Chapter 26 #4
“Cassius, you will be in your old bed and we will prepare a meal fit for such wonderful guests.” Ma-mar began barking orders at my sisters who for once did not complain or bicker over who did what, instead hurrying away, some of them to buy food from the market before it closed, others hurrying to get to work on preparing the rooms and the whirlwind of movement made my head spin and my heart swell with its familiarity.
There was no point in me trying to argue against Ma-mar’s decision now that it had been made, so despite my very keen desire to get the thief far away from my sisters, I was left with no option but to agree.
“This is very kind of you, Madam Lazar,” Drake said, flashing her a smile which made even her knees go weak as she laughed coyly, waving a hand dismissively.
“It is the very least we can do to show our appreciation for what you have done for our sweet Cassius.” She turned to me, placing a doting hand on my cheek, making me squirm a little at being made to seem like a boy before him, but the look Drake was giving us was not one of amusement or mocking.
It was more like…curiosity with perhaps the faintest hint of longing, though as I gave thought to that idea the look swiftly fled his expression.
“We will get out of your way while you make the preparations then,” I said, giving in. “No doubt you have a lot to do, Imani,” I added, shooting my sister a hard look as she lingered in Drake’s lap.
Drake promptly lifted her to her feet, rising too, his palm trailing over her back and making fury burn in my flesh before he moved to join me.
“It is an absolute pleasure to accept your hospitality,” he said to everyone, giving them a winning smile.
Even my mother seemed to buy it and she'd just witnessed him pawing one of her daughters without any shame. Gods, the man was infuriating. And now I was going to have to spend an entire night making certain he stayed well away from my sisters and kept to his own bed.
My shoulders trembled with fury as I smiled so hard that I was in danger of cracking a tooth, and I pointed the way towards the private courtyard to the back of my family home.
“The count and I have some preparations to make for tomorrow,” I said. “We will do so in the courtyard to ensure we stay out of your way until dinner.”
“I’ll have Marla bring you refreshments shortly,” Ma-mar said, nodding her agreement.
I led the way through the kitchen and dining chamber, opening the double doors there onto the wide courtyard which had long been one of my favourite places in the entire world.
The huge lemon tree stood in the centre of the space, the wide spread of its leaves casting dappled shade across the cobbled ground below.
Wisteria grew up the white walls of the house, coating all four of them with the first blooms of the season in full force. Lilac sprays of flowers filled the air with a sweet and nostalgic scent, reminding me of long days spent playing out here with my sisters when I was a boy.
“It’s beautiful,” Kyra breathed, as she moved ahead of us, her head tipping back as she stared at the flowers which reached up past the windows of the house and climbed over the red tiles of the roof too. “Like something from a dream I wish I’d had.”
But I had no time for her dreams and the second we stepped outside, I shoved Drake up against the lemon tree. “You touch my sisters again and I'll fulfil your prison sentence and castrate you.”
Drake prised my hands away from his tunic, barking a laugh and not looking the least bit sorry.
“They were all over me. Besides, I’ve got a sex Affinity so I can’t exactly help it, women can just tell how incredibly good I could make them feel if only we had less clothes on as soon as they meet me.
You can’t blame me for that; if you have to blame someone then blame the gods.
” He shrugged, the look on his face setting my blood boiling, though I fought to hold my temper in, knowing my family would hear us if it got out of hand.
It would be pretty hard to explain to them why I was arguing with the Count I worked for, because he outranked me and I should know my place.
“I've protected them,” Kyra sang, not seeming to notice the violent intentions in me, or maybe just not caring.
“Their house cannot be found, and their bodies cannot be broken, cut, bruised or hurt in any way by malicious intent. And if by any chance anyone tries to steal them away, a swarm of angry bats will appear, helping them get free once more.”
“Are you certain that will be enough to keep them safe?” I asked with a frown, concerned about the bats thing – it seemed like quite the choice.
“Of course it is,” Drake said, moving further into the courtyard as he rolled his sleeves back, caring nothing for propriety and exposing his inked forearms before loosening a few buttons at his throat too.
“You heard her: angry bats. No one is going to battle their way through a swarm of angry bats. Besides, Egos is going to think we're dead anyway so there would be no reason for him to ever even come here. I know him. He won’t waste time and effort on punishing a dead man. His interests lay in gaining riches, not killing the families of people who have already paid the price of their failure.” Drake shrugged and I could tell that he truly believed that, allowing my heart rate to settle a little.
It was the best I could do for the people I loved, and knowing that they would be safe went a long way towards helping me calm myself despite the knowledge that I was going to have to spend the rest of the day and night protecting my sisters’ honour from the cad who had snuck into their home.
“Do you need to head somewhere to protect anyone?” I asked Drake as I tried to let my anger fall away.
Drake shook his head as he dropped onto one of the wooden chairs which surrounded a table in the centre of the courtyard at the base of the huge tree. “There isn't anyone.”
“Oh,” I breathed with a pang in my chest and he stiffened, seeming to feel the pity even in that single word.
“Not even a brother?” Kyra asked.
“No,” Drake said stiffly.
“Or a sister?” she asked hopefully.
“No,” Drake growled.
“A cousin?” she suggested. “Or a great, great aunt’s cousin’s friend?”
“Just assume the answer is no to all family members you're about to suggest,” Drake said and I frowned slightly.
He had no one but a bunch of thieves for family and they hadn't exactly been a decent bunch.
The people who he had lived with, shared a life with and been surrounded by clearly meant as little to him as he did to them, and that fact in itself was enough to make my anger with him lessen.
Even if he had held any affection for any of the thieves, he couldn't return to them now without Egos killing him. So he truly was alone in this world.
A giggle drew my attention to the dining chamber behind me and I whipped around, catching Lyla and Kaminah peering out to get a look at their guest with heated cheeks and wide eyes.
I growled beneath my breath, barking an order at them to go help Ma-mar with the preparations and closed the doors sharply to offer us some semblance of privacy.
But as I turned back to Drake and Kyra, moving to join them at the table, the sound of giggling reached me again, forcing my eyes to snap up to find Zaria peering out of her bedroom window trying to get a look at him too.
I exhaled slowly as I forced myself to remain calm and focus on all the things I needed to try and teach Drake before we entered the palace tomorrow.
I took in the way he sprawled in his chair, legs wide, arm hooked over the back of it and looking every part the cocky, ill-bred, lothario I knew him to be.
This task was going to be close to impossible.
But if I wanted any chance of getting into the palace and finding what I needed to remove the threat of Magdor from the throne, then I was going to have to make it work.