1.11 The Solution

Silas smiled and said:

"I'm not surprised."

"Why?"

He explained:

"Your type worked in the universe you lived in because there was no such thing as dying old together. Your relationship lasted 20 years utmost. But those types of men, are not right for you to spend the rest of your life with."

Caspian thought and said:

"Even though the date was alright, as soon as we kissed, I knew that It wouldn't work. There was no passion or warmth. I don't want to have those kinds of bland dinners every day for the rest of my life. I would rather not grow old with someone who won't dare to kiss me, or who'll need my permission to ask questions."

Caspian took a seat on the bed and said:

"For once I can be in a real relationship, not hunted down by TSM. I can evolve with someone and create a bond. But the person has to have character, and that's not the case when it comes to Drea."

Silas sat next to him with a smile.

"I'm glad you're looking for something more. You deserve to be with someone who will see how amazing, and extremely stubborn you are. But won't be scared to say it."

Caspian chuckled.

He didn't want the kind of relationship his parents had but in this case, he can have passion since they'll only be together for a lifetime. It's good he went on this date, now he knows what he wants and most importantly doesn't. He wishes he hadn't given him a cell phone, though.

Knowing Drea he probably won't dare to use it. At that very moment, he received a notification. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the text.

After reading it he chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Salvatore is the most ridiculous person I've ever met. He told me to take days off now, yet he said to let him know about the project status daily."

It's clearly just an excuse so he'll talk to him. Silas asked:

"You gave him a cellphone?"

"I forgot to get the other back the day of the presentation. And of course, he didn't tell me."

Caspian simply texted back ok.

Before he could put his phone down, he received another text.

*Salvatore: Are you feeling better?*

*Caspian: Do you care?*

Caspian looked at the text he received immediately after his last one.

*Salvatore: Of course I do Peach.*

After a few beats, he put it down and went to the bathroom.

"Do you have feelings for Salvatore?"

Caspian froze and looked at Silas.

"Hades hunted me down for 100 years and I had to spend 300 years in prison. What do you think?"

"I'm not talking about Hades, I'm talking about Salvatore."

"They're the same person."

Silas asked:

"Were you angry when you saw Camilla asleep on his bed next to him?"

"Why would I be?"

He was, but only because of the bullshit he spilled just a few hours before.

Silas looked into Caspian's eyes and sighed. Caspian turned around, but he froze again when Silas said:

"He was tricking you."

Caspian turned around and met his eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"Camilla came late at night and Salvatore decided to use her to see if you're interested in him even a bit. He brought her into his chambers an hour before you came in the morning. He told her to go back to sleep, and she did, since she believed he wanted to get closer to her."

Caspian checked Silas and saw that it was exactly what happened. His eyes darkened, should he kill him? After a few seconds, he asked:

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you were bothered by it."

Caspian narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't. He's the devil, so of course, his love for me was bound to be wrong."

"You were, just like he was bothered by you telling Drea you're not interested in him. He had a shadow guard follow you, and he reported your conversation."

Caspian laughed. So, that's why he was angry. That jerk saw him cry and couldn't even care less. If you love someone, you won't bear to see them upset, and sending a text isn't enough. He tilted his head and asked annoyed:

"Why are you telling me all of that?"

Silas said:

"I told you I wouldn't keep anything from you anymore. After thinking and calculating the probabilities to get soul-flakes, I realized what's the best solution."

Caspian sighed.

"I know, Hades is being stubborn. Even if he has feelings for me we only have 3% of his soul-flake downloaded. The only way to get a sense of the other is to initially get the first one. What is your solution?"

"I believe Hades will give it to you if you two are in a relationship."

Caspian sneered.

"What?"

"I'm serious, everything you've been able to get was when you two created an emotional bond. At least as far as he was concerned."

Caspian yelled:

"I just told you I want to be in a real relationship, and you want me to be with him?"

"Just because it's him doesn't mean the relationship won't be real. You said you wish to feel passion, and 70% of the time you want to kill Salvatore. That's passion, and you know that you'll never be bored. You two loved to play cat and mouse."

Caspian tilted his head.

"You didn't want to tell me about his feelings, and now you think we should be together? I don't believe you. You're the one who said I should finish my sentence and that you don't need a shell, but now you're suddenly onboard?"

Silas stood before him and swallowed.

"Because of me, you lost so many years, and I'll never forgive myself for that. I know the only way to repay you is by having a shell. Regardless of what I say you will never give up. So I'm trying to do everything in my power to help you. It's been a few days already since I found the solution, but I thought I could find something else. But when you said that you wanted to be in a serious relationship, I thought I should tell you. I know that you'll never be bored a day of your life with him. And if there's a thing I don't doubt, it's Hades' love for you. I just want to make this right."

Caspian looked into Silas' guilt-filled eyes. He doesn't owe him anything, he's his family, and he would do anything for him. He said:

"I need some time to think."

Silas nodded.

"I just thought I'd tell you, but you don't have to do it if you don't want to. If we can't get the initial soul-flake, we'll go back and in 25 years you'll be free."

Caspian nodded and went to shower.

When he was done, he offed Silas and lay down. A few minutes later, Caspian heard someone try to open his door. The person was unsuccessful since he locks it at night, as the original did.

He didn't feel safe with the way the guards were skimming him, and he was right. Multiple times someone tried to get into his chambers but ended up leaving when they saw that it was locked, unlike the other servant's bedroom.

When Caspian saw that the person was still not leaving, he stood up and walked silently to the door. He pulled the drapes completely to make sure the entire room was pitch-dark first.

When the person finally managed to enter, he pushed him against the wall and wrapped his hand around his neck.

He pressed on one of his acupuncture points and asked:

"I put a lock in because I knew that you and the other guards aren't above forcing me, but now you even dare to break it and enter. Do you believe I'm ever going to let you put your filthy hands on me?"