Chapter Forty-Seven
REXTON
I PACE THE length of the living room, waiting for Cassia to finish showering. Our bond has been left open, and I take this opportunity to peek. Cassia’s energy has been different lately. It’s subtle, but it’s there. There’s a contentedness radiating from her, and I know it’s because of me.
I make her happy.
It’s only been a few days, but we’ve settled into a comfortable rhythm. It’s atypical, but it works for us. Well, it works for Cassia. She’s struggling to adjust, and I suspect it will take a while for her to fully trust that I’m not secretly plotting to steal Wrath from underneath her.
Our solution has been to avoid one another during the workday. I manage my business, and she manages hers. There’s no overlap, no healthy co-working relationship. Cassia gets too defensive when reminded that I’m good at my job and the Wraths like me.
We have a standing meeting at the end of every day instead.
I update her on my work, ensuring she knows everything I’ve done. It was my suggestion, and while Cassia argues that it isn’t necessary, she obviously appreciates it. She’s not blindsided by my decisions, and she’s the first to know about any changes.
It helps her paranoia.
And lessens her death threats.
Cassia has made it clear that she’s willing to kill me. I don’t know if she has it within her to kill her mate, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take. I don’t think I could bring myself to hurt her, even if in self-defense.
The bedroom door cracks open, and Cassia strolls confidently across the room. She’s not wearing anything particularly revealing, but I still admire every dip and curve. We spend most of our free time in bed, but it’s not enough.
I crack a smile, gesturing to her arms. “You’re pink.”
I looked the same after my shower. We got carried away earlier, and neither of us is particularly eager to meet her parents reeking of sex. I scrubbed her scent off me the best I could, and she’s done the same. The redness should fade soon, probably within the next couple of minutes.
Cassia clears her throat. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this.”
I shrug. “I’m going with or without you.”
Charlie’s been a loyal and supportive friend for years. She forgave me for allowing her to think I was dead, for fuck’s sake. She deserves to hear from me directly. I owe that to her.
Cassia and I have taken a few days to settle into our bond, and it’s time to address it with her family. I’m not particularly excited to do so, but it’s the right thing. Aziel and I have been communicating on a professional level, but we’ve been avoiding addressing the topic of Cassia.
“Without me?” Cassia scoffs. “They’re my parents.”
I raise a brow. “I’ve known them longer than you’ve been alive.”
“Hardly.”
Cassia purses her lips, glaring at her feet. I won’t force her to come with me. She’s a grown woman. If she doesn’t want to talk to her parents, that’s her prerogative. I still feel I owe an explanation to Charlie, though.
I fear the human is going to murder me.
Cassia’s nerves filter down our bond. “I haven’t spoken to Gray and Silas in months.”
Months? It’s been that long? “Why? Because of me?”
I knew there was tension between her and her parents, but I didn’t realize they’d stopped speaking entirely.
Who initiated it? I assume Cassia. I may not have been around for long when Cassia and her siblings were children, but the Wrath Trio adored their spawns.
I don’t see a world where any of them, Gray especially, chooses to go silent with Cassia.
“No, it had nothing to do with you. They…” Cassia groans. “We were all so angry with one another after I snuck into Greed, and they thought it would be a good idea to give me this bracelet…”
Cassia trails off, absentmindedly rubbing her wrist.
I know the bracelet she’s referring to. It was a beautiful, dainty piece covered in tiny diamonds. It went missing during the ambush, and I’ve been considering hiring a jeweler to make a replica as a present.
Cassia frowns, continuing. “It was infused with magic. I’m not sure what kind.” She waves a hand through the air. “Silas had it done, and you know he has all those sneaky connections.”
I chuckle, knowing precisely what she’s talking about. Being a fate has its perks, and Silas has access to information so old and secretive that even our best historians don’t know of it. Demons are one of the oldest species, and there’s almost nothing we don’t have records of.
Silas has the means to do things most people consider impossible, like creating the necklaces he gave to Charlie so many years ago. He found a way to infuse his power into the stone, something I’ve never seen or heard of being done before. Charlie still wears one around her neck.
“The bracelet trapped me within Wrath and Lust,” Cassia says. “I could travel freely between the two kingdoms, but I couldn’t set foot outside them.”
