(Joseph's POV)
Something wasn't right. I couldn't explain why I felt that way. I could only feel my gut clenching uncomfortably as I stared at the ceiling of my room. After Asurah had dismissed me, I had gone to my room and laid there in attempt to go to sleep. I had been tired, sure, but the longer I had laid there, the worse my gut began to clench, until it was near painful.
Fed up with the pain and feeling slightly worried, I left my room and walked the short distance to Asurah's room, thinking him to be already in there. I tapped my knuckles against the metal door, wishing to respect his privacy by not barging in there.
"Asurah? Can I speak to you for a moment?"
When I received no answer I frowned, glancing down the hallway, wondering if perhaps he wasn't done conversion with Delkele. A surge of jealousy fell upon me at the thought that my beloved was talking to that barbarian. The jealousy was stronger with him than any other male, since the redheaded barbarian had actually been in love with him. Before I managed to whisk Asurah away.
I sighed, glancing back at the door. Perhaps he wasn't with Delkele. Perhaps he had been more tired than I thought. I turned to leave when I heard a muffled gasp along with a banging noise, making me open his bedroom door and go still at the sight of Asurah, unconscious on the floor. But who stood above him had both my anger rising as well as a sense of dread.
I didn't know how the heck Issak managed to escape that ravenous beast, and yet here he was. Standing over Asurah's unconscious form. With no time to think, I tackled Issak to the ground, grunting when the older man's fist slammed into my face, splitting my cheek. The pain was only minimal to the one that blossomed in my heart at seeing my beautiful lover in the void of unconsciousness. From the looks of it, Asurah had been caught unaware, which made my blood boil and my rage intensify as Issak rolled away from me, jumping to his feet.
I could tell that the last two weeks had not been kind to him, judging by his thick beard, to the scar that ran across his face. Where he had been hiding, I knew not, but I was ticked off that he dared to lay a hand on Asurah.
Wiping the blood from my cheek, I rushed towards Issak who cursed and rolled away to the side, avoiding the kick I had sent his way. He ended up behind me and grabbed me in a chokehold, but I managed to swing all my weight forward, making Issak fly forward. He smacked against the floor in a heap, but managed to get back up and charge towards me. He caught me around the waist and dragged me to the floor with him, smacking my head against the floor, making my vision dim as I blinked. He didn't let me have any time to recover before he was grabbing at his belt, whisking out a knife that he tried to embed into my head.
Luckily, I grabbed his wrist before the knife made contact with the skin, and I surprisingly had to put all my strength into keeping the knife from me. This old man had some strength to him.
I ended up hooking my legs around his waist, flipping us over to where he was on the ground. I suckerpunched him in his face, making him drop the knife. When I went to grab it, Issak kicked me away, knocking me into the glass table by the door, completely shattering it. My vision blackened around the edges, and I couldn't even stand up without dropping back to the floor. I groaned in pain, briefly seeing Issak stand up and drop down to grab the knife before making his way to me. I tried desperately to get to my feet, to attack him, but all I did was fall back to the floor in a pile of limbs, making me curse as Issak stalked closer to me.
However...as he reached me, I briefly heard the door to the left of me open, seeing only a flash of red before Issak was tackled to the floor by a mass of pure muscle.
Stunned, I watched as Delkele smacked Issak's head onto the floor so hard, I heard a crack. Issak's form went limp as Delkele looked up and over at Asurah, rushing over to his form. I watched with jealousy as Delkele gently brushed Asurah's hair out of his face, briefly cupping his cheek as a sad glint formed in his eyes. He then yanked his hand back as if he touched fire, before he glanced at me. Noticing the state I was in, he moved away from Asurah's form, kneeling down beside me as he stared at me cautiously.
"Are you alright?"
I blinked, scrunching my nose at the pain that formed when I moved, blinking hard before I looked at him and nodded. "I'm fine. It's Asurah I'm worried about."
Delkele nodded as if he understood, glancing briefly at Asurah. "He is not harmed too badly. From what I've seen, he is already healed." Those sharp red eyes shifted back towards me. "My question is, why is he hurt in the first place? Aren't you supposed to protect him?"
I gaped at him, my anger returning. "Excuse me? I had no idea that bastard," I gestured to Issak's limp form, "was still alive, thank you very much! Besides, Asurah had been talking to you, you big bag of dicks!"
"I don't even know what that is-"
"Whatever!" I threw up my hands in exasperation, standing up. I wobbled for a second before I caught my barings and walked over to Asurah's form. I cupped his cheek, swiping my thumb under his nose to collect the blood there before I wiped the blood onto my pants. I cleaned up the rest of the blood before I pulled him into my arms, gently setting him onto his bed...pod thing, tucking him in. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips, watching as his nose twitched. He still remained unconscious, however, and I walked over to Issak, nudging him with my foot.
"Is he dead?" I asked, turning to look at Delkele, who was looking between Asurah and me with sadness. I guess he realized how deep Asurah and my relationship went. He cleared his throat, walking over to Issak before he checked his pulse, wrinkling his nose as he shook his head.
I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Damn douche is like a cockroach, I swear. I would suggest tying him to a tree to get eaten, but knowing him, he'd probably somehow escape and come right back to us."
"We do have a dungeon, though it is rarely used," a new voice spoke up, making Delkele and me glance up at Jox, who stood by the door.
I nodded, running my hand through my curly hair. "We should lock him up down there, then. It'll be harder for him to escape a cell, than a bit of rope."
Jox nodded and walked over to us, stooping down to lift Issak's limp form into his arms. He left, leaving me and Delkele in an awkward silence. It was quiet until Delkele spoke, his voice tinged with sadness.
"So...you and Asurah are...together?"
I glanced at him, crossing my arms over my chest as I shrugged. "Indeed we are. We've been official for two weeks now."
Delkele looked to his feet. "I see." He looked over to Asurah's form, sighing in defeat before his eyes shifted back over to me. "You better treat him well. Better than well. Treat him like the king he is, or it won't be Issak who is at your back."
"I would never cause Asurah any harm. He is safe with me, I assure you."
"He better be." And with that, he left.
I watched his retreating form with bored eyes, knowing that he didn't mean anything in an ill way. He worried about Ashrah too, and I couldn't hold it against him. Not wanting to leave Asurah's side, I made my way over to his bed, slipping under the covers with him. I held him against me, cupping his cheek and placing a soft kiss to his forehead before I finally drifted off to sleep.