The Seat of My Heart

12 Everything Reversed

Susha Unhuor almost averted his gaze but with a slight furrow of his brows, he held back. No matter how much this figure resembled Jusha Lale, it wasn't him. There was no reason for him to act like this. Still, it was not easy to reconcile the feelings that sprang up at seeing this scene with his knowledge. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of just stepping back and could only go forward.

Susha Unhuor took a faint breath and stepped into the room, keeping his back to the wall once again. He narrowed his eyes to look through the steam, trying to find some more hints. He could make out the figure in the middle of the room, or at the least, half a figure.

The figure moved its arms, some water running down its arms and dropping from his elbow. There was once again the sound of faint splashing. The figure brushed back the half-wet hair and turned around, its eyes widening in surprise. "I ... I didn't know somebody was here." The voice was only a whisper, seemingly dampened further by the steam in the air.

Before Susha Unhuor could answer, the figure reached up and brushed the long black hair back over its shoulder, a few drops of water landing on its face and rolling down its cheek, past its jaw, and down the slender neck.

Susha Unhuor just watched dispassionately, wondering if this was also just based on Shaun Reng's fantasies or if the demon had come up with this on its own. He sure hoped that Shaun Reng had not known how his nephew looked in this state. But then again, it could be possible. After all, Jusha Lale wouldn't have had his guard up against him since he didn't know about his uncle's feelings.

At this moment, Susha Unhuor couldn't help but feel angry that Agur Suhi hadn't shared what he knew with Jusha Lale. If he had, then the dan could have stayed cautious against Shaun Reng, making sure that something like this couldn't occur. But so ... he had put him in danger. Well, it wasn't important anymore. Shaun Reng was already dead and these things were in the past. It wouldn't change anything anymore to wonder what could have been different.

The figure smiled faintly and then turned around, the water splashing against the wooden tub while a white knee emerged from the surface. "Well, since you are already here, why don't you give me a hand? You could help me wash my back." The smile on its lips seemed a little coquettish.

Susha Unhuor surveyed the room and then slowly went over, kneeling down next to the tub.

The figure motioned over to a small stool at the side, where a piece of cloth was lying. "You can use that. Or you could use your hands. I don't mind either way."

Susha Unhuor gave the figure a look. Yes, this was definitely more enhanced by the demon. He did not believe that Shaun Reng had had that thought considering what he had seen in the study. Naturally, he couldn't say for sure but he just felt like it was true when he saw this. And as Jusha Lale had said, he should probably trust in his gut feeling.

He picked up the rag, put it in the water only for his hand to be seized by the figure.

"Do you really insist on this?"

Susha Unhuor did not answer. Instead, he gave the figure another long look, trying to find any hint of a demon's features in that face. He couldn't see any. Most likely, this was another illusion. It did make him wonder where exactly the real demon would be. The places left ... he'd rather not think about it.

Before he could decide on what else to do, the figure had pulled his hand closer and pressed it up against its chest. Susha Unhuor felt a faint heartbeat that seemed to accelerate while the skin below his fingertips warmed up further than the steam from the bath had managed to achieve.

"Do you feel this? I'm not quite sure why but my heart seems to be speeding up. I feel a little faint. Could it be that the water is too hot?"

Susha Unhuor stared at the figure in front of him, his mood subtle. This kind of behavior ... he was afraid that the young dan would die of embarrassment if he actually had to do something like this. To still have it happen ... this was clearly somebody else's imagination. Considering the type of demon that was behind this, he believed that it was merely an illusion though. Yes, this still wasn't the actual demon.