by Cara Wylde
Kain looked at her dumbfounded, sticky juices running down his chin. “What?”
Alexi let go of her heavy breasts and allowed her to get off the bed. She grabbed her clothes off the floor and held them up to cover her body.
“I wanna go back to my room now,” she said.
“Wait! We’re not finished here,” complained Kain.
“Oh, just shut up!” Alexi had never been so angry in his life. He could snap his roommate’s neck at that moment. He jumped off the bed and went to Sophie. He smoothed her hair down and kissed her forehead. “I am so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to go like this. We screwed up.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Can I go now?”
“Yes, of course.” He grabbed her face between his palms and forced her to look into his eyes. “I am sorry. This won’t happen again, I promise.”
She nodded and took a step back. She got dressed as fast as she could, trying not to look at Kain, then excused herself and rushed out of The Red Chamber.
Alexi turned to the blond, who was still sprawled on the bed, his cock hard and flushed. Tiny beads of pre-cum had soaked the spot where it touched his T-shirt. “Way to go, genius! I told you to take things slowly and keep it in your pants.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me? She’s hot! She’s the hottest woman I’ve seen in years, and you want me to keep it in my pants? Have you seen those curves?”
“Of course I’ve seen them, dumbass. But you can’t just pounce on her when you know she’s inexperienced and she can’t control her powers. Do you think you’re doing her any good by overwhelming her with your aura and your selfish will?”
“She seemed to enjoy it.”
“No, she didn’t. She would have enjoyed it if you had let her do things her way and at her own pace.”
Kain stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes were throwing daggers at his roommate. He knew Alexi was right, but he wasn’t about to admit it out loud. Instead, he entered his personal space and gave him a mischievous smirk. “She’s delicious. Wanna have a taste?”
Alexi looked at the blond’s inviting lips and inhaled Sophie’s lingering scent. He gulped and tried to gather his thoughts. “Oh, fuck off. I prefer the real thing, and when I get it, I’ll enjoy it more because I’ll actually make her come.”
♥
Kain stormed into the room, grabbed some clean clothes, and went to take a shower. His and Alexi’s first session with Sophie had gone awfully wrong. Sophie hadn’t made any progress, but what was worse was that she was probably disappointed and even more insecure than before. He turned the shower on and started taking his clothes off while waiting for the water to heat up. “Fuck this,” he swore loudly. Alexi had gone to Oriens after their little argument in The Red Chamber, so Kain could think out loud as much as he wanted. “Why did I even get into this in the first place?” He was standing naked in front of the shower cabin, listening to the water hit the transparent walls, and trying to find the answer to the nagging question. “Oh, right. Because I wanted to get closer to him.” As much as he hated it to hear himself saying the words, it would have been stupid to keep lying to himself. Yes, Alexi intrigued him, annoyed him, and turned him on. When he had seen him walk towards Sophie’s glass goblet, claim ring in hand, he had instantly decided to challenge him. Apparently, it was the only way he could get his attention. The fact that sexy, curvaceous Sophie had captured his interest when he had met her the first time in The Red Chamber helped a lot. Yes, Kain had been looking forward to a hot private session with his hunky roommate and their delicious apprentice, and that was exactly why he had fucked up so epically. He wanted them both. He wanted them so badly that he could hardly think straight.
He stepped under the hot spray and sighed in relief, relaxing his shoulders. He still had a raging erection, but he didn’t feel like doing anything about it. He placed both palms on the cabin wall in front of him and hung his head, letting the water run down his back and legs. “He’s right, dammit. I really am a moron.” The whole thing confused him. Since Lilith and Ke-sar had made him move in with Alexi, his life had been turned upside down. “Maybe I’m the problem,” he thought. “Neither Alexi, nor Sophie are like the other cambions I’ve fucked. I’m trying to get them using the pathetic methods I use on the idiots who want to get in my pants anyway. Of course it doesn’t work. They’re… different.” He straightened his back and poured shampoo into his palm. As he rubbed it in his golden hair, his mind wandered, coming up with more and more questions he had never had to deal with before.
Kain was starting to think he had gotten it all wrong. Maybe, just maybe, what he felt for both Alexi and Sophie wasn’t pure, raw physical attraction. But how could a man who hadn’t felt love in over a hundred years accept he might still have the ability to feel it? Accept that it existed. The need to conquer another’s heart and make him or her happy. Make them happy.
CHAPTER THREE
The cells under the West Pavilion were rather large and comfortable. There was enough space for a single bed and a desk, while leaving room in the center, which most prisoners used for… pacing. Sophie walked slowly between the two long rows of cells, studying each prisoner carefully. She made sure she kept up with Kain.
“They all look so harmless,” she said.
“When they are in their human form, yes,” he answered. He heard her stop in front of a cell, so he turned around to wait for her. Why had he taken her to Oriens? He wasn’t sure. Maybe he wanted to make it up to her after that horrible first session. A week had passed, and they still hadn’t scheduled the next private session, mostly because Sophie had been actively avoiding them both. When he had asked Alexi to do something about it, his roommate had only said he wasn’t the one who needed to apologize to her. It wasn’t in Kain’s nature to apologize to anyone, so here he was, acting as a tour guide for a new cambion who wasn’t even supposed to be in Oriens.
