He catches the flicker of confusion on her pretty face a moment before Cahyr smoothly interjects between them, neatly abdicating the conversation so that he didn't have to witness his parents bicker. Asmodeus didn't blame him as they all knew this was not likely to go well. He inclined his head in silent thanks as the boy departed, grateful that he had an ally in his task, even if only for now.

It didn't take Nyimara long to recover and by the time his gaze returned to her, her mask was once more in place. Jealous? Of course he was jealous. As much as Nyimara had been his jailer, his tormentor, his villain, she had also been his confidant, his strength, his beacon. He was not so foolish as to believe himself over her, nor did he ever truly think he would be. His abdication to the Shore had been as much about recognizing how broken they were together as it was about getting a fresh start.

She spoke of Helios not crawling and his grin tightened. Sure, he might not crawl, he just stared blankly back at you without giving an answer until a mare with hips went to ask him instead. Nyimara was going to have to forgive Asmodeus for not finding that particular quality to be a strength.

He snorted derisively as she mentioned Helios being King, and though he knew he shouldn't take the bait, the words slipped off his tongue with amusement. "The only way Helios will ever be King of Salem is if you become Queen first and decide you need a bit of decoration for your throne."

She sidled close and everything in him clenched again and he dragged a ragged breath in through grinding teeth, his thick neck bowing tight as he eyed her without moving, letting her familiar figure brush against him with as much taunt as she could muster. She makes it hard for him to think, and he guesses that that is the point... and yet he does not move away. There is a sick sort of comfort in her touch, a welcome familiarity he does not want to acknowledge.

I suppose telling you now that she died in childbirth would be of little use.. She drawled and Asmodeus paused. "Not even you would be so heartless, Nyimara." But would she? Would she really tell him such a thing about his own daughter? He knew the answer, even if the part of him that still loved Nyimara didn't want to acknowledge it. To her, Natyre and Cahyr were only tools, the same way that he had been. Tools that she would manipulate and bend and break so long as they served her purposes.

There is another snort of derision that follows her final comment. "Adorable that you talk of me abandoning Salem, Ny." He says sharply, a frown on his lips. "Of all the things you might hold over my head, that's what you go with?" He hums, a low, unkind sound. They both knew that if anyone was going to be accused of abandoning Salem, it should be her first. The fact that she held the Desert now was testament, at least in part, to his loyalty in the beginning. "You're losing your touch, dear."

His tail smacked dully against his haunches as he watched her, examining the olive branch she'd extended for hidden thorns. "Allow it, you say. You'll do everything in your power to convince her otherwise, the same as you did with Cahyr. The only reason it didn't work on him is because I was there for him, too." His teeth ground together a moment and his brows darkened. "I will stay off your shores as long as you give me no reason to have to come back, Nyimara."

Adult Stallion 16.0HClassic Champagne ChimeraSolomon x Xiomara