Chapter Thirty
––––––––
CATERINA WAS AWARE of Ramiel watching her while she stood in the rain.
She could practically feel his desire deepen when she took her hair out of the ponytail.
Feeling his eyes on her was like an aphrodisiac.
It made her body respond like it was his hands that were on her rather than his gaze.
He moved away from the door, but she could feel his presence.
He was now staring at her through one of the windows.
Utterly drenched by now, Caterina climbed the stairs.
It occurred to her to try to use her magic to dry herself.
Fresh clothes were just inside the entrance, just in case she accidentally set her outfit on fire.
It was hard to concentrate with Ramiel watching her.
She didn’t want him to see her embarrass herself.
Luckily, she managed to heat her skin and hair just enough to burn the moisture away.
It was painfully obvious how aroused her handsome companion was when she stepped inside. He was pretending to study the paintings on the wall when she walked in. “I just learned how to use my magic to dry myself!” she said.
Half turning to face her, Ramiel smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t accidentally set your clothes on fire.”
“Me, too,” she agreed. “Do you want me to dry you off?”
“I’ll pass,” he said and she snickered. “It should be safe to turn some lamps on, as long as the drapes are closed,” he said.
“Why don’t you get changed into dry clothes while I take care of that?” Caterina suggested. The poor guy obviously needed a few minutes to himself.
She deliberately turned her back when she began closing the drapes. He grabbed his gear and fled upstairs, then muttered to himself too quietly for her to hear him.
“He wants me bad,” she whispered, then snickered. She wanted him just as badly, which was less amusing.
Closing the drapes on the lowest floor, Caterina conjured fire on the tip of her finger. She lit a couple of oil lamps, which gave the parlor a cozy feeling. If the weather had been cooler, she would have lit the logs in the fireplace. It was far too warm for that, so she didn’t bother.
Taking her hiking boots off, she left them near the door, amazed to see her magic had dried them as well. The wooden floors were dusty, so she left her socks on. “I hope I don’t slip and break anything,” she said wryly.
The bed and breakfast hadn’t changed since she’d visited it briefly a couple of years ago. Ramiel hadn’t seemed happy when she’d mentioned spending the night here with another man, so she wouldn’t mention him again. She didn’t like the thought of her knight sleeping with other females either.
“Is he my knight?” she murmured. Fate had manipulated them into finding each other, but Ramiel seemed reluctant to explore their strange connection.
“What are we supposed to do now?” she asked, feeling a bit lost. The warrior’s goal was to find his brothers, but what was in store for them as a couple?
The Mad Prophet had strongly hinted that the other knights had paired up with females.
Why was Ramiel so hesitant to make a move on her?
Picking her gear up, she took the stairs to the second floor.
Ramiel had chosen the first door on the left.
He had no idea it was the same room she’d stayed in a couple of years ago.
She opened the door directly across the hall and entered it.
As dusty as the other rooms, Caterina stripped the bedding off.
She found clean sheets and pillowcases on a shelf in the closet.
She quickly put the sheets on the bed, then left her bags inside the closet without unpacking them.
She heard Ramiel leave his room and head downstairs, so she descended to see what he was up to. “I need to figure out where Amaros is,” the knight said. He’d spread a map open on a coffee table in the parlor and was studying it.
Caterina sat down on the couch next to him, leaving a small gap between them. “What do you think Fate has planned for us?” she asked.
Startled by her question, Ramiel glanced at her. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “It’s obvious she intended for us to meet each other. Perhaps she intends my commander to take you on as an ally. Your talents could assist us to defeat our enemies.”
She scowled as he evaded the topic. “I get that your boss will want to use my pyrokinesis,” she said. “But what about us, Ramiel? There has to be a reason why Fate went to so much trouble to make sure we’d find each other.”
Shifting in his seat, he frowned at the map. “I’m sure Amaros will know why Fate is pairing us up with females,” he said confidently.
“Do you want me?” Caterina asked bluntly.
Ramiel turned to look at her, picking up on her vulnerable tone. “I find you very attractive, female,” he said, but his tone was guarded.
“I can’t shake the feeling that we’re supposed to be together,” the cambion said.
“We are together,” Ramiel said. “We’re sitting right next to each other.”
His glib response annoyed her. “You know what I mean,” Caterina said. “There’s been sexual tension between us from the moment we locked eyes. It’s growing stronger by the hour. You want me and I want you, so what’s holding you back?”
She could tell he was hiding something from her. Dropping his eyes, he hunched his shoulders defensively. “It’s highly unusual for knights and cambions to become allies,” he hedged.
“Why?” she demanded. “Is it because the Soldiers of Chaos are our fathers?” He’d mentioned none of the knights had ever procreated, but he hadn’t gone into detail about the reasons why.
Ramiel rubbed his face with his hands, delaying his response. He let out a sigh, then turned to face her. She did the same and felt the heat of his thigh that was now so close to hers. “There’s something I haven’t told you about your kind,” he said.
“Yeah, I figured,” Caterina said impatiently.
“In the past eras, the spawn of our enemies have always been born with black souls,” the knight said.
She waited for the punchline, but it never came. “I don’t have a black soul,” she said in confusion.
“I know,” he agreed. “I’ve never met a cambion like you before. I’m not sure why you aren’t as evil as the soldier who sired you.”
“Why have my kind been evil in the past?” she asked.
“I’m not sure why all cambions are evil, but some of them even turn feral,” he said. “That’s the reason why the Knights of Order have never impregnated females. We didn’t want to have to destroy our own younglings if they were born with black souls.”
It took a few seconds for that information to sink into her head. “Are you saying you and your brothers have killed cambions in the past?” she asked, drawing away from him a bit.
He nodded gravely. “Ridding this planet of our enemies and their offspring are our main duties,” he told her.
Caterina’s mouth went dry and she felt a bit sick. “You’ve murdered every cambion that’s ever existed?” Her voice sounded both incredulous and dismayed.
“Think of the horrors you could inflict on humanity with your pyrokinetic ability,” Ramiel said gravely.
“Few cambions have ever lived to maturity before. Their powers usually only tend to manifest at puberty. Some can use their magic at a much younger age. All of them were deadly even without magic and we couldn’t allow them to live.
We’re not even sure how long your kind live for.
Imagine the damage a single evil cambion could cause over hundreds or even thousands of years. ”
Feeling numb by now, Caterina nodded jerkily. “Sure. I get it,” she said and stood up on shaky legs. “You couldn’t possibly hook up with a monster like me. I might turn evil and fry you to death just for fun.”
“Caterina,” Ramiel said in an apologetic tone as she walked away.
“It’s fine, Ramiel,” she said without stopping. “I’m going to turn in. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Caterina refused to cry when she returned to her bedroom, even though it felt a bit like her heart was breaking.
She’d given up her family to search for her destiny only to be rejected.
“Maybe I am a monster even though my soul is gray,” she whispered as she flopped onto her back on the bed.
“I’ve used my magic to kill a lot of people by now.
I guess it’s only a matter of time before my soul turns black and Ramiel will be forced to kill me. ”
Bleak hopelessness had replaced her cautious hope that her destiny would be full of love and happiness.