Page 58 of Castor
“I think so,” I answered. “And if he ends up stabbing us in the back, well, he won’t live long enough to boast about it. Gray said you guys hunted shades. Have there been many?”
The group I had killed not long before leaving for Greece had been the first demon sighting since the underworld fight. If more were coming out of hiding, it could only mean one thing: Asa was stronger and growing in confidence.
“Not anything we can’t handle,” Galen responded. “Keep me updated on things over there.”
“I will.”
After disconnecting the call, I walked downstairs and joined the others on the back terrace. Bellamy was relaxing in a lounge chair beside the pool, sipping a fruity drink as he sunbathed. His body glistened from his dip in the pool earlier, and muscles rippled beneath his golden tan. He looked like a total fuckboy.
Nothing new there.
Raiden came to stand beside me, crossing his arms as he watched Bellamy. “If he’s not careful, he’s gonna get attacked.”
“I think that’s what he wants,” I said, amused by how a guy nearly ran into the pillar of the terrace when Bellamy winked at him. “We’re going to be here for a while. You know how Bell can’t go more than a few days without sex. I mean, hecan, but he gets pissy if he does.”
“Yeah, he’s a real bitch when he doesn’t get laid.”
“I heard that, you assholes,” Bellamy said, looking over at us.
“See?” Raiden nudged me. “It’s already starting.”
“Don’t make me get up out of this chair to kick both your asses.” Bellamy rested his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m comfortable and look way too good to move.”
“Damn right he looks good,” Elon mumbled from beside me. He was the one who’d had the bow and arrow when we’d first come to the island. He had chestnut-colored hair that fell to his shoulders, bronzed skin, and light brown eyes.
“You have an admirer over here,”I told Bellamy through our mind link.“And he’s cute. Looks like you’ll be getting lucky after all.”
“Thank fuck.”
I shook my head with a laugh and went to find Kyo. He had wandered off down the path shortly after lunch and was probably at the beach. I walked that way, nodding to a group of Nephilim I passed.
The island was a haven for them. Homes were scattered throughout the island, as well as restaurants and a marketplace for them to purchase things: food, cloth, perfumes, and trinkets. Money didn’t seem to be the currency they used though, for food anyway. I’d seen them exchange goods, like a basket of fruit for loaves of bread and fish for other kinds of meat.
“That’s it! You can do it!” a male said from a nearby field. He stared up at a child who was hovering in the air, flapping his small wings. “Don’t worry about falling. I’m here if you need me.”
The boy squealed in delight as he steadied himself in the air. “Daddy! I did it!”
A father teaching his son to fly.
“Don’t be afraid, Castor,” my father said, kneeling in front of me. Black wings curved behind him. I’d heard they had been white as snow once, yet I didn’t know the reason they’d changed. Maybe he’d tell me someday. “You’re ready. I know you are.”
“But what if I fall?”
“Then you’ll fall.” He squeezed my shoulder and softly smiled. “The important thing is getting back up, dusting yourself off, and trying again as many times as it takes.”
My chest ached at the memory.
I had fallen ten times before finally being able to keep myself in the air. My father had stayed beside me the entire time, cheering me on. He never once caught me when I’d fallen. He’d wanted me to do it on my own—picking myself back up included. The pride on his face when I did it had made me feel like I was on top of the world.
“I’m so proud of you.”
Kyo sat on the beach with his feet buried in the sand, arms resting on his knees. He was no longer in his hybrid form. Baxter might’ve suspected he was a dragon, but he didn’t feel comfortable confirming that suspicion. Not yet anyway.
“This reminds me of home,” he said as I dropped down beside him. “Not exactly the same. Our palace is on an island near Ishigaki off the coast of Okinawa. Coral sand, clear blue water, and secluded coves. It was so beautiful.”
“You sound like you miss it.”
“A part of me does, I think.” Kyo drew a design in the sand between us, a circle and some squiggles. Like the sun. “It’s where I grew up. But it’s also where I felt trapped for so many years. Tatsuya never let me leave the island because the other clans wanted us dead. When tensions eased between us—well, when we weren’t in a full-blown war at least—I left home and traveled all over the world just to escape it all. It was viewed as a rebellion against the clan, and many of my people dislike me for it. Maybe it’s why I feel like I owe them now.”
