by K. N. Banet
“What ranking system?” Raphael asked softly, then he looked around at us, and I stayed quiet. Somehow, in the last three days, he hadn’t seen that journal yet, and I wanted to kick myself. “Why is no one surprised by that? And they would listen to me?”
“Oh, their magic has you fucked up, doesn’t it?” Lewis sneered. “Cambions have the same ranking structure as demons, which many religions and demonologists have tried to put together, some more accurate than others. Raphael’s demon genetics make him what a fae would consider a lord, a noble, more powerful than something further down the ladder. Though these are demons, so maybe a warlord would be more apt,” he explained. I couldn’t tell if he was just fascinated by his own voice or was rambling because he thought it would save him. Either worked for me. “Demons are like fae, but a different realm and more powerful, you see.” This time he glanced toward Cassius and Sorcha. “There are different varieties, but they’re all marked by the realm they live in. They’re all demons.”
“How am I a cambion but not my parents?” Raphael asked. “Can you answer that?”
“No,” he said, looking up at Raphael again. “We’ve found genetic markers in cambions that can be activated that don’t rightfully match either of their parents, even if the relation is clear in other areas.”
“How did you get involved?”
“I was brought in for my other research,” he said, swallowing. “Into werewolves and vampires, but the cambions…they sometimes needed all hands for them, and I got absorbed in the project.”
“So, they brought you in for what you knew and discovered about other species,” Cassius began, using his ‘I’m explaining’ voice. “You were working on ways to use the magic of other species to boost the power of your own kind, correct?”
“Something of the sort. Since you’re not a scientist, I don’t expect you to fully understand the—”
I hit him, letting his head snap back, and listened to his string of curses.
“We don’t need the condescending bullshit. Let me remind you that we have you on crimes that warrant execution.”
“So Mygi, intrigued by your research, decided to use it in other ways, hoping to angle you to working for the good of all species…or so they proclaimed.” Cassius didn’t even acknowledge the hit, not even surprised.
“Yes.” Lewis was behaving again. “I had useful techniques for them to use. But they introduced me to the cambions, who became my focus for my own reasons.”
“The power of demons without the problems,” I said, glaring at him. “You took Saleem’s blood and injected it into yourself, and it gave you a temporary boost in power.”
“Yes…” Lewis didn’t like that I knew that. It was clear evidence we’d already gone through his journals. “Saleem and I could never figure out how to give power the way many classic demons can. It’s seemingly beyond what a cambion can do.”
I resisted the urge to punch him again, just for the fun of it, and straightened up.
“Get him a map and make him point out the location of the lab. Cassius, you and I need to talk about how we want to play this with the Tribunal.”
“What about me?” Lewis demanded, struggling against his bonds.
“We’ll plead for you to go to the prison for a long time, where you already hurt a lot of people. It’s better than execution, right?” Cassius smiled down at him, and it was the first time I could say Cassius looked vicious. I had known him for a long time, but this was the moment I realized all fae could be cruel, and it wasn’t just a saying to scare people away from them.
He and I walked out of the room together, me grabbing Raphael to follow us. Sorcha was singing as she went about getting the map for our prisoner.
21
Chapter Twenty-One
“Sorry,” I said as we entered Cassius’ office. “There’s been so much, and it slipped my mind to mention the ranking system notes he’s talking about.”
“I’m actively trying not to be pissed. I would have found it eventually,” Raphael said, shrugging. “But I don’t know what he’s talking about, how I was a leader. I don’t remember any of that.”
“I haven’t seen anything about it in the journals beyond his vague notes, either,” Cassius added. “Do you feel the urge to lead?”
“I feel the urge to help, but I think that’s more of a human thing,” Raphael answered with a groan. “I felt guilty when I remembered I left them there, though. I feel responsible for getting them out.”
I looked at Cassius as Raphael finished.
Yeah, he’s a leader. I bet the moment we get into that lab, he’ll remember. I wonder how he’ll feel about me when he remembers everything.
“I have it!” Sorcha said as she walked in. “Didn’t take long at all, and Terry is watching him.”
“I’m worried about his magic,” I said, admitting that small fear.
“He can’t use it in my home,” Cassius said, not concerned. “No witch can. Why do you think I had a brownie heal you after the fight with Sinclair?” He went to sit behind his desk and looked every bit as regal as his father used to. Now, considering this team and that comparison, I realized there were three rulers in the room. If Raphael was a high-ranking cambion and the others listened to him, he was the same as Cassius and me but in his own unique way.
Which makes this mating even more doomed than when it started! I’m the leader of the nagas and can’t eternally mate a leader of another species. That would be not only a supernatural scandal but a diplomatic one as well. He has his people, I have mine, and I’m not too certain the Tribunal would be okay with us pooling our resources.
Every step we took, I got another way out of this situation. I just needed to finish it now.
“So…now we hand over this guy to the Tribunal, then we storm the lab, right?” Raphael sat down as well, and I found the last seat by the desk, which didn’t bother Sorcha. She went to a newly installed couch behind the desk under the window. I got the impression it was put there just for her to lie down and read a book while Cassius worked.
