The Beast I Am

Chapter 13

"My Brother has been trapped in his flight form for a quarter of a century, forced to endure an extended torture he does not deserve. You help me with his absolution, and your debts with me are completely and utterly void." Rhazien's voice was too serious, and his gaze settled on me again expectantly. I was to answer—politely.

The tone as much of a command as his words only a moment ago.

My brain couldn't think, wouldn't think, as if, in its own rage, it refused to process anymore. So, my words came out as stuttered as my thoughts, "H-How?"

"Will you allow me to speak succinctly, or will you interrupt me with your volatile Beast?" My gaze was drawn to Luther's tail, which flicked angrily at his Brother's annoyed tone. Rhazien pushed the decanter closer to where I stood as he took his seat at the helm.

My eye twitched, although my tongue remained firmly behind my teeth, forcing my rage to still the shaking in my palms as I attempted to pour another glass. Already, the angry dogs of hunger had started to snip at my heels. Without my heart to regulate my body, it was on me to do everything—a new type of exhaustion I never thought I'd experience.

Taking my seat was as much a win for Rhazien as it was a necessity for me.

"My Brother is like you are now, technically linked to the Slecatto court through relations but not actually dependent on their laws. Which is why I just needed you to behave for a little while longer." His disappointing growl sent my mind into another whirlwind of loathing, his own anger thrown back with the rest of his glass, the thunk loud as he kept it upside down. "I was told to call in a favor, so I did. As an Independent, Luther was selected for the job by me. And..." His nose flared, something old tugging deep in him. "The intel was bad. Everything went wrong, and Luther crossed ties with a Sister– a witch who is commissioned by Lycanth's." Werewolves. "He's been stuck..." Rhazien let out a long exhale, "For so long now... The contact I had been using previously has recently denounced any ties with me and no longer wishes to associate with me in general... But you..." Rhazien looked up from his glass and brushed his mustache, the movement he made when he was already knee-deep in his schemes.

"I'm new." It was a statement that had gotten me out of decapitation with Valentine. I swore to whatever comedic god was watching over my irony that it worked for Rhazien, too.

"And unknown. I made sure of that, in case..." Rhazien's cheeks darkened as the words hung unspoken.

In case I never made it. It would be deemed as a failure on him and Valentine, who gave Rhazien permission to Sire me. A siring that I was now starting to question the legitimacy of. My gaze inadvertently fluttered to Luther silently.

"I will give you the documents you need to succeed, but this is now your burden. Allowing you in my home now is only a testimonial of my faith in my Brother's wishes, not a trust in your abilities. Take care to note that this is the last boon I will ever hold for you." Rhazien stood, nodding to Jane in the doorway, as she placed a thick stack of papers onto the table. "If someone approaches you, knows your name? Proceed with extreme caution. To know you are my Childer is one thing; I am the Seneschal, and any mention of my name will draw attention. But yours, I've made sure to only mutter to a few– those bound not to repeat it. If there's anything you should get through your fucking skull right now, it's that I did what I could to keep you in the shadows for as long as possible– so do not, under any circumstances, trust anyone that knows your name."

A shudder ran down my spine as he straightened his. Rhazien brushed a hand through his hair, sweeping it from his face. It was then that I noticed how flushed his cheeks were and how wide his pupils had become, my words stalling him completely.