Queen Cooper turned her head to him instantly. “Yes, you are, so quit saying that. The ruling power doesn’t make mistakes. You’re exactly where, and who, you’re supposed to be.”
He sighed heavily. “So you keep saying, but I have yet to understand the why, no matter how long I meditate.”
I rubbed at my temples. “This is not happening. This is not happening.”
King Collins moved from their Rulers’ line, coming to stand directly behind me, and softly placed his hands on my shoulders. He stated calmly against my ear, “I can promise you this is happening and it’s not going to change but…if you need a little incentive I can also give that to you to keep you from running off again.”
I stiffened, hands slowly lowering as I eyed each of the three stone-faced Rulers still in front of me. “And here comes the threat.” There was always a damn threat.
King Collins hummed softly in approval. “I can see there will be advantages to having a convicted felon as my Prodigy. Understanding each other will help to make this process easier. And I can honestly tell you, Caro, I am a much crueler individual than you when I need to be.”
“I’m getting bored,” I muttered truthfully, having heard many of these spiels in my life. “Just get on with it.”
He squeezed my shoulders once before dropping them to stand in front of me, arms crossed. His brown eyes peered down at me as he stated bluntly, “I told you your criminal background has been expunged, which is the truth.” His lips curved cruelly, the staid King before me showing a bit of the man who had been so vicious during the war. The expression was good on him. “But not your brother’s.”
I felt my face turn to stone. Another damn person to threaten me with him. “This is not the way to start a relationship with me.”
His eyes scanned my face, then he shrugged an unconcerned shoulder. “I’m not here to be your friend. I am here to make sure you do what you’re told. And if that means we make a Lawful deal — not an underhanded illegal one, since there are plenty of eyewitnesses who saw him help you break out of jail and shoot armed guards — then so be it.” Another shrug. “Technically, it’s not even blackmail, since he should be behind bars.”
Cracking my neck, I asked point-blank, “You’ll get rid of any transgressions he has on file if I promise to stay and be a good little Prodigy for you?”
He nodded once. “As long as he stays here with us where we can watch over him, since I have a feeling if he walked a foot outside this door he would have another charge placed on him.”
I had no choice. They didn’t know Sin’s real name, so they didn’t know all the felonies he had committed and escaped from. If they put him under a spelled trial, he would be put on death row in a heartbeat, possibly even killed instantly. Sin had committed many more heinous acts than I had. Running a hand over my face in the quiet surrounding me, I let my head fall to stare at the ground. I stated softly, “I want your word.”
Instant. “You have it.”
I nodded once after a moment, then I peered back up to his brown eyes. “And you have mine. I’ll stay and be your Prodigy.” I held his gaze steadily as he nodded in silent agreement. “But you have to know, I’ll be useless to you. I won’t use my powers.”
He crossed his arms, evaluating my expression. “Can’t, or won’t?”
“I said I won’t, and that’s what I meant.” I tilted my head to him. “And I’ve already been trained—”
He cut me off. “By whom?”
I gritted my teeth, ignoring his question. “So there won’t be any need for you to attempt to teach me something you will never know anything about.” I stared, knowing he was intelligent enough to understand. “Or asking questions you shouldn’t be pressuring me with.”
His jaw clenched as he gazed back. “Is that what caused…whatever that was in there? Me asking questions?”
I breathed shallowly, unable to answer him.
He muttered a curse, glancing to the other Rulers, who were watching us intently, then back to me. “I guess all I have are my books then, and to go on the best assumptions I have.” His gaze darted to the Prodigies, his eyes turning furious. “For her safety, and your own, you are never to question her about her abilities. Is that understood?”
All three of them eventually nodded once the other Rulers ordered it.
I ran a hand through my slightly ruffled hair. “I want to see Sin now.”
King Zeller grunted. “He’s standing outside the doorway, eavesdropping.”
“What?” Queen Cooper muttered as everyone’s eyes swung to the opened doorway. “How the fuck did he get out?”
