The compliments she gave me only served to increase the awkwardness between us.
Natalia shook her head. “You don’t understand a mother’s instincts. If you like Cara, go for it.”
“Mom, please.” Devon grunted.
“It’s been two years since Abigail decided to get married to her vassals. It’s time you forgot about her.”
Devon flicked his fringe away from his face and stared at the patterns on the curtains. “The weather’s nice today, isn’t it? Bright and sunny.”
He couldn’t be more obvious about it. The weather? Seriously? I would have complimented the teapot. At least we could see the teapot. The sky was blocked by the gold-patterned curtains.
“Work for your future, Devon,” Natalia said, looking at me. Her words sounded too corny and too heavy at the same time. I didn’t need to be Devon’s future. All I wanted was for him to be less of an asshole. I liked to keep expectations low. “Remember that time when you were fifteen?” Natalia asked. “When Tisso bullied you in school because of Abigail? She caused that fight.”
“Devon was bullied?” I leaned backward to study him. He was muscle everywhere. Broad shoulders. He looked he could knock a man down by lightly grazing him when walking past. He definitely didn’t seem like the type to be bullied.
“All the time,” Natalia replied. “He grew up slow, so the males back in school would always tease him.”
“I’m surprised.” I frowned.
“Don’t let his outward appearance fool you. Devon’s still a big, lovable, romantic sweetheart on the inside.”
“Is he?” I asked, amused.
Devon inched father away from me. What was the deal with him? “Abigail talked to me after that,” he said.
“She didn’t stand up for you,” Natalia said. “Her boyfriend was angry about you getting too close to her, or at least that was what the principal told me. She could have stopped him, but she didn’t.”
“She comforted me.”
“She talked,” Natalia said. “That was all she did. Words are cheap.”
I watched a lump travel down Devon’s throat. “I loved her.”
“You were infatuated, my dear child. I’m not sure if you still are. It’s time you open your eyes. Someone great is next to you.”
I laughed sheepishly, not sure how to take the flattery. I swatted her compliment away by waving my hand in front of my face. “Oh, I’m not great at all.”
“You have the potential to be great, even though my husband doesn’t like you much.”
“Does he not?” I asked, my stomach sinking.
“His dislike is from the influence of Agness. I’m not sure what they’ve been discussing these days. Still, I’m sure you’ll be good for my son. You’re so much better than that Abigail—”
Devon pushed himself from the couch. Scowling, he stomped toward the exit.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from this conversation,” he said. “I don’t need you guys intruding into my love life.”
He pulled the door open, but another figure blocked his entrance. Before he had a chance to leave, he faced a man that was two heads taller than him. The man looked even larger than Theo, which was saying a lot, because Theo was a giant. The man was handsome, like many of the men around here, but I didn’t want to be anywhere around him because of his stoic face. He was tan, just like Devon, and once I took a closer look, I noticed two horns that stuck out from the top of his head in a spiral pattern. The horns gave him a bestial look, though he wasn’t quite a brightling. Peering down, he frowned at Devon. “Son,” he said. “Why are you here?”
Devon bowed his head. “To see you, Father.”
Chapter Six
We followed Maxwell Cierro into his study. When I settled in and sank into the seat, I wiggled my butt again. The seat here was comfy, too, though not as delightful as the one in Natalia’s room.
When Maxwell lowered himself to his seat and glanced at me, I immediately pulled myself together and stopped fidgeting. It didn’t seem like he was judging me, but his yellow gaze, similar but harsher than Devon’s, made me uncomfortable. I pulled my lips up awkwardly and tried to smile, but when his mouth remained in a tight, stern line, I gave up all attempts of trying to warm him. They merely caused me to look stupid and overly eager.
“You should be in the Sanctuary,” Maxwell said to Devon, wasting no time in getting to the matter at hand. “Should you be aiming to be the best vassal you can be?” He then turned his gaze to me. “And you too, Caramel. Shouldn’t you be striving to be one of the top half-bloods? I don’t want my son to be sent to a concentration camp.”
