Roth scoffed, “I could have told ye that. None of them were that nice of people, so I wouldn't feel too guilty about it. ”
“Cecil is different.”
“That he is.”
Roth wondered if Sin realized he was already in love with the young man—probably not.
“I’m afraid of losing him. But I find myself conflicted. Unlike all the rest, I want Cecil to truly know me. To accept me. I was apathetic toward the others, for I knew they would not.”
And now, Roth knew what was worrying Sin. “Ye’re afraid that if ye show Cecil all that ye are, he will flee.”
“Who wouldn’t? I am a man who shares his body with a creature who wishes to kill without discrimination. Innocent or not, it does not care.”
“Aye, that can nae be denied. However, ye have enough control over it tae stop the harming of the innocent. And I do nae believe Cecil is the type of person tae blame someone over something they can nae change.”
“There is always the chance of me losing control. It has happened before. Why do you think there are orders in place to put me down if I can’t find my way back?”
“A precaution and nothing else,” Roth growled. “We would never let ye go easily.”
“Maybe it would be best for me to let him go now, before he gets toknowme.”
Roth snorted in disgust. “Sin, he already knows ye, yah daft fool. Do nae decide by yerself what is best.”
Sin peered at him, his face looking heartbreakingly sad. “I am everything he hates, Roth. A violent man who could lash out at any moment. Cecil just doesn’t know it yet.”
When Sin had asked Cecil to move with him to the Dusburn branch, the answer had seemed obvious—yes, of course, he would.
But as he stood before the tarmac that led to the plane, he was having many doubts. In fact, he was finding some rather compelling reasons to not go.
Okay, there was only one. The others were minor things, and for the most part, his mind was focused on one reason—flying. Having never flown before, Cecil hadn’t realized that he found the very idea of being suspended high in the sky absolutely terrifying.
So there was that. And, apparently, him leaving was upsetting Benji. The man currently looked like a kicked puppy—one that randomly growled and lashed out, like it wanted to rip your throat out. Roth was attempting to comfort the man. But Roth’s efforts consisted of patting Benji on the head, so it was very much not appreciated.
Oh, not to mention, he should probably findblindly following a man to a different city after only one month of dating a bit questionable. So was Cecil really going to do it?
He took a deep breath—yes, yes he was. Cecil was going to get on the death trap, because he didn’t want to be separated from Sin. Gods, what he was feeling was so incredibly sappy and embarrassing.
But that didn’t matter, as Cecil was going. Because knowing his luck, if he didn’t, Sin would finally see that he could do better, and whatever was happening between them would be over.
Sin’s efforts to distract Cecil were not going well. The man looked incredibly pale and his knuckles were almost colorless, due to the death grip Cecil had on the armrests.
“So you have two second-in-commands at Dusburn,” the arcadian reiterated tightly.
“It is a new development. One made with much haste. The other retired right before my trip. Being my enforcers, they were the best candidates. And since they have always worked best when together, it seemed only logical. Though, I am now in need of new enforcers.”
“Don’t you have others?”
“No, which I understand is odd. I have come to the realization that it is inefficient to have so few when my territory is so expansive,” Sin mused. “If something hadn’t popped up at the last-minute, you would have met Jekyll already. The man had planned to accompany me. However,Hyde’s relationship ended with his latest partner the day before I left, and Jekyll thought it best for him to stay and comfort his brother.”
Sin often wondered how Jekyll handled Hyde’s constant stream of boyfriends. At times, they changed weekly. Though, to be fair, it was less of Hyde being fickle and more about him falling in love too quickly and smothering the men until they left. Sin would admit, Hyde’s choice in dating prospects usually weren’t much better than his own. Though his own luck had obviously changed with Cecil.
But usually, one of the twins accompanied him every time he left on a trip. Considering their new position, he had still not decided if that practice would continue. Sin would have to make a decision after discussing it with the twins.
“Are their names really Jekyll and Hyde?” Cecil squeaked when the plane hit some turbulence.
Sin laughed. “Yes, their father was a fan ofThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.The man was also a close friend of Robert Stevenson. Still is, I suppose. Apparently, the story had been finished hundreds of years before, but he hadn’t published it until a brief stint in the First Realm. From what I have been told, it was altered quite a bit beforehand. A change in time periods and what not, not to mention the removal of any mention of this realm.”
“I see.”