They’re married, and Cassius can be a freak. He’s absolutely fucking her under the afternoon sun while on a work call.
Wow, I need to get my mind out of the gutter.
I tried not to show what I was thinking as I tried to switch to Raphael’s question.
“I wish it was that simple,” Cassius said, leaning back in his chair. “What he could tell them could jeopardize you to the Tribunal. And the rest of the cambions.”
“We need to be on the move to the lab before they even know we’re going,” I said softly. “Meaning we need to go…temporarily rogue.”
Cassius nodded. “It’s risky, but it takes some of the issues out of the equation. They won’t be able to send others in to kill the cambions if they rule the cambions are a threat, thanks to their demon heritage. I think we should leave tonight and waste no time getting to the lab. Right before we begin our assault, we’ll contact the one Tribunal member we feel is the safest—”
“Hasan,” I interjected. Cassius nodded again, agreeing with my decision.
“And let him know we have left the operative who orchestrated the prison break in my home, with a report on what happened and my recommendation about sentencing. I’ll also explain some of this decision process in the report.”
“So, by the time we’re in the lab, he’s still trying to sort through everything, and the report should give him a clear idea of the abuse cambions have suffered in the lab.” Cassius could be devious, and I never gave him enough credit.
“Exactly,” Cassius smirked. “I take it you like the idea?”
“Love it,” I corrected. “Hopefully, Hasan is the least likely to be pissed at us. Or he’ll be the most pissed for us abusing his position in the Tribunal.” I tilted my head and considered that. “It’s worth the risk,” I decided. “It’s the best chance we have to stop misinformation or worse, Mygi learning what we’ve told the Tribunal and doing their own cleanup job.”
/>
“What?” Raphael didn’t like the sound of that.
“It’s another reason we can’t go through legal channels with the Tribunal,” Cassius explained, looking sadly at Raphael. “They’ll want to question Mygi, and if that goes badly, Mygi could send word to the lab to exterminate your people and cover up everything. We’ve been hoping they haven’t already been doing that. At least, I’ve been hoping that. When it comes to things like this, people are willing to go through great lengths to cover up their mistakes.”
“Which is why I never told the Tribunal I had a lead on this from the prison breakout,” I reminded Raphael. “Mygi could have stepped in and killed him if it got back to them and…” I side-eyed my fae friend. “There’s a chance they could have found out.”
“My uncle is not the best king. He can be self-serving, and he doesn’t like you,” Cassius said pragmatically. “My father didn’t tolerate injustice, even if it served him. I can only hope my uncle is following his lead.”
“That’s a good roundabout way to say Oisin is a piece of shit.” I smiled at him, and he narrowed his eyes in return.
“Don’t put me in a difficult position.”
I waved around the room. “Too late for that.”
Everyone chuckled, then we got to work. Leith emailed the report he had already begun to Cassius, who reworked it and added more, typing for hours. I took Raphael and me home, along with the boxes of journals for Leith to continue going through. I was going to keep them until Raphael was done with them. He deserved to know it more than the Tribunal did, so I was willing to fight for that.
“Hey, Leith, are you okay staying here tonight and riding back with me tomorrow?” I asked, looking at him evenly as he sat in my living room. Raphael brought in the first box of books as Leith stared back at me.
“I’ll stay here until this is catalogued,” he said without any sort of emotion, then looked around and frowned. “Plus, I think you need to dust. I shall get that done as well for you.”
“Butlers,” I mumbled, shrugging, then went out to grab a box to help Raphael. We got all the journals in for Leith, whose eyes seemed to brighten as he saw them.
“Would you both like dinner?” He looked up, smiling. “I can make something for the two of you before I get back into this.”
“Oh, we’re fine,” I said, looking at Raphael, who looked back at me.
“His cooking is better than mine,” Raphael said, shrugging. “If you have time, Leith…”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t resist a smile. Tomorrow, we were heading out to the Colorado and Wyoming border to assault the lab that held Raphael’s people. If Lewis was lying, we would survive, come to Arizona, and kill him, but I didn’t think he was lying.
I went to my weapons cases and pulled out everything I wanted—throwing knives and stars, daggers, swords. I wanted to pick my best, and I had a suspicion I would need a lot of them. Cassius would talk to Lewis all night, but I didn’t want to wait on the confirmation. There would be security, a lot of it. There was no way Mygi would leave it up to magical defenses. They would have comparable or better security than the prison, and the prison was already a tough nut to crack without help. We wouldn’t have help. It would just be the four of us, and we had to do it without getting ourselves killed or those we were trying to rescue.
It was a recipe for disaster, but it was safer than trusting politicians to make the decision I wanted. It meant tonight was probably the last night I would have Raphael.
Once this was all said and done, I would send him on his way to live his own life, and I would go back to my existence.
I worked for a long time, wiping down and sharpening everything, maintenance I needed to catch up on, anyway. I smelled food and heard Raphael and Leith talking, but I wasn’t hungry. I was focused on my task—a good distraction from the impending doom of the healthiest relationship I had ever been a part of. I listened to him talk and wondered how I would feel living in an empty house again.