And I didn’t want to die, which was why we were here in the first place.
Maxwell knocked his knuckles onto the wood of his desk. The gesture caused him to look stressed out and tensed, which, in turn, tightened my nerves. I glanced over his shoulder. A plethora of portraits were displayed behind him. The frames surrounded pictures of children growing up. I guessed they were Devon’s siblings. Devon wasn’t lying when he said he had ten. There were so many faces that I had trouble telling them apart. Some of his siblings also had horns, like Maxwell did.
I tapped the top of my head. “Are the horns a vassal thing?”
Maxwell blinked, though his expression remained blank. I wondered if I’d overstepped my boundaries. “No,” he answered shortly.
“Um, why?”
A pause fell between us. I rubbed my forearm to ease the nervousness.
Maxwell pulled in a deep sigh. “The horns were a result of one of Agness’s attempts at honing her powers during her time as a half-blood. An outburst of power came from her then, and she gifted these to me. She learned how to remove them years later, but they have become so intertwined with my identity that I don’t want them removed anymore.”
“Don’t they get in the way, though?”
Maxwell shook his head. “Not at all.”
“I mean, when you sleep, you can’t put your head on a nice, fluffy pillow when there’s a horn propping it up.”
“You get used to it.”
I spotted a light crinkle on Maxwell’s brow. “How, though? Those things are giant. They’re—”
“Enough.” His tone lowered by a couple notches.
I leaned backward in an attempt to get away, though that only added two inches of space between Maxwell and me.
Maxwell pulled in a deep breath. “I’m not here to make idle talk, Miss Valencia.” I’d never heard anybody call me that before. “I’m a very busy man, and you leave me questioning why my son is playing hooky and not serving his duties. Are you letting me down, Devon?”
I pressed my lips together. Why the harshness in his tone? Devon was merely paying a visit to his father, and after months without seeing his son, I assumed a father would be delighted.
“No,” Devon answered, straightening his posture. “We’re here regarding a matter that is dire. Something that you should know about.”
“Will it affect your grades?”
“It’s not an issue concerning grades.”
“That’s all you should be concerned about. You’re a student. A student studies. Bothering yourself with other affairs is a waste of time.”
“I’m sorry, Father, but—”
“You should learn more from Rilac and your sisters. They dedicated all their energy into serving Haven when they were in the Sanctuary, and their efforts served them well.”
“I understand.”
Maxwell folded his arms across his chest and pinned Devon even harder with his cutting gaze. “I’m not sure you do, because if you did, you wouldn’t be here right now. You’d be back in the Sanctuary.”
Devon lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Apologies are meaningless without action. You have to live up to the Cierro family name. The goddess council watches us closely. Excellence is desired and a requirement, and if you’re out here playing truant, how can you achieve it? You have to prevent
yourself from being a pathetic excuse and learn how to—”
“Enough, you horny man,” I said, raising my hand. Horny man? Did I really blurt that out? Internally, I winced, but I let none of it show on my face. I maintained my false confidence and looked Maxwell straight in the eyes. “Devon’s already one of the most hardworking vassals on my team.” I hoped Maxwell didn’t notice me lying. My proclamation couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Is he, now?” Maxwell asked, barely reacting to my outburst. “How so?”
“Uh.” I faltered. “He’s good with his magicky hands and all.”
“That’s merely an effect of his heritage. All Cierro children are tied strongly to the chiasma, and being good at magic is their birthright. It’s not an indication of Devon’s hard work.”
“He listens to what I say,” I added. “That’s why we’re here today.”
“A true vassal doesn’t just follow his goddess blindly. To be led is the status quo and doesn’t require any thought on the follower’s part. Excellence lies in leadership. If Devon truly performed well, then he would have convinced you that coming here was a mistake, and that you should have stayed in the Sanctuary, putting your best into being a great goddess.”
