“I’m sorry I woke you up.”
They were both silent for a long while.
“Was it the same nightmare?” Lamia asked.
“Yes…”
“You know… It might go away if you…”
“If I what?”
“If you slept with Kain and Alexi as you used to.”
“You know I can’t do that, Lamia.”
“You say that…”
“I can’t, so stop mentioning it.” She waited for her friend to argue with her again, but when Lamia didn’t say anything, Sophie sighed and felt a bit guilty for having snapped at her. “Besides,” she continued. “Alexi has his own shit to deal with right now. Kain can help him. I’d only be a burden.”
CHAPTER TWO
Walking past Meridies, the pavilion of the incubi and succubi, then through the main gate of Lure Academy, Kain stopped in the middle of the road and looked right and left. May had told him she had seen Alexi go into the forest, probably for a walk. Kain sighed and tried to make up his mind. If he went right, the road would take him down the mountain, and he doubted Alexi had gone that way. If he went left, he would eventually hit a dead end. The forest around the Academy was rather dense and unfriendly. The terrain was steep, and the overgrown roots of the old firs could turn into horrible traps if one wasn’t careful. That was why the cambions rarely went for strolls outside the gates. Kain hesitated one more minute, then went left. He allowed his instinct to guide him, and after walking for five minutes, he stepped carefully between the trees at the edge of the road.
The past few days since coming back to Lure had been a nightmare. An entirely different kind of nightmare, if Kain were to compare it to what had happened at Casimir D’Argyle’s mansion. A bad dream happening in slow motion. First, Sophie had started avoiding them and locking herself up in her and Lamia’s room. Neither Kain, nor Alexi had seen her since the meeting in Lilith’s office. The blond would have understood if Sophie had given the silent treatment to the Pantheon. They had all been jerks to her, refusing to tell her what they knew about her sigil. But, for the life of him, he couldn’t understand why she was giving him and Alexi the silent treatment as well. They could have helped her. They could have tried to distract her, and if that didn’t work, help her research the strange, intricate mandala on her stomach. Kain huffed and stepped over a root that was half hidden under twigs and leaves.
Then, there was Alexi. Kain’s roommate, lover and partner had been avoiding him too. He would have expected him to go straight to Oriens to see Duke Gremory, but instead Alexi had spent most of his time in their room, with his headphones over his ears and his eyes stuck in a video game. It was the first time Kain had seen him like this. He had had no idea Alexi was using his computer for something other than studying and researching demons, especially the Dukes, so it had all come as a huge, unexpected surprise. He had tried to talk to Alexi, coax him into telling him what was happening, but Alexi had only grown more distant. One evening, Kain had come into their shared room only to see that Alexi had separated their beds. He had thrown a tantrum, of course, but the only reaction he had gotten was Alexi storming out of the room and returning hours later, when Kain was already asleep.
The blond tripped over a root, found his footing on time, and cursed under his breath. “Things can’t go on like this,” he thought. “One way or another, it ends here.” He was tired of stepping on eggshells while he was around Alexi, tired of being patient, fed up with measuring his words carefully as to not hurt the Russian. Yes, Gremory had ruined his life, he had carved his awful mark on Alexi’s back and abandoned him, but it was time for his partner to face the facts. Face reality.
And Sophie… what were they supposed to do with Sophie? Kain couldn’t handle everything by himself. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed where his train of thought had taken him. “I can’t handle everything by myself,” he whispered. He shook his head and smiled. “Great! These two assholes have messed with my head, turned my life upside down, and now they’ve each disappeared into their own bubble.” He had never thought he would ever need someone by his side. Not a man. Not a woman. He had worked alone for too many years. He had been sure he would never get attached again. He looked into the distance and saw the sun finally making its way through the trees, which meant there was probably some sort of clearing up ahead. He resumed walking with new-found determination. He was going to get his two lovers and partners back. One way or another. First Alexi, then Sophie.
Alexi was sitting on a root, head down, his dark hair sticking into his eyes. He heard someone approaching, but didn’t turn around. He could already feel Kain’s summery aura enveloping the small clearing, making the bright sunrays feel warmer on his skin. He was wearing a white T-shirt, tattered blue jeans, and a pair of old mountain boots. He hadn’t felt like putting on something fancier before leaving their room a couple of hours ago. When Kain crouched in front of him, Alexi didn’t look up.
“Lovely friend you have there,” said the blond.
Alexi furrowed his brows at the weird statement, then realized he had been staring at a rather big and long black ant as it was trying to grab and lift some sort of seed. He blinked and moved his eyes to Kain’s leather boots. As usual, the blond had tucked his leather pants inside them, leaving the laces half undone. He stopped himself from looking up at his roommate’s strong arms, lean body, wide shoulders, and long, soft hair. Kain was smoking hot, and Alexi didn’t need that distraction right now. He didn’t need any kind of distraction until he sorted things out and made a decision.
“So… this is your secret place.” Kain looked around the clearing. It was rather nice, but uncomfortable. Asides from the thick root Alexi was using as a stool, there was no other place to sit, unless you didn’t mind leaves and dirt sticking to your pants.
“If it were secret, I would’ve made sure no one saw me leave the Academy.”
“Right.”
Alexi hadn’t looked at him yet, and Kain was growing impatient. The last thing he liked was being ignored.
“I think it’s time for you to talk.”
“I don’t wanna talk.”
“I know. But you have to. Come on, you’ll feel better after you get it out of your system. Trust me.”
Alexi growled and kept staring stubbornly at the small creature on the ground. If he waited long enough, maybe Kain would just get bored or frustrated and leave him alone.
“I thought the
first thing you’d do after coming back to Lure would be to pay Gremory a visit. Mikal has been waiting for you in Oriens.”
“Waiting… to kick me out?”