King Zeller shrugged, moving to sit on one of the plush leather couches. “No clue, but he’s been there almost the entire time.”
I heard Sin chuckle quietly in the hallway, the sound purely sinful, but when he entered the room, wearing only the pair of gray and green pajama pants he had gone to sleep in, his expression was serious. He ran a hand through his hair, his chiseled, muscled chest flexing with the motion. He brushed right past the Rulers, ignoring them to stand in front of me, hands instantly cupping my cheeks as he asked softly, “Are you sure about this, Caro? You don’t need to be a martyr for me, and this is a huge responsibility.” Gently, he pressed his forehead down on mine, staring me in the eyes. “I don’t need your protection, and you know it.”
My lips tilted softly. “I know.” I shook my head slightly inside his hold, our foreheads rubbing. “But it’s too good a deal to pass up. A clean slate for both of us.” I stared at him hard, whispering, “No more running. Not while we’re living here.”
Vivid green eyes stared back for long moments until he sighed. “All right, Caro. It’s your choice. And we’ll live with it.”
A beat of silence went by, then King Collins interrupted our sanctuary of unity, asking slowly, “Are you sure you two are brother and sister?”
Sin’s lips curved and he chuckled quietly, lifting his forehead from mine. He placed a soft kiss there before tucking me against his side, keeping me close as he peered at King Collins. “Not by blood, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I felt Shifter magic pulse softly through the air, but I paid it little attention since it wasn’t touching me.
King Collins’s eyes narrowed slightly on Sin. “Then whom exactly have I agreed to pardon of their transgressions?”
My lips twitched, and I turned my face against Sin’s chest to keep from laughing, feeling Sin shrug. “We’ve grown up together in the same places, and many have called us brother and sister, so you’re more than welcome to use the term if it makes you feel better about,” he cleared his throat, “the possibly extensive list of transgressions you’re going to exonerate me from.” A pause. “Oh, and having me live under your very impressive roof.”
“Be nice, Sin,” I murmured, thumping his chest, but I couldn’t help grinning as I peered up at him. This deal was really a sweet bargain on our part.
A green eyebrow rose. “After what you’ve already said to this group, I thought I was being polite, albeit aloofly blunt.”
“Aloofly blunt,” London stated out of nowhere, “is an oxymoron.”
Sin and I stared at one another, and he whispered, “You were right. There aren’t words.”
“I know, right?”
The Shifter magic floating in the air heightened at that moment. Sin’s eyebrows rose slightly as he asked to no one in particular, “You don’t give up easily, do you?”
Brann moved in my peripheral, altering his position to lean against the bar to casually rest his hip against it, and the magical pulsations disappeared. “Why can’t I feel your magic, either?”
“Ah, one of many irregularities between Caro and I,” Sin murmured quietly in answer, eyeing me before turning toward Brann. “And to tell you the truth, your probing feels extremely uncomfortable, so I would appreciate you not doing it again.” Sin’s eyes tracked over Brann slowly while he stated, “And I believe you can make your own assumptions ab
out me, given the blatant green hair.” I hadn’t chanced glancing at Brann’s face, so I had to assume Sin was staring him in the eyes since his head was tilted back a bit. He deadpanned, “Your tailor must work day and night to make clothes to fit you.” Brann’s wolf instantly growled quietly, and Sin held up a hand. “All kidding aside, man…it probably doesn’t take just one tailor, I imagine you have two: one for the front and the other for the back.”
Oddly, Brann’s wolf stopped growling at the added insult, and he twisted to pour another two fingers of brandy in his crystal glass. “Actually, I only have one tailor, and she normally does get sidetracked when she’s measuring how greatly she needs to let out the material for the side I dress on.” He sipped at his drink. “Something I’m sure you would never have an issue with.”
Well, it appeared I had been correct. The Shifter Prodigy definitely had some balls going toe to toe with Sin, since anyone with half a brain — which I already knew he had, even if he was annoyingly snooty — could see the intelligence and shrewd light in Sin’s green eyes, plus there was the fact that Sin was a criminal.
