Page 69 of Cam's Treasure

I tried not to think about that place, and in the last few years, I'd succeeded pretty well. But now that Kai had brought it up again, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"You don't have to tell me," he said softly, and I shook my head, meeting his gaze.

"I...I was born in Ravenshire," I admitted, and his eyes widened. In as few words as possible, I gave him a highlighted version of what had happened.

"When my parents discovered my type of magic, they had me arrested. I was there with another mage who lives here now, Aeron. Then he managed to escape during a torture session, found his way here, and met his mate. My dads were friends withNiall, his mate, and they came to rescue me because Aeron asked them to. Then, they adopted me."

The day Dad and Papa asked me if I'd be their son was one of the happiest days of my life. It was the first time I'd felt wanted, and I owed them everything.

"Is everyone in Ravenshire an awful person?" Kai asked, a hint of sadness in his voice, and I shook my head.

"I don't think so. I mean, Dad and Raphael also lived in Ravenshire until like fifteen years ago, and they're some of the best people I know. There have to be more people like that. It's just the people in control who seem to be the worst of them."

Wasn't that always the case? People in power became greedy or narcissistic and destroyed everything while the common people paid for it.

Fuck, this was not a conversation that would lead to good sleep.

Draining my cup, I eyed Kai, whose gaze was back on his empty cup, his shoulders hunched as his thoughts ate at him. I wasn't reading his thoughts—and I was going to pay later for putting up my shields again—but I could tell just by his expression that they weren't anything good.

"Would you like to watch a movie or something?"

Kai's eyes shot to mine, slightly wide as he swallowed hard. He let out a loud breath, then nodded, getting to his feet and taking his cup to the sink.

I smiled, and after clearing the counter, I followed him to the living room. We'd managed to put away most of Ember's stuff. Cam had insisted on not changing our plans to move Ember in today, and recruited Papa, Rhiannon, and Niall's help to pack up and move all of Ember's things—Papa and Niall finishing the work quickly with their vampire speed while Rhiannon created a portal to transfer everything here.

We settled on the couch, and when Kai told me to pick, I chose a low-stress rom-com I'd watched before, losing myself in the familiar story with Kai by my side and our other mates comfortably asleep upstairs.

Twenty-Eight

Ember

As I returned to the land of the awake, I squeezed the warm body in my arms, a smile gracing my lips as Cam made a sleepy, happy sound.

It was still a little hard to believe that I'd get to wake up like this every day. With Kai here too, it wouldn't be long before it was all four of us in this bed instead of three.

I frowned as I remembered Micah had been between us, and squinted my eyes open. Leaning up on an elbow, I checked Cam's other side, but he wasn't there either.

Straining my ears, I found the rest of the house silent. Where was Micah? And was Kai still in his room? Were they together?

Sliding out of bed, I pulled on a t-shirt and some sweatpants before slipping out of the room. A peek into Kai's room toldme he wasn't there, and I made my way downstairs, my worry mounting.

Downstairs, I checked the kitchen, finding it empty save for a few cups in the sink.

A sigh of utter relief escaped me when I found them in the living room, and my lips curved up when I saw their heads knocked together, their faces relaxed in sleep with a scant few inches between their bodies. The TV had the screensaver on. Had they been watching something?

Not wanting to startle them awake, I went into the kitchen and set the coffee brewing, then got started up on breakfast.

Cam strolled into the kitchen a few minutes later, his eyes still sleepy as he rubbed at them.

"Where's Micah and Kai?" he mumbled, leaning heavily against the counter.

Placing a hand on the back of his neck, I kissed his warm forehead before turning to the fridge and digging out some eggs.

"Living room. They're still asleep."

Cam nodded, then left the kitchen, returning after a few minutes with a smile on his face.

"They look so cute."

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