Kain shrugged. “Well, yes. But that’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?” Alexi huffed. “I can’t rip his head off, so why bother seeing him?”
“Because you need to put an end to this. You need to go there, face him, tell him whatever the hell you’ve been waiting to tell him all this time, then move on.”
“It’s easy for you to say…”
“For fuck’s sake, it’s not easy!” Kain jumped to his feet and started pacing. His right leg had fallen asleep in the odd position and now an army of needles was running up and down his muscles. “Look, I know it’s not easy, but you have to do it at some point. Sooner rather than later. This situation isn’t helping anyone. And how can you even live knowing that he’s here, so close to you, in the building right across from yours, while he has no idea you’re here?”
“Maybe that’s what makes it easier…”
“That he doesn’t know? That as far as he’s concerned, you might as well be dead?”
Alexi squeezed his eyes shut, then rose to his feet slowly. Finally, he looked into Kain’s pale blue eyes. He felt a strange satisfaction when he saw the blond flinch at his cold stare.
Kain swallowed hard and pushed further. “Why don’t you just go there and show him he was wrong? Show him you survived without him, show him he doesn’t have any power over you and that stupid mark on your back means nothing to you.”
“That stupid mark on my back is still burning.” Alexi spoke slowly, spitting each word into Kain’s face. “Every time I come close to Oriens, to Gremory, it’s like my whole body is set on fire.”
“Because you refuse to fight it!”
“What do you know about fighting?” He took a step towards Kain. “Oh yes, you lost your eyes, you were forced to take your human father’s eyes… what was he again? A painter? Then you took revenge on each and every demon who crossed your path. Is that what you call fighting?”
Kain took a deep breath and struggled to keep his temper in check. Alexi was hurting. He was hurting, and because he didn’t know how to hurt Gremory in return, he was taking it out on Kain. It was okay. He could handle this.
“That’s not all,” the blond said in a calm, well-measured voice. “I know what you’re going through, believe me.”
“How do you fuckin’ know? You don’t know anything!”
“It’s not a good time because this is not about me. It’s about you and Gremory. You have to set things straight. You have to go there and talk to him. Mikal won’t even let you touch him, and that’s okay. You don’t have to take that sort of revenge to move on. You’ve already done more that anyone could’ve expected from you by catching him and bringing him to the Academy. Your job in what Gremory is concerned is done.”
“It’s not about you… It’s not about you.” Alexi rolled his eyes. “If you wanna say something, just say it.” Kain was incapable of taking himself out of the equation even when things were clearly not connected to him. It almost amused Alexi. On the other hand, it made him curious too.
“I was thinking…” Kain couldn’t believe what he was about to say. It was stupid. He knew it was stupid, but he also knew he wasn’t the right person to try and help Alexi. “I’ve heard Sophie has been seeing Erah.”
Alexi’s dark green eyes widened. “No. Stop right there.”
“Listen to me: he might be able to help. I’ve never told you this, but I’ve seen him in the past. He helped me clear my head…”
“Yeah. That’s why you ended up slaughtering demons.”
“Slaughtering? What kind of word is that?” Kain was starting to lose his patience and temper. “I always brought them to Lure alive.”
“But not exactly in one piece, am I right?”
Kain breathed in and out a couple of times. Yes, Alexi was right. He had been particularly cruel when solving his cases since the incident which had almost left him blind, but again… this wasn’t about him.
“At least consider it,” the blond said. “Erah is one of the good guys. He actually cares about us, unlike the rest of the Pantheon.”
Alexi swallowed heavily. Kvasir also cared about him, his only son. He had been avoiding the incubus just as much as he had been avoiding Kain and Gremory. He looked at Kain for a long minute, at his bright eyes, straight nose, and thin lips. No, he didn’t need friends now. He didn’t need Kain, Sophie, Kvasir, or Erah. He didn’t need enemies, either. Just thinking about Gremory made his skin crawl and his demon mark burn. He turned around and headed back to the Academy.
“Hey! You don’t get to turn your back to me!” Kain yelled. When Alexi ignored him, the blond went after him. “You dumbass! I’m going to help you get through this whether you like it or not.” He struggled to keep his balance on the steep incline. “Shit.”
?
Kain caught up with Alexi in their room. The blond threw the door open, determined to give his partner a good piece of his mind after he had forced him to trek through the forest at an insane pace. Both his leather boots and leather pants were full of scratches. However, when he found Alexi throwing clothes into a huge bag, he instantly forgot everything he had been meaning to yell at him.
“What are you doing?”