Enclave Edict #6:
The supernatural community will flourish as long as everyone plays their part.
CIPRIAN
I leave the Naked Fang and go to a nearby bar to get blind drunk and wallow, stumbling out at last call with a numbness that can’t begin to silence the angry, screaming wound inside me.
Celine hates me. Why wouldn’t she? I didn’t lie to her face, but what I did was worse. I tricked her, deliberately concealing my identity and my motives, embedding myself in her life like a parasite.
I want to tell her I hate myself as much as she does, but she doesn’t want to hear that.
Dad’s stunt almost got me killed. Alistair thought about it—I watched him weigh his options. It made me wonder who would come out on top if we fought without holding back.
If he got the drop on me, a snapped neck would be the quickest way to go, but I think I would prefer his fangs in me.That way, I could at least imagine that I mattered to him a little while he tore me to pieces.
Luca was shocked, but he didn’t offer to hear me out. No one ever does, so I’m not sure why I’m surprised. I’m not the guy who gets the benefit of the doubt, and I’ll never be someone who has a loyal group of friends supporting his rights and wrongs.
My own brother always thinks the worst. Mom sees only her baby’s face and nothing more when she looks at me. And Dad, well, the only thing he likes about me is the fact that his magic runs through my veins. The weight of my last name has always been heavy. Tonight, though, I’d give anything to put it down and stand on my own.
I laugh up at the sky, then burp loudly. I can metaphorically throw off my identity a million times. But it won’t change who I am.
Fumbling for my phone, I dial Sheena’s number to hear it ring. She can’t answer, I know that, but part of me hopes she will.Pick up, bestie. I need you.
“Hello,” Callum answers, and my heart sinks. “Ciprian, is that you?”
I sigh bitterly. “Who else would it be?” Turning down a random side street, I wander aimlessly along the Fringes. This could be the way to my shitty apartment or a path to nowhere. I won’t know unless I keep walking.
“Is everything okay?” Callum asks. His voice is laced with exhaustion. I consider lying, but I’ve done enough of that recently, and I’m drunk enough to not care what he thinks of me.
“You didn’t tell me,” I say. “I was scared out of my mind for her, sick with worry. You didn’t even think to send me a text.”
There’s a pause on the other end of the line. I think he hung up on me until I hear him release a heavy sigh. “There was nothing you could do.”
“Believe me, I know.” I laugh bitterly. “I’m no help. Worthless. Everyone thinks so.”
“What’s wrong, Ciprian?” Callum demands. “It’s late.”
I laugh again, then sag against a graffiti-covered building. It smells like vomit and despair. “Everything,” I tell him, my voice cracking around the word. “Dad made sure of that.”
“What did he do?” Callum demands, and I cock my head. His voice is angry—on my behalf for once. It drags my mind back to a simpler time, when he used to stand up for me. There were years when I counted on him. Years when I had the best big brother in all the realms. Then he left me behind.
It hurts to remember that it was ever different.
“Does it even matter?” I ask. “It’s done now; there’s no changing it.”
Another long silence comes down the line.
I hold the phone tighter to my ear, desperate to hear his voice and be less alone.
“I’ll call you as soon as there’s an update on Sheena,” Callum finally says, his voice choked with emotion. “And if you need someone to kick Dad’s ass, Gideon is one dirty look away from removing his head from his body, anyway.”
“Yeah?” I say. “Record a video for me. I’d love to see that.”
“Will do. Are you coming home soon?”
I consider the irony. It’s been a long time since Callum called the compound home, but I guess old habits die hard. The thought of crawling through the gates now makes my stomach churn.
“Maybe after I cool off,” I say.
