heart race against his steady one.

Her eyes finally met his which were dangling between want and desire for her. The intensity of his gaze had her blushing again.

"I have never done this with anyone else, Aselia." His wings fluttered behind him as he spoke calmly with her.

"Why me?" She asked, not breaking eye contact with him, his warm hands burning her with an odd sensation.

"Because you are special to me." His words warmed her heart and yet her brain told her she was trudging through a dangerous path which could turn into a swamp and engulf her whole.

He held her with one hand and moved the other to touch her lips. She shuddered at the sudden and warm brush of his thumb along her soft lips. And she understood what he wanted right at that moment. She couldn’t do that to him, she can’t give him so much false hope and then trample all over his heart.

"Xiran... don’t." Her voice was soft but firm. He instantly removed his hand from her lips, his eyes showing the hurt he felt. Although his gaze didn’t waver from hers and he held it for a few more seconds, trying to understand her state of mind, and then he finally spoke:

"We should get going." He hugged her closer and flew again. She looked over his shoulder and between his wings at the city below. The air was getting colder and she could see them heading for the sea.

Suddenly, he dived and Aselia felt her stomach turning upside down. He was plummeting at an abnormal speed and the air rushing past them had their hair flying backwards.

Finally, he slowed down before landing and their feet touched the ground as he steadied her and didn’t let go.

"How do you feel? Dizzy?" He asked softly.

"A bit but I am fine. You have to feel something after such a wild ride." She smiled at him as he brushed away her hair from her face and smiled back at her. He then closed his wings and they disappeared as if they didn’t exist. She felt a tinge of disappointment seeing them go and it didn’t go unnoticed by him.

"You can summon them whenever you want." Reassurance brought her smile back as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. It was a secluded part of the beach with not a soul in sight.

He picked her up again and spoke: "The place we wanna go is just further ahead so I will take you."

"Xiran I can walk, please put me down." She pleaded. He peered at her and she was pouting.

"Ok," he finally put her down but took her hand and they both began to trudge on the white sand below them. She could see some lights ahead. As they grew near she inhaled sharply at the breathtaking view in front of her.

There was a small hut covered from three sides with a teal-coloured material while the side facing the sea was open. Cylindrical silver lights lined all around it and made a path in the direction they were coming from. Soft music could be heard but she couldn’t figure out the source.

Behind the hut, a bar has been set up and with the bar, a barbeque grill had been placed on which a young boy was cooking meat. The aroma wafted towards Aselia and she took a deep breath. Her mouth began to salivate at the delicious smell of charcoal meat.

As she glanced upwards, similar cylindrical lights were hanging from the few wires which made a star pattern. Xiran guided her towards the hut. She entered and saw an aquamarine carpet laid inside the hut with tons of green cushions and pillows neatly arranged inside it. There was a silver coffee table placed in the centre of the hut which had a huge burning candle placed on it.

She stood at the entrance taking in the view when Xiran ushered her in: "Come," his face wearing a soft expression.

She sat down on the side to take off her shoes. Xiran did the same and then they both went inside and settled down. While Aselia was sitting with her knees raised Xiran preferred to lie down with his hands behind his head and his slender legs stretched in front of him.

"What’s this Xiran?" She asked him nervously which prompted a calm reaction from him: 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"A date."

"I don’t remember asking you to take me on a date." She was peeking at him while he looked ahead at the vast ocean in front of him, it was calm today, just like him.

"You said you love the sea and barbecued meat. I merely brought you to them. What’s the harm?" He finally diverted his grey orbs at her, giving her a meaningful look and spoke again: "Weren’t you tired of being cooped up in that dungeon? Today I want you to have anything you want."

He wasn’t wrong, she was fed up with living inside that place and wanted to feel the fresh air. No wonder she had enjoyed flying with him.

"I was, thank you for letting me out." Just then they heard another voice.

"Señor, may I come in?" A soft voice asked.

"Yes," Xiran ordered and a young boy who had been cooking the meat when they had arrived stepped in.

He bowed slightly and spoke: "Welcome to the beach Señor, my lady. I will be your server tonight. What will you like to drink?"

"I will have the usual and as for the lady..." Xiran waited for Aselia to speak up.

"Surprise me," she offered the young boy a friendly smile.

"As you wish my lady." He bowed again before leaving.

"Who is he? I have never seen him before." Aselia inquired, she couldn’t place him. He reminded her of someone.

"Rivan’s younger brother. He owns most of the beach houses here." Xiran explained casually.

"What? Now I think of it, he does look like him. Why was he calling you Señor though?" Aselia was perplexed.

"Because he works for me and everyone who works for me calls me that, irrespective of who they are." Xiran had a sense of haughtiness in his voice.

"Of course, Your Majesty’s need to feel important can’t be curbed." She added rather dryly making Xiran snicker at her remarks.

After that silence fell over the hut as they began to observe the calm sea as it slowly crept up to the white sand, stole a kiss and went back to dwell in peace. Xiran was listening to the sea as well as her steady heart and slow breathing. While Aselia was engrossed in the mesmerizing beauty of the vast reserve of water in front of her.

The Young boy who had taken their order was back with their drinks. He placed a glass of dark liquid in front of Xiran and a bluish-purple drink in front of Aselia.

"This is Barimita, a drink I invented. It contains blueberries, sea salt, and some other ingredients. I hope you will enjoy it, my lady." He bowed with respect.

"Thank you..." she lingered so he could tell her his name.

"Rumail,"

"Thank you, Rumail."

"My pleasure." He uttered before leaving.

Xiran got up and picked up his glass from the table to drink. When Aselia spoke: "Dont drink that."

Xiran looked perplexed: "Why?"

She stepped closer to him and shifted hair from her left shoulder bearing her neck to him she said:

"Drink from here..." Xiran’s whole body became tense at her offering. He hadn’t drunk her blood for a long time now and had decided that he won’t in future as well. And here she was dissolving his resolve, with one slick move.

"Aselia...you know I can’t do that." He replied softly but firmly.

"Why not? My blood doesn’t appeal to you anymore?" She stared at him.

"Noooo, it’s not that. I told you I am trying to amend my ways. And you just healed from that dreadful encounter." He tried to explain his perspective.

"Amend your ways with others. You are still paying me for my blood, I don’t want to take your money without giving it in return. Besides, that was more than a month ago. Don’t use that as an excuse."

"Aselia...dont push me." He was dead serious now.

"I will, it’s my date and you said I can have whatever I want today. This is what I want." She stared back at him with the same intensity as he did.