“Well, yeah,” I said, fumbling when having to match Maxwell’s eloquence. I couldn’t win against this man, and my confidence wavered. I broke eye contact. “It’s… uh… He did try convincing me and all that, but… Cut your boy some slack, will you? No wonder he’s this messed up, having a fa—”
Devon cut in, saving me. “What Cara means is that being here is the right thing to do, and that I was the one who brought her here. This is my idea.”
Maxwell narrowed his eyes. He twined his fingers together before resting his elbows on his desk. “Continue.”
“We were at the east wing of the Sanctuary, and we saw things we shouldn’t have.”
Devon let silence fall between us. The hollow sound pounded through my ears, and judging from the shock on Maxwell’s face, it did the same to him, too. “What did you find there?” Maxwell asked.
Devon opened his mouth to answer, but a brightling walked in, armed with a tray of refreshments. Quietly, it set a cup of lemonade in front of me, then proceeded to put drinks before Maxwell and Devon, too. I peered into Maxwell’s cup and saw that he drank his coffee black. The brightling had a head shaped like a zebra, but instead of black stripes, it had blue ones. The tension between Maxwell, Devon, and me pulled tight like a knot. We heard each and every footstep of the brightling as it walked toward the exit.
Maxwell broke the silence. “Cara, could you see yourself out?”
“Why?”
“Please.”
“I’d much rather stay and listen.”
“Politeness is a virtue. The door’s right over there. Kindly leave before I have to drag you out myself.” There was little malice in his threat—merely a stern warning. I swallowed thickly before sliding myself from my chair and leaving the room. Had we revealed our cards too soon? Maxwell might have been Devon’s father, but he seemed to take his job seriously, and his allegiance lay with Agness.
I shut the door of his study behind me and situated myself at the wall right across it. After I leaned against the bricks, I snapped my feet together nervously, then brought my hands to my stomach and began fidgeting. I had this bad habit of picking my nails whenever I got nervous, and I was doing it again.
Should we have stayed in the Sanctuary? But this was our only lead.
The minutes crept by as I waited for Devon. Eventually, I couldn’t stand the torment of not knowing, so I lowered my ear to the door and tried to eavesdrop. No luck. The door was soundproof.
“Please don’t kill Devon,” I muttered to myself. What exactly was their father-son relationship? It didn’t appear to be peachy, judging from their last interaction. How badly would Maxwell punish Devon for snooping around?
When the door clicked open again, I fell forward. I put my hands out in front of me so I wouldn’t fall on my face. Devon caught me before my teeth landed against wooden tiles. I looked up at him and saw the apprehension across his face.
“What did your father tell you?” I asked in a soft whisper. I hoped that Maxwell wouldn’t hear me.
“I’ll have to discuss this with the guys,” Devon replied, not giving me the juicy information I wanted.
“You’ll have to spill it. That’s why we’re here, right?”
Devon flicked his gaze to his left, indicating that he was concerned about his father, who was judging him from behind.
“Later,” Devon said.
He helped me stand up and balance, before pushing past me and walking away.
As he moved down the corridor, I stared at his back, getting the odd sensation that I shouldn’t trust him anymore. Then again, maybe I never did in the first place.
Chapter Seven
Last night, Devon told me to have a good night’s sleep before dropping me off from his carpet. Why was he being so nice? He’d even let me wrap my arms around his shoulders during the entire ride back. While I did, I expected him to make a snide remark and push me away. He didn’t.
What his father said to him must have really gotten to him. Throughout the ride back, I repeatedly prodded him about what his father had said. Still, he preferred to keep the information to himself, and when Theo tucked me in bed and sang a lullaby with his low, masculine voice, I couldn’t get over the fact that Devon was hiding something from me. Theo really needed to stop with that lullaby thing. I loved his voice, but whenever he did that, I had a sense that they were spoiling me too much, and getting used to so much indulgence couldn’t be healthy.