I’m rarely stunned silent, but this sure does it.
Cassia continues. “Only my parents could remove the bracelet. I tried everything to get it off, even had David dislocate my thumb, but it wouldn’t budge.
Silas was alerted whenever I tried to cross the border, too.
I suspect my whereabouts were always available to him, but he only showed up when I tried to leave. ”
I turn and sink into the nearest chair.
I’ve never been so angry—so disappointed. It’s no fucking wonder Cassia hated me so much. Not only was she forced to leave Greed and abandon her mission, but she was punished for trying.
They should never have punished her. I don’t necessarily agree with Cassia’s decision to sneak into Greed, but she’s an adult. It was her decision, and there were better ways for her parents to handle their fear.
They could have spoken with her, to start. She’s not an unreasonable woman.
If they treated her like the adult she is, she probably wouldn’t have felt the need to sneak into Greed in the first place. She could have presented her plan to them, and they could have worked together to find a solution that everyone was happy with.
Assuming Silas came clean about having sent me into Greed, Cassia might have succeeded. She and I could have worked together.
Cassia played the character of Luna well, and she’s intelligent enough to maneuver through Greed undetected. Had she gotten some better guidance, she could’ve done it.
“Rexton?” Cassia asks.
I hum.
“Say something.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I admit. “I’m frustrated.”
Cassia shrugs. “Aziel removed the bracelet during the ambush.” She pauses, brushing her foot along the ground. “I’m still angry, but I miss my parents.”
I slide my hands down my thighs. I can’t intervene. It’s not my position. I have a long history with the Wrath Trio, and I consider Charlie one of my closest friends, but it’s Cassia’s family.
This is her decision. She’s already had several taken from her, and I refuse to do the same. I’ll support whatever she wants.
“We don’t have to go if you aren’t ready,” I say. “I’ll follow your lead.”
—————
Cassia stands at the head of the table, staring silently at each of her seated parents. They were shocked to see us appear at the manor, and they were quick to comply when Cassia ordered them into the dining room for a family meeting.
I stand in the corner of the room, too antsy to sit.
Charlie glances at me, and my emotions get the better of me as I level her with a sharp glare. She had a part in Cassia’s punishment. She and her mates operate under a majority vote for big decisions, but there are exceptions to the rule. Charlie should have fought against imprisoning Cassia.
It should’ve never even been a conversation.
Gray clears his throat. There’s an astounding amount of negative energy pouring from Cassia and me, which I’m sure is making the incubus uneasy. He’s always been sensitive to it.
Aziel is the first to speak. “We owe you an apology.”
An apology? They owe her several apologies.
Cassia nods. “Yes, you do.”
She waits. I wait.
Gray is the first to go. He lunges out of his seat, a blur of movement as he throws himself at Cassia. She stumbles back as he slams into her, her eyebrows furrowed. She looks annoyed, but her love for him seeps through our bond.
It’s an odd feeling. I don’t love my parents, and I haven’t spent much of my adult life considering the emotion. It’s warm, though, and it’s unnervingly comforting. Cassia feels safe with Gray, and despite her anger, she craves being close to him.
It’s how I feel about her.
I hate parting ways with her every morning, and I spend the entire workday looking forward to seeing her in the evening.
Her presence is comforting, and I enjoy sharing a living space more than I thought I would.
She floats around our apartment, tinkering with things and entertaining herself.
She particularly enjoys looking through my personal items.
I particularly enjoy watching her do so.
“I’m so sorry, Cassie,” Gray says, releasing her. “It was all Silas’s idea, and I shouldn’t have gone along with it. We were terrified when David told us you’d snuck into Greed. I thought I was going to lose you, and I just… I couldn’t stomach the thought.”
Silas rises, giving Cassia his full attention. She’s angriest with him, and her fury pulses through our bond as he faces her.
Aziel stares blankly at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Charlie has moved to stand behind him, her stomach pressing against his shoulder as she runs her fingers repeatedly through his hair.
If Cassia notices it, she doesn’t react. I’ve heard that Aziel has trouble talking about Luca’s death. There’s an unspoken rule at work never to bring it up. I was warned of it shortly after returning from Greed.