“That is a Se’irim,” she said, her eyes wide with amazement.
“You’re taking your courses seriously.” Kain smiled, pleased with Sophie’s curiosity and desire to learn more. “He’s also an Earl of Hell.”
“I would have expected him to look more like…” she was trying to find her words, but her breath hitched when the demon lifted his head and fixed her with his glassy eyes. “I mean, I can see it on his features. Pointed chin, high cheekbones… Why are they in their human form, anyway?” She turned to Kain, searching his eyes for an answer.
“Good question.” He motioned for her to step closer to him. When she did, he took her hand and guided her towards the end of the corridor, where they stepped into a large chamber with wooden tables and chairs. Sophie’s eyes grew even wider when she saw the tiny creatures which were moving around, chatting in little voices, eating some sort of seeds, or playing with marbles on the floor. “They are the reason for which the demons in Oriens are stuck into their human form and are so complacent and harmless. These little fellows are called Spprigans. I guess you could say they are similar to elves, except they’re definitely uglier.”
They were ugly, indeed. Sophie could not take her eyes off them. The creatures had heard them, so they turned and waved their little hands in greeting. Sophie waved back and managed a smile. “It’s the first time I hear about… Spprigans.”
“Yeah, there aren’t many left. We have around 300 Spprigans at the Academy, and there might be 100 at most scattered around the world, staying hidden and trying to survive. Demons have been hunting them down for centuries, so they’re currently an endangered species. They have a very special quality: they are able to drain demon energy just by being around their victim. The 300 Spprigans we have work for Lure in exchange for protection.”
“But, if they can absorb demon energy, it means they can absorb out energy too, right? I don’t feel any weaker than I felt outside of Oriens.”
“No, they can’t absorb energy from us because we’re half human. They can, however, affect the succubi and incubi, and Mikal
is the only one who has managed to find a way to defend himself against them. But even he needs frequent short breaks when he works in Oriens.”
“Oh… I don’t think I’ve seen Mikal. I’ve had classes with all the others…”
“And you won’t probably see him very soon. He’s never where he’s supposed to be.” Kain smiled and squeezed Sophie’s hand. This was nice. He realized it didn’t bother him at all to show her the prisoners and tell her about the Spprigans. In fact, he liked it. She was intelligent and intuitive, and she knew how to ask her questions.
“Is he your…?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so. You spend so much time in Oriens.”
“It has nothing to do with Mikal. He might be my real dad, but we don’t have that sort of relationship.”
“I’ve just realized I never asked you or Alexi about your… err… parents.”
“It’s no big deal. Mikal and Satene are mine, Tarini and Kvasir are Alexi’s.”
“Oh, so that’s why he’s so calm and calculated.” They crossed the chamber and reached another tunnel with well illuminated cells on both sides, which they followed to the end. Sophie tried to take in as much as possible, her eyes wide with wonder and excitement. She let Kain guide her by the hand and didn’t even notice when he opened the door to Septentrio and they found themselves in the Red Chamber. Sophie stepped over the threshold and her heart stopped when she saw the large, steamy pool and the luxurious beds at its right. In the past week, she had avoided the place like the plague.
Kain sensed her hesitation and squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. It was all my fault.”
“What are you talking about?” Her reaction threw him off guard.
“You two did your best, and I just couldn’t… I don’t know what happened. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.”
Kain took her by the shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. “Listen: there’s nothing wrong with you. The problem was me and Alexi. We couldn’t coordinate ourselves. We’ve never worked together before and our methods are very different. We’ll try again, and things will be better this time.”
Sophie sighed. She could almost believe him.
“How about we schedule the next session?”
Anxiety took the best of her, and Sophie took a step back, forcing Kain to let go of her shoulders. “I don’t know…”
“Your aura is very strong, but if we don’t work on it, you’ll lose momentum. I’ve talked with Alexi, and we both agreed that we have to resume the sessions and try again.”
“Really?” Sophie’s heart grew in her quivering chest at the thought that Kain and Alexi had talked about her. The first session had been such a mess that she had even thought they wouldn’t want to be her mentors anymore. She had been so afraid she was nothing but a waste of time to the two Lure legends.
“Yes,” said Kain and gave her a sweet, encouraging smile.
♥
Kain left Sophie in the library and went back to his and Alexi’s room. He wanted to tell his roommate and partner that he had finally managed to get a hold of their curvy apprentice and establish a second private session. However, Alexi was in the shower, so Kain decided to wait for him. He pictured the hard, sexy body under the hot spray and sighed. Yes, another reason for which he had rushed things a week ago was that he had hoped he would get more from Alexi as well, not only from Sophie. Such an uninspired move.
