Claire gasped as she looked back at Daeran upon hearing the full weight of the confession that he had just shared. It was made that much more unbelievable when placed next to the fact that he normally seemed nothing but carefree and happy-go-lucky for all the nearly fifteen years since they had first met. Though, looking between the two men now, there was no reason for her to doubt the truth of any of what he had just told her.

“It literally took your body? You were actually possessed by this thing?” she repeated sadly, still trying to process the very idea.

“I suppose that would be the proper term,” Daeran replied, trying to call that normally ever present smile back to his pretty lips.

Claire looked down again at the thought, “And it actually forced you to do... things? Horrible things I imagine... when you were only ten years old?”

“I assume so. It seems fairly likely at any rate. And it continued for years, at that,” he admitted.

“How many years?” Claire couldn’t help asking.

“Pretty much the rest of my life. So, nearly ten years?” Daeran attempted an unbothered shrug, though his eyes were still quite troubled.

Claire was silent another moment, before asking her next question, “So, you really don’t remember any of the last half of your life?”

“Oh, I remember all the parts where my mind was my own, for the most part. That thing only took over when it had a need for a body,” he tried to cover the slightest shudder, “whatever that need may have been.” Another pause, another drink. “It would do... whatever it was that it was doing, as me, then leave me to deal with any consequences there may have been.”

“That sounds... terrible,” was all she could say, in a whisper.

“Don’t fret, love. It could have been worse,” Daeran somehow was the one trying to soothe her. And that only made Claire look back up at him with surprise, noting that he and Rion were exchanging yet another sad, knowing look with each other.

“How could it have possibly been worse?”

Daeran let out a deep sigh, but Rion was the one that spoke, “Because he doesn’t remember the things that creature made him do.” Rion then added, nearly inaudibly, “It’s much worse when you actually remember the things you’re forced to do.” That statement alone made Claire turn her sad eyes to him, quickly remembering that the two had implied that Rion’s past life had been quite dark as well.

After a long moment, not wanting to force Rion into telling his story until he was ready, Claire returned her attention to Daeran. “How did you finally free yourself of it?”

“How? Well, it had no choice but to leave me... once I died.”

That did silence Claire for yet another long moment, letting the thought sink in that somehow, Daeran getting drawn into the dark existence they all now shared, was likely the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“I never would have guessed that this thing happened to you, Daeran. That you lived with it for so long. You always seem so... Happy? I guess,” she stated with a shake of her head.

“When you spend years thinking you’re about to be executed for things you have no memory of, I suppose it makes it pretty easy to live every day in hedonistic glory, as though it’s your very last. After all, I never knew when it would be,” he explained matter-of-factly. “And, of course I’m happy for real now. I’m finally free of that thing. Once I died, I was finally able to have a life of my own, ironically enough,” he added with a wry chuckle. He then smiled over at Rion, before adding, “And that’s why I will always be so eternally grateful to Rion here.”

Claire blinked at that as she looked between them, “Rion?”

That was when Rion steeled himself to respond, “I’m the one who invited him to that party.”

Claire swallowed, buying time to find a better response, “Marina DaCosta’s party?”

“Yes, the massacre where we were both drained of our very lives. That would be the one,” Rion confirmed, hiding any pain he may have had over the fact behind sarcasm, which was something he had always been known for in the time they’d been in each other’s company.

“I suppose, that could be seen as a good thing, in some small way, at least in Daeran’s case...” she just shook her head again.

“But, since Daeran has started us on this painful trek down memory lane, I suppose it’s only fair that I share as well,” Rion began, mentally preparing himself to continue. “But yes, I knew Marina quite a long time before that night.”

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“You did?” Claire asked warily, her attention fully moving to Rion then.

“As a matter of fact, I’m the one who invited most of the guests who were there that night. The mortal ones, anyway,” he continued, reddish-brown eyes downwards.

“You were?” Claire stated, trying to keep suspicion from her voice.

“Of course. It was my job at the time, after all.”

“Your job?” Claire replied, aware she was still repeating his words at this point, but it threw her in no small way to hear him speak so plainly about his apparent ties to Marina. It couldn’t help but bring back memories of the one time she herself had had to deal with another of the twisted, dark versions of her own clan; the Toreador Antitribu, Thomas.

“One of many jobs I had had for her over many, many years,” he admitted, the exhaustion plain in his voice, his eyes still locked to the floor.

“You worked for her?” Claire’s voice had a stammer to it as she kept her eyes on him.

Daeran had to interject then, “He died that night too, Claire. Remember?”

Rion simply scoffed, despite Daeran’s attempt to head off her suspicions, “Yes, I died too. It was my reward, so to speak. And it was the only good thing Marina ever did for me... to me,” he added more quietly.

Claire was a little caught by the depth of the pain in his voice as her mind finally began to put together the picture of what they had meant by their ‘dark pasts.’

“You were her servant?” she whispered.

Rion bit back more emotions then, “We may call them servants to make ourselves feel better about it all, but make no mistake, to her I was a ghoul.”

Daeran’s eyes flared with anger over his lover’s words, “Worse. To her, you were her slave, her toy, who she kept trying to find new and horrible ways to break. God I wish I could watch her die all over again, when I think about it now,” he spat out the words, showing actual anger for the first time since Claire had ever met him.

“I...” Claire began, trying to find words again, “I know I could never truly imagine what it was like for you, but I did know one of them once, an antitribu. And he was even more powerful than me and Sean. And I remember, vividly, what he did to one of our servants... in just a week’s time. And what he tried to do to me,” she added in a whisper. “To endure that for years? It must have been...” she didn’t even finish, knowing there were no words that could quite sum up what life could possibly be like for the ghoul of a creature that demented.

After an awkward silence, Daeran summoned his normally ever present smile back to his lips. “Apologies. This ice breaker seems to have taken a rather darker turn than originally intended.”

“Oh please, you do not have to apologize,” she was quick to assure him. “I’m actually touched that you both felt comfortable enough to tell me things that it can’t be easy to talk about.” She sighed softly, then added, “And it does help put some of my more recent troubles in perspective I suppose. Like you said, trauma does have a way of bonding people.”

Daeran allowed a bit of mischief to touch his smile then, “Any other sort of bonding you would like to do to improve all our moods, just ask,” he teased. Surprisingly, Rion smirked with seeming agreement to the idea as well.

Claire couldn’t help a tiny laugh as she glanced between the two men, who both were now wearing almost expectant looks. “Well, that’s... an idea,” she managed a smile as she took another drink, thinking on their words. “I wasn’t actually sure either of you would be interested in that kind of bonding with... someone like me,” she settled on.

“Oh I think our blood gives us a vast appreciation for all the world's beautiful creatures. I’m sure you know that as well,” Daeran confirmed, his eyes still moving over her.

“And, it’s not like you don’t have experience with men who you thought may not have been interested in you at first, only to learn differently,” Rion added. “Not to bring up the subject of your missing paramour, but I have heard his tastes were very different before meeting a woman such as yourself.”

“I suppose that’s true enough,” she admitted, “but he was very young when he met me. Only nineteen. I think he was still trying to figure it out himself, honestly,” she added knowingly.

“And figure it out he did,” Daeran said with a sultry slant to his tone.

“And yet, he’s still gone... again,” Claire nearly mumbled the words. “Sorry, I realize that’s hardly--”

Before she could finish, Daeran moved to a place right next to her, gently moving her long hair off her neck, “Seems it may be time for another attempt to improve your mood, if you so desire our assistance,” he asked, his eyes moving over her pale neck, which was now mere inches from his lips.

“I mean, I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. You both are... quite beautiful. And I am a Toreador,” she admitted with a slight biting of her lip.

“As are we,” Rion stated as he moved to a place at her other side. “And, on a personal note, I spent a lot of years trying to recover from things I was made to do before my embrace. And Daeran showed me that those things can actually be pleasurable again. And he’s been showing me for fifteen years,” he added as he moved the hair from the other side of her neck. “And we Toreadors do love our variety, after all.”

It wasn’t long before the three of them gave into their need to forget their troubled pasts and embrace their desire for beauty and affection. They soon moved their gathering from the balcony to the bedroom, and the extravagantly large bed in the center of the room.

First Daeran made love to her, while Rion caressed and kissed both of their bodies. Then the men switched their roles, and Rion was the one making love to her while Daeran assisted, so to speak. Then the two men made love to each other, giving Claire enough time to recover from expending so much of her blood to keep her body in the proper state to receive the pleasure they each quite eagerly, as well as skillfully gave her.

After Daeran and Rion had collapsed together, the three of them did toy with the idea of one more scenario they might want to try that night. But alas, before they could follow through on that plan, the sun rose, ending their night of passion. Though all three of them may have been thoroughly exhausted by sunrise, they all still drifted off with smiles on their faces, despite any troubles that had plagued their lives before that night.