I had to refocus my attention on my lessons. I wondered if I’d learn anything new about Miley’s death from them. So far, nothing good came from schoolwork, other than my improving grades. I guessed that was something to be happy about.
“Ready?” Hansel asked, wearing a bright, sparkling smile. He was leading me to the next lesson—creature cordiality. The last time I’d joined that class, the guys almost got killed by a wyvern. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to it. In fact, after what happened at the morgue, I wasn’t looking forward to anything in the Sanctuary.
Hansel gave me a pat on the back. “You can ace the class, Cara. Just have to focus and put your mind to it. If you don’t daydream, you can actually be pretty effective.” His encouragement shone from his eyes. They looked like the ocean on a sunny day. And I never could never get tired of the speckled green in his irises. Looking into his irises made me all hot and heavy, and I remembered what he’d done to me… just pleasuring me…
I snapped out of my momentary stupor. Hansel had a strange, sensual effect on people—girls, especially. “Who said I daydreamed?” I asked.
“You do it all the time. It’s written all over your face. Your name is pretty much synonymous with the term.”
“Prove it,” I said. Was I really that obvious about it?
“Bananas.” Hansel’s lip curved up as his expression turned smug.
I tried to stop myself, but my mind immediately shot into a plethora of scenarios, and since I was bad at holding myself back from saying stupid things, I blurted, “Banana split, banana pie, banana lotion on Theo and those yummy, yummy abs. Banana pie on Theo’s abs. Oh my sweet bananas, that would be amazing.” I ran my tongue over my bottom lip. Hansel’s gaze dropped to where my I’d licked, and noticing him stare like that caused a knot to form in my stomach.
Hansel wrapped his hand around my wrist. His hands were huge compared to mine, and the touch sent my memory back to when those hands were spread over my belly, or wrapped around my waist and drawing me closer to him. “See why I’m right? As your vassal, I pay close attention to you, Cara, and it helps that you’re easy to read. Like an open book.” His lashes fluttered over his hazy eyes.
“I can be your Gretel any time,” I said dreamily.
“What?” Hansel asked, stopping in front of the amphitheater t
hat creature cordiality was held in. “Did you eat something bad today?” He palmed my forehead to check my temperature. “You’re saying out-of-it things more frequently than usual.”
“Says the guy who poisoned my Heineken.”
“Poisoned?” Hansel cocked his head. “I did no such thing.”
“This is some sort of dream that I’m stuck in, and my real body’s lying in some hospital somewhere on Earth. My head probably hit something hard before I passed out, and I’ll wake up thirty minutes later in real life like in one of those television dramas.”
“Believe me,” Hansel said, “everything here is completely real.” He drew my hand to his chest. I spread my palm over his ribcage and sensed the beating of his heart. “Even this.” He gave me a hooded expression that caused my heart to race.
“And what’s that?”
“It’s beating for you.”
Shit. That was so fucking corny. But it came from Hansel’s lips, so I loved hearing it anyway. Hansel dropped his head closer to my lips, hovering. His breath was warm against my mouth. He placed his hand behind my back, then, in one rough tug, pulled me up against him. I drew my arms up and hugged them around his neck.
“Are you done?” Liam asked, stepping out of the amphitheater.
I peeled myself away from Hansel and turned to Liam. Liam had a hand on his hip and looked like he didn’t want to be here. He was a tough nut to crack. The rest of the guys seemed to be warming up to me, but Liam continued to keep his distance. “You’re almost late for class. Again. How terrible do you want your grades to be, Cara?”
“I’ve been doing well.”
“Keep it up.”
I frowned, wondering whether Liam saying that was him giving encouragement. It sounded more like a reprimand.
“What’s the lesson today?” I asked, parting myself from Hansel.
“Chickens,” Liam said.
“What?’
“You heard me.”
“Are we going to eat them?” I asked.
“Nothing of the sort,” Liam replied. “We’re going to make them lay golden eggs.”
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