Stop thinking about that. This is for him. After tonight, you’re going to go free the cambions from Mygi, and he’ll have his own life again. He’ll be away from you, and no one will ever know he’s your mate. He’ll be safe from the dangers of the nagas. It’s for the best.
It felt like hours passed. The sun disappeared, and my nighttime lights came on around the house. Working on my bed left me in the way when Raphael walked into the room, but before I had a chance to clean up, he stopped at the door.
“Leith is taking my room,” he explained. “I’m going to sleep on the couch.”
“Why?” I frowned, tilting my head to the side. That hadn’t been in the plan. I hadn’t even considered that an option. “You can sleep in here like you did when Cassius and Sorcha were over.”
He shook his head, which prompted me to put my sword to the side as panic raced through me. This was our last night in Arizona. After this, we were going to save his people, then I had to let him go. He didn’t understand that, but I knew it.
Please stay.
“Raphael, listen to me. You need to be well-rested if we’re leaving tomorrow. Resting on the road isn’t easy.”
“It’ll be fine,” Raphael said, shaking his head. I didn’t say anything as he reached out to touch my still tender neck, covered in bruises. “I don’t want to hurt you like that again.”
“I’ll be ready this time.” Get in my bed, you fucking stupid man. This might be our last night together. “Raphael—”
“I’m going to sleep on the couch,” he said softly. “Until I know this won’t be a problem anymore.” He pulled back. I didn’t grab him, not wanting to seem too desperate, and let him walk away. He turned his back and made it halfway down the hallway before I lost control of myself.
“Stay,” I called softly. “Stay with me.”
He turned slowly, somewhat confused, somewhat understanding. He followed me as I stepped back, leading him back into my bedroom.
“Stay with me,” I whispered, staring at him while I threw off my shirt and went to my knees on the bed. I had never asked for a lover like this. The concept of asking had always seemed desperate. I didn’t need sex, had never needed sex—until I met this man. This man made the entire activity enjoyable, and I wanted him one more time. “Right here. Tonight, just me and you.”
His eyes went slowly wider as my request and my need became obvious. He slowly pulled off his shirt, tossing it into a pile in the corner of my room. His gaze was dark, and the need was there. He thought I would be too afraid from the last time to initiate, but he was so wrong.
“What’s gotten into you?” he asked as his jeans fell next, revealing the thick muscles of his thighs in a pair of fitted boxer briefs.
I didn’t answer, waiting for him to get onto the bed.
“Kaliya, I’m serious,” he whispered, remaining where he was. “You normally make me initiate. And it’s…”
I crawled across the bed and went up on my knees, wrapping my arms around him, which left my mouth placed against his upper abs. My bed sat low, and he was very tall. The temptation to bite him as I opened my mouth and licked teasingly was too strong, but I resisted. He didn’t know the danger, but I did. I always did, and this was the last time I could play with it, the last time I could tempt fate and have him before letting him go.
I couldn’t tell him any of that.
“I’m in the mood, and this will be our last chance for a while,” I murmured, nuzzling him. I trailed my nails over his chest, leaving delicate red lines that would fade quickly.
“So, you’re going to get me in the mood?” His voice was already turning husky.
“If you want to be in the mood,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around him.
One last time, then I’ll let him go.
He ran a hand through my hair and tugged gently, forcing me to look up.
“I’m always in the mood for you,” he said with a touch of a growl that sent shivers down my spine. His eyes flashed red and black, but the peek
at his true nature didn’t stay.
If I’m not careful, he could own me, and there would be no one to save me. I could own him, and he would never have a choice in the matter. Why did biology and fate have to pick this man? This good man. This damaged man.
I should have never slept with him.
One last time and I’ll let him go.
For his safety.
And for mine.
As he stripped off his boxer briefs, I pulled away and kicked off my pants, left feeling vulnerable as his naked body crawled onto my bed while I was still in my underwear. He went between my legs and kissed my thighs as his hands pulled down my panties, and he gave a satisfied growl. They roamed over ass and hips before settling and holding me in place.
Raphael loved it down there, the least dangerous place for him to be. His hot breath on me made my back arch. My attraction for him had me ready for the finger he slid into me. His mouth was greedy as he drove me to an orgasm that rode over me in waves.
His name flew from my lips like a prayer as he treated me like something desirable, something he worshiped. I never had a lover who did that before. Never felt that way until him.
He pulled back with a conquering smile and with a spin of his finger, indicated I needed to roll over. I shivered as I felt his heat come over my back.
He slid into me and started off slow, letting me overcome the sensitivity of the previous orgasm. I grabbed my sheets and moaned as he picked up the pace, driving into me with even thrusts.
One last time.
The first time I had been with Raphael, I had been maintaining an emotional distance I needed. I had felt hollow from the execution I had been forced to do. I didn’t have that level of protection anymore, losing another layer each time we ended up together. Now, it was completely gone. I was raw with emotions I wasn’t sure what to do with or even where they came from.