Raising his brow, Cecil asked, “What would I be doing?”
The man’s grin widened. “You’ll love it, I promise.”
Cecil wasn’t sure he should trust that smile.
Jekyll once again found himself amazed at the number of books, papers, and old relics that a single man could stuff in his own home. Ares had too many bookshelves to count, glass cases holding scrolls that were almost a million years old, and objects that would probably kill or curse you if you touched them. There were also a lot of sharp pointy things that Jekyll wouldn’t mind playing with. He would have thought Ares was a hoarder, if all of it hadn’t been so organized.
Cecil appeared out of the maze of bookshelves holding an old and fraying oversized book. Jekyll watched him carry it over to Ares, who was sitting at a large desk, barely visible from behind the mounds of reading material surrounding him. Cecil laid the book on the only available space.
Jekyll smiled when Cecil opened it, skipped a few pages, and started yammering on while Ares nodded. The young man’s eyes were sparkling with excitement.
It appeared Ares and Cecil were getting along just fine. With Cecil’s interest in history, and Ares being a historicalresearcher who refused to stick to one area, he figured they would.
However, the two had apparently lost track of time, as it was an hour past their work time.
Cecil eyed the three men sitting on the couch ignoring him. They refused to even acknowledge that he was sitting at the small table all by himself—rude bastards.
Sighing, he stared down at the cards in front of him. Cecil was playing fucking solitaire. Yep, that’s how bored he was. Gathering the cards together, he set them aside.
Cecil wished Sin was there, or that he could go to work, or even to school.
Despite the other students avoiding him, he was enjoying his classes. And the job Jekyll had found for him was amazing. Ares was brilliant, if a bit eccentric. They were currently trying to find the true beginnings of the kingdom, ferreting out the untold stories.
Unfortunately, it was Saturday, so no school. And Ares had traveled to another kingdom right after they had met that morning, so no work.
Cecil wanted someone to talk to, and he was getting pretty desperate. His mind kept drifting to Drