[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 262: A Siren Sent To Drive Me Mad

"When we get back, you are not leaving my side again."

Before Xion could respond with another half-witted joke, Darius bent down, scooping him up into his arms.

The healer’s head lolled against Archduke’s shoulder, his dark eyes blinking slowly as the world swayed around him.

"Ah," he muttered mostly to himself. "My chest hurts."

Darius’ grip tightened around Xion, mana swirling subtly around them, forming a barrier of warmth.

The green tendrils drilled into Xion’s body. Sensing no resistance, they surged forward with greater fervor. "We will be home soon, Xion. Just hang on for a bit."

Xion’s eyes fluttered shut as Darius began to walk. The rhythm of his stride gently rocked him, and the steady thump of the Archduke’s heartbeat lulled him into a haze of comfort.

"Darius, I seem to have fallen in love with you... again."

Archduke’s stride faltered for the briefest second. The snow fell in soft whispers around them.

He stared down at his lover’s pale face, the ice crystals still clinging to his dark eyelashes, the faint flush of life returning to his cheeks.

It seemed that those words were accidentally spoken aloud for Xion was already dozing.

"You heartless little..." his voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. "Tell me that when you are awake."

He bowed his head, fiercely pressing his lips to cold forehead, lingering there for a heartbeat too long.

Xion, as if sensing the warmth, stirred. His eyes fluttered open just enough to catch the flicker of green in Darius’ eyes, the way his lashes clumped with snow.

"So handsome," The certain love-sick kitten mumbled almost ruefully and peacefully drifted back off to sleep.

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Xion barely remembered how they got back to their hidden place.

His memory was so vague he could barely recall a thing or two.

There was touching of his body, a lot of it. And there was a bit of jostling too.

But now, when he finally regained his senses, he found himself submerged in a steaming tub, water sloshing gently around him.

His clothes were gone. Well, mostly. His briefs still remained, damp and clinging to his hips beneath the water’s surface. That was the only barrier left to his modesty.

Steam curled up from the bath, fogging the air around him.

The heat of the water lapped gently at his skin, making him groan in comfort.

He tried to move his feet, feeling the lightness in them. It must be Darius who healed him.

There was exhaustion still clinging to his body, but other than that, he was almost fine. As for his ribs, he used his own mana, and soon, he was perfectly fine.

It was now he had the leisure to look around.

The bathroom was small but undeniably luxurious. Shelves of polished mahogany lined the walls, stacked with neatly folded towels and glass jars filled with aromatic salts and healing herbs.

Why though? What was the need for the aromatic salts in this place?

The copper sconces flickered with soft orange glows, their enchanted flames licking the air without ever burning out.

The black tub was carved from dark stone. A soft blue rune glowed faintly at its base, pulsating in sync with the scattered orange mana crystals that bobbed lazily in the water. They were keeping the water hot.

If Xion hadn’t seen the bathing chamber in Darius’ private quarters, this would have amazed him. But compared to the grandeur of that personal bath, this was modest, simple even.

A lazy smile appeared on his lips as he rested his head back on the edge of the tub.

Just as he let out a slow, relieved sigh, someone entered the bathroom.

Even with his back to the door, he knew exactly who it was.

Who else could it possibly be?

"Awake?"

Xion just hummed in reply.

There were soft footsteps accompanied by the subtle rustle of fabric as Darius sat down, staring at Xion’s face.

The scent of cedar filled his senses. Despite feeling the sharp gaze, Xion hadn’t opened his eyes.

Even when long fingers moved the wet strands away from his face, even when a warm palm cradled his cheek from the opposite direction, and familiar lips pressed gently against his forehead, Xion kept his eyes shut.

His raven black lashes quivered like the delicate wings of a butterfly ready to take flight, but they didn’t. He kept his eyes firmly closed.

Xion was shy, and didn’t Darius know it?

The Archduke had seen Xion in a hundred different dreams. Incensed, stubborn, laughing, exhausted even. Most of the time, Xion looked so gentle, like an angel.

However, there was nothing holy about Xion now.

His sweet darling was curled up in that bath with crimson cheeks, and droplets of water clinging to his lashes. They slid down as those lashes quivered under his touch, leaving a wet trail over his slender neck.

Xion looked like something straight out of his salacious dreams. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

The steam blurred the edges of his silhouette, and the flicker of light shone on his pale, damp skin. His cherry lips were parted ever so slightly, and his dark hair clung wetly to his cheeks.

Goddess help me, Darius thought, his fingers tracing the elegant curve of the throat and down to the rise and fall of Xion’s chest just visible above the water’s surface.

He’d always known Xion was beautiful, but now, wet and pliant with cheeks flushed from the heat, he looked utterly irresistible.

Tempting, Darius mused, his eyes lingering on the dark fabric still clinging to Xion’s hips beneath the water. Like a siren sent to drive me mad.

His hands ached with the urge to slip beneath that water, to rid Xion of the last barrier separating him from his touch.

He could imagine it so vividly — his hands sliding along bare thighs, water sluicing off his body, the way his baby’s breath would hitch when his hands found those delicate hollows just above his hips.

But he forced himself to hold back, at least for now. Instead, he leaned forward, his hands resting on thin shoulders as he allowed his fingers to brush gently over the ridges of his collarbones.

It was delicious, the way Xion was trembling slightly under his touch.