?
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.”