The days blurred into one, until it was that dreaded Friday: Nyx’smeeting with the mystery letter-sender.

“Will you be okay?”

Despite the alicorn having reasured him already countless times, Zain couldn’t help but ask once again. By now he had turned into a big ball of nerves, and he was afraid that this time Nyx would get fed up with him. Still, he wanted him to tell that everything would be okay.

“I promise, Zain, I’ll be fine. I’ve got my magic, I’m in good shape, and in just a minute I’ll give you the tracker that binds me to you. Come here, I love you.”

The winged unicorn pulled the human in his arms, and he could feel him relaxing almost instantly against his chest. He folded out his wings, magic making them grow, creating a comfortable dark wall of feathers around them.

“You know, your wings are really soft. What are they made of? They are not regular feathers, are they?”

In his mind Nyx chuckled at his boyfriend’s topic change, but it was a welcome change. If it made him forget his troubles for even just abit, who would he be to not indulge him?

“They are angel wings,” Nyx softly explained, “They are black because of my demon genes. The dark magic also makes them pretty sturdy and they can ward off most spell attacks.”

Zain’s arms around Nyx’s waist tightened.

“Come back to me in one piece, okay?”

Dark blue locks tickled his neck as the alicorn nodded. Zain let out a relieved sigh. Nyx appeared to be well-equiped to defend himself properly, he was not some defenseless magical being and Zain should trust him.

“Now, let’s get you that tracker.”

# # # #

Nyx’s hand on the inside of Zain’s forearm was warm, but not like his usual warmth. It was more like he was transfering heat, and that was probably true as the alicorn was chanting a spell that he didn’t understand.

The thing that he did understand was the look in Nyx’s eyes, which were staring into his with a fierce intensity. He would return, no matter what.

“There, all done.”

The redhead looked down at his arm, where a swirling, almost labyrinth-like, black line connected a fire symbol with a crescent symbol. Zain and Nyx.

“Do you like it?”

He looked up at a grinning Nyx, and he nodded. “How long will it last? The tracker I mean? It’s not permanent, is it?”

The alicorn shook his head. “It’s supposed to last until we connect each other’s symbol,” Nyx held up the palm of his right hand, where the same symbols of fire and a crescent could be seen. The crescent was placed inside of the fire symbol, instead of the two being connected with a swirl. “After that it will disappear. So it’s best to roll down your sleeve again before I accidentally touch it.”

Zain did as he was told. The patch of skin felt warm and it was a slight comfort to his nerves.

“So, what happens when… you know…?” The human bit his bottom lip, afraid that the words he was about to speak would come true if he did utter them.

“If anything happens to me, the crescent will turn red and feel hot to the touch. Though I hope it won’t come to that. I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble, okay?”

Zain nodded against his boyfriend’s chest. He wanted to memorize his smell, the way he felt against his fingers and the sound of his heartbeat. It was really hard to let go, but he eventually had to in order to protect the both of them.

Nyx planted one last kiss on the other man’s lips and then left for the door. “I love you, Zain. Believe in me, I’ll be back soon enough.”

“I will. I love you too, Nyx.”

The redhead blinked his eyes to hold back the tears that were welling up, not wanting the alicorn to see him cry. He smiled a small smile that Nyx returned, and then watched the front door click shut.

He was alone. Without Nyx.

Uneasy silence overwhelmed him, and he could feel hot tears wettening his face. He knew it would only be for a few hours, but it felt as if the love of his life had been ripped away from him, and it made him feel worried and empty. He sank down to the floor, wanting to curl up into a ball and disappear.

“Prrbbt?”

A soft, feathered head bumped his forehead, trying to coax him out of his depressed state.

“Hey Apollo,” Zain sighed, absentmindedly petting the small dragon’s head.

“Prrb ppt?”

Even though Zain couldn’t understand what the mini dragon said, he could see the creature was worried about him.

“I’ll be okay eventually, Apollo. I think I’m just gonna shower for now and then sleep.”

“Prrt.”

He really hoped sleep would make their reunion come faster, if he could fall asleep that is. Once again he sighed and then got up. Thedragon followed him to the bedroom, where he settled down on the top of the closet while Zain got ready for his shower.

# # # #

The night sky was clear and the moon was almost to its fullest. Nyx could feel the unease of his incubus side building, but the nerves of who he would meet overpowered. The tree they said to wait at, was still grey because  of the winter cold.

“So you really did come.”

A man that the sing song voice belonged to, emerged from the park’s shadows. His blonde locks were almost eerily white in the moonlight, and his striking blue eyes almost seemed to glow.

“Ofcourse,” Nyx replied cautiously, “You asked me to.”

“Only at the threat of exposing you.”

There was something odd about the man, Nyx could sense it, eventhough it was minimal. Who was he?

“How do you even know about me?”

The blonde shrugged. “I have my connections.”

There was a slight pause, and when the man started talking again, his tone was completely different. No longer he sounded like an angel, but more like a demon that had possessed him.

“Talking about connections...”

Three men suddenly appeared from the shadows and bound Nyx to the tree with magical shackles. He tried to break free, but no matter what, he couldn’t get loose.

“Nyx, Nyx, Nyx,” The blonde shook his head disapprovingly, “I know your powers. There’s no way for you to escape, incubus alicorn.”