Maneuvering smoothly between them when Sin stayed mute —a respectable action never came from that prelude — I patted Sin’s bare chest. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. How about we have one of the lovely Kings or Queens show us to the kitchen?”
Staring over my head at Brann, more than likely naughty thoughts dancing merrily through his scheming head, Sin stated distractedly, “It’s down the hall to the right. Second left. Down the stairs. Head through the French doors, past the formal living room, the game room, and then you’re there. Although, I’m fairly sure there are more kitchens in the other wings of the place.”
“Perfect.” I grabbed his hand, jerking him around, and pulled him toward the door. “You can show me, then.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I muttered, talking over him. “I’m hungry and you’re taking me.”
“Actually, it appears you’re taking me,” he mumbled as I dragged him past King Collins. He turned his head, talking to him. “Where’s our room in this place?”
I paused at the door, glancing back to King Collins and wondering that myself, but I was intelligent enough to keep a firm grasp on Sin’s hand.
King Collins’s face was carefully blank when he peered at me. “One room or two?”
Instant. “One.” It had always been one for us when we lived together. “And we’ll need some clothes unless you brought our bags when you kidnapped us.”
He nodded once. “We brought your bags.” Brown eyes swung to Sin. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen you already…cased…in a half-hour to show you to your room.”
“Hold on,” Queen Ruckler interjected, walking to stand next to King Collins and staring at Sin. “King Collins will need to know your full name to get the process started for your charges.”
Sin muttered a curse quietly under his breath, glancing at me. I was proud I kept a straight face, only lifting my eyebrows while waiting for him to divulge his ungodly name, even if it was now well respected in the criminal world. He scowled at me for a moment, then he sighed in defeat, turning his attention to Queen Ruckler. “My name’s Lawrence Che—”
London gasped loudly, which sounded like a half shout, cutting off Sin. He stumbled back against the wall, clutching his chest with a terrified expression on his face. “Oh. My. God!” He actually darted across the room to stand behind Queen Cooper, pointing over her head since he was so much taller than her. “That’s,” he whispered fiercely, “Lawrence Chesterfield!”
Sin made a noise deep inside his throat, glancing at me, then both of us turned our attention to the muscled bound Mage hiding behind his Queen. We tried to hold it together as London’s eyes darted around the room frantically while he shouted, “He cannot stay in this house! He’ll murder us all in our sleep!”
Sin lifted his free hand, his other still in mine, to point a finger in the air. “Now, that is only a rumor.”
Queen Ruckler’s head snapped to him.
“Huh, I’ll have to remember your nose is sensitive.” Sin shrugged a shoulder. “The bastard had the undignified death coming.”
“Did I know him?” I asked offhandedly.
“It was Dell.”
I blinked, not expecting that. Then lifted happily and kissed his cheek. “You should have saved him for me, but thanks.”
“I tried to get you a souvenir, but it was,” his fingers pinched together with hardly any space between, “too small to cut off.”
There was a short silence, then London shrieked, “I am not staying here if he is!”
“Calm down, London.” Queen Cooper patted the hand he had on her shoulder, her expression exasperated. “I’m sure he was kidding.” She turned golden eyes to Queen Ruckler expectantly.
Queen Ruckler scratched her nose and shook her head the barest bit.
Queen Cooper sighed when London really started arguing, shaking her with his hold on her. “London, how have you even heard of him when I haven’t?”
“I’ve heard of him,” King Zeller murmured, his head tilting as he studied Sin in what appeared to be a new light. “Some of your work is impressive.”
Sin shrugged a shoulder even as King Collins started rubbing his forehead, muttering, “I’ve heard of him, too.” He rolled his shoulders. “Fuck, I’m going to be on the phone for days.”
“The internet!” London exclaimed over them. “You really need to keep up to date on the sadistic criminals of the underworld.” He pointed at Sin, appearing faint. “Or you might end up inviting one to stay in our damn home.” He paused, his face turning even more frantic. “Tell me you’ve done a background check on the staff here?”
“London, for fuck’s sake, shut up,” Brann muttered, and oddly London did, staring at him with wide, fear-filled golden eyes. “Besides, the MIA database is much more truthful and informative than those ridiculous websites. If you’ve got the cash and you want to know the facts, then do your research right with a decent hacker.” He paused. “It even has a photo of him.”
And…the room went silent.
“Skipping the fact you’ve been hacking into the restricted government database — you knew who he was?” King Zeller questioned slowly, asking what we were all thinking.
A growling sniff. “Of course.”
And shit, I glanced at him because he had known who Sin was even when he had taunted him, which meant he not only had balls, but brass ones to boot. He was resting against the bar, one hand next to his hip on the top of the bar while he swirled his brandy in his glass. He was staring down at the twirling liquid. I stared at his facial structure, his perfectly styled black curls dangling carelessly on either side of his face. His eyes lifted, not his head, as he peered out from between his curls directly at Sin.
Sin peered back at him steadily and began chuckling quietly. “The old saying of friends close, but enemies closer?”
Brann lifted his head, tossing his curls out of his face, and extremely slowly his lips began to curve at the edges, showing a rogue side to him. “Something like that.” Lifting his glass to his supple lips, his amber eyes altered to me over the rim of his glass. I was held completely immobile, captured by their infinite depths; they were a magnificence unto themselves. He sipped slowly before lowering the glass to his waist, his head cocking in an animalistic, purely wolf fashion. A black curl slipped over his cheek, resting there softly. “That was decently played when you let King Collins walk into his own trap.”
“Thank you.” I was able to breathe again. When his eyes dipped to watch my lips move, I averted my gaze to King Collins, blinking a few times past the fascination. “You did just leave it open-ended.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I got what I wanted, and so did you. We’re good.”
I nodded. Turning to leave, I stopped, glancing over my shoulder around Sin’s body to Aria where she still sat on the recliner. “You should really respect yourself more. You are
far from stupid from what I just saw in here, and dressing as you do doesn’t hide your intelligence or distract anyone who has even the smallest bit of observational skills.”
Sin grunted, peering back at her completely frozen form. “Nice job on sitting there and being quiet while you scented everyone’s emotions, evaluating the new dynamics, during what was a life-altering experience for you. And Caro’s right, so you should listen to her…plus, no one will respect you if you don’t respect yourself first.” He winked, grinning like the devil. “And with more clothes, you’ll be able to carry more than the knife you have stashed between your cleavage. And the small dagger ‘hidden’ in your right boot.”
I nodded in agreement. “Moreover, you can carry silver weapons without the risk of hurting your bare skin, which you’re chancing with the one between your breasts, even if it is in a spelled sheath.” And with that, I pulled Sin out of the room.
Chapter Six
Tossing the stress ball into the air, Sin caught it where we lay on our backs on the colossal bed that was ours.
I stated, “We should probably get ready for breakfast.”
Sin tossed the green ball again into the air, and it almost touched the ceiling before descending to where I caught it. “Probably.”
“I can’t believe they make everyone eat together for all three meals,” I muttered, squeezing the ball before tossing it again to Sin. Yesterday after lunch King Collins had laid down their rules here while showing us to our room, which was in the farthest wing of the place: the Elemental wing. Our bedroom — if you could call it that since it was larger than most of the houses Sin and I had grown up in — was an enormous suite of sorts, with a retiring room where you first walked in. Past the French doors lay an immaculately fashioned bedroom, bathroom, and closets. It was all done in green and white, a perfect mixture of our combined Elemental colors.
“You know these Kings and Queens are different than all the others before them,” Sin stated, throwing the ball up again. “They broke the boundaries after the war when they chose to live together.” He snorted because…yeah, this place took up what had to be a whole city block, even if in the middle of the woods, so even I wouldn’t exactly call it living together. “And they have four of these castles around the world, so they’re bound to have weird ideas about unity of the Prodigies.”
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