Page 21 of Mystique of the Fallen
That silly boy hadn’t figured out that Reginald was addicted to control. Grant refused to examine why it’d taken him so long to figure out that he’d been molded into what Reginald wanted with no thought to his desires. And as much as Grant wanted to explore life, he was frightened.
He was walking out and had to trust himself.
Sucking in a deep breath and hoping he was up to the task ahead of him, Grant bypassed the phone Reginald had bought him and tapped the screen of his secret one.
“Did you look at a clock?” an amused male voice asked.
Grant’s brows drew together. “No, but I guess it’s, like, seven.”
“Yeah, it’s the first time I haven’t had to wake up to take one of your calls. I’m glad to hear from you. How’s your reading going?”
Unfortunately, Grant had had little opportunity to explore the world of the Council. Reginald was growing more impatient with each day, and Grant had to devote his energy to expediting his future plans. “I’ve got some shit going on, but I read that stuff about your Reverent Knights.”
“Did you Google it?” Roman asked. “I don’t want you to blindly take my word for anything.”
In that way, Roman had Grant’s full respect. Reginald told him what to do and what to believe. If Grant tried to think on his own, it pissed Reginald off, and he accused Grant of lacking trust in him. Grant wasn’t allowed to have any beliefs that deviated from Reginald’s either.
“Yeah, I didn’t find too much,” Grant confided. “You’re not going to like this, but some humans are, like, proud and shit that they killed those Emperors. They don’t really believe your Reverent Knights are the same guys though.”
“Honestly, I don’t give a shit what humans believe,” Roman said. He cleared his throat loudly. “Present company excluded, of course.”
“It’s okay, you can offend me. You have no reason to be nice to me. I haven’t been nice to you.”
Finding out that a fallen knight believed they were mates was still fucking up Grant’s headspace, but he was trying to be reasonable. Roman probably wasn’t a zombie. That didn’t mean zombies didn’t exist, but maybe fallen knights didn’t fall into that category.
Grant’s thoughts were fuzzy most of the time, but he hadn’t had any beer since that morning. Even with a clear mind, Grant didn’t know what to make of the situation. The timing sucked.
“You’re doing your best to learn about me and my world, which I appreciate. All your life, you’ve been taught to avoid people like me. I’m not going to slap a deadline on your feelings. You deserve whatever space you need to adjust to this new reality Fate has thrown us both in. To be honest, I’m adapting too. I’m the first fallen knight to be paired with a human.”
“I guess because humans killed your bosses, you might be pissed.”
“Exactly. Humans also don’t make my job easy. But I refuse to hold that against you.”
“I was a cop. A few years ago, I was doing everything I was told, including fucking up crime scenes for fallen knights.”
Roman sighed. “At least we have law enforcement in common.”
“Yeah, look. I called because I’m going through some shit,” Grant said. “I’ve decided to move. Break up with Reginald. Shit like that. I gotta disappear, so you may not hear from me for a while. I gotta find a place to live and all that. And since we’re being honest, I still need to think about this mate business. You gave me all this stuff, and I haven’t had a chance to read everything yet.”
“I appreciate you letting me know. Good luck with your move. If you need help with anything, I hope you’ll at least consider me a friend you can count on. I’ll unpack a box or slap some paint on the wall with you.”
A strange picture flashed in Grant’s mind of him standing in a living room decorated in blue, green, and silver. Roman was there at his side, and they were laughing. Gone were the blond highlights Reginald insisted Grant keep in his hair, and Roman’s fingers toyed with his naturally brunet tresses.
What the fuck was that?Grant wondered as he shook his head.
“Yeah, thanks, man.”
“I won’t call you. Take as long as you need, and I’ll be here.”
“Why are you so nice to me?”
“Look, this situation is complicated, but I’m unwilling to take out my conflicting emotions on you. On my mate. I can’t predict the future, but I’ve waited a long time to find the other half of my soul. That’s you. Only Fate knows if our bond is a good one. Someday I’d like us to discover that truth for ourselves. In recent years, I’ve learned from my family that Fate doesn’t always get the timing right. I respect that your life didn’t begin the day we met. All I can do is offer my friendship and hope you take me up on that someday.”
Grant was inexplicably moved to tears. Why the hell he was suddenly emotional was baffling, and he blamed it on the rush job he’d had to put on his plans. But he had to admit, having a friend like Roman didn’t sound like a bad thing. Maybe he could do that. Be his friend. But it had to wait until Grant faced Reginald and rebuilt everything.
“Let me get settled. Give me a few months or whatever. Then maybe I’ll call you and we can work on this friends thing.”
“Sounds good, but seriously, if you need anything in the meantime, you can call me, and I’ll try to help.”