He heard the shower turn off, and he smiled thinking of his roommate covering his lower half with a huge towel. He knew it was useless to hope he’d get out of the bathroom like that. Kain strolled to Alexi’s side of the room and threw a glance over his neatly organized things. The way he kept everything clean and in order would never cease to amaze Kain. He stepped closer to the desk and almost burst out laughing when he saw one of the drawers slightly open. “You’re not so perfect after all, are you?” He reached over to close the drawer, but stopped with his hand in midair when he saw what was inside. “What the hell?” Changing his mind, he pulled it open and was greeted by a huge stack of files. He knew those files. He had completed most of them himself with pictures, reports, and evidence. He took them out of the drawer and opened the file on top. It was irrelevant what case it was. All that mattered was that they were here, and not in the archive in Septentrio, where they were supposed to be.
Kain heard the bathroom door open and turned around, rage clearly painted on his beautiful face. Alexi met his eyes, saw what he was holding, and did the only thing he could possibly do at that moment: he froze.
“Why the fuck do you have these? Who gave them to you?”
“You’ve been going through my stuff…” His voice was no more than a whisper.
“I’ve been going through… I’ve been going through your stuff?” Kain threw the files on the bed. They bounced off the soft mattress and some of them fell on the floor. “How dare you accuse me of that when you are the one who read all my case files? You weren’t even supposed to have access to them. Not without my written permission.”
Alexi sighed in defeat. “You don’t understand…”
“What? What is there to understand?” Kain folded his arms over his chest, afraid that he’d be too tempted to jump at Alexi’s throat and choke him. Countless things were going through his mind. If he had read each and every file, then he had surely read that one. That particular one. A pang of pain coursed through his chest, and he bit the inside of his cheek.
Alexi eyed Kain carefully, unsure of how to explain himself. He couldn’t tell his roommate the truth. No, that was out of the question. He had to find something else.
“I needed to know more about the Dukes.”
Kain rolled his eyes. “Bullshit.”
“No. I…” He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his wet, disheveled hair. “I needed real insight into the Dukes’ psychology and MO, not the dry information I find in all the theory books, no matter how new they are. You’ve solved so many of these cases, and I just knew these files would truly help me get a better grasp on these demons.”
“What is it with you and the Dukes? Your desk is full of books on them, and now this…” He motioned to the files on the bed. “You know what? I don’t believe you. I think you’re full of crap. There’s something else, something you don’t want anyone to know. So, what is it, Alexi? What is that dark, dirty secret you’re trying to hide?”
Alexi’s heart jumped in his chest. Was he really that easy to read? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Kain stepped closer to Alexi, invading his personal space. He looked him hard in the eyes, as if he was challenging him to lie to his face again. “Spill it out, mate. After all, you know mine, don’t you? It’s only fair that I should know yours.”
For a second, Alexi got lost in the blond’s icy eyes. From up close, the thin white scars around them were extremely evident. He swallowed hard and tried to find his voice. “I never meant to… It was not my intention to… I only needed the extra info on the Dukes.”
“But you did read that one, didn’t you? Vepar. Does the name ring a bell?” Kain held Alexi’s eyes, determined to make him talk. He couldn’t believe that a wound he had barely managed to heal years ago had just been opened wide by the fool in front of him.
Alexi took a step back, then went past Kain and started picking the files off the floor. He couldn’t hold the blond’s gaze anymore. Also, he felt like his roommate would see right through him if he attempted to lie to him again. And he had every intention to do so. Kain never had to know why Alexi was so interested in the Duke cases. What good would it do?
“Yeah… I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have read that one.”
“You shouldn’t have read any of them. How did you get them, anyway?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Apparently, someone believed you needed them badly enough to skip the bureaucracy.”
Alexi pla
ced the files neatly on the bed and rose to his feet. “Look, I’m sorry. That case contained some very personal information I should have never read.” He stole a glance at Kain’s faded blue eyes. They were half covered by his blond bangs, and he would have loved to reach over and brush the hair away, but just as he thought that, his chest tightened at the realization that he had just contemplated showing Kain… tenderness. He looked away and rubbed his eyes and temples, hoping it would help clear his mind. “What happened in that cave… was awful.”
Kain huffed in disdain. “What was awful was what happened afterwards, not in that cave.” He started pacing the room. “You already know half of the story, so how about I tell you the rest?”
“You don’t have to…” Alexi did not expect this turn of events. Why would Kain even confide in him?
“He was a painter, my father. My real father.” The blond stopped in the middle of the room, fists squeezed at his sides. “Not Mikal, and not the man who raised me after my mother cheated on him with an incubus.” He sighed. “It sounds so messed up when I say it like this, doesn’t it? I mean, for how many supposed parents we have, we are awfully alone.” He gave a short, bitter laugh. “No matter. My real father, the guy from whom Satene took the seed she gave to Mikal to impregnate my mother, was a painter. I never even knew him.”
“I don’t know mine either. What use would it have?”
“Well, in my case it did have some use.” Slight sarcasm was obvious in Kain’s voice. “After that wretched demon tore my eyes off, I thought I would never see again. I thought it was the end, because there was no way I was going to live my life like that. Blind. But there was one solution. My mother was dead.”
“I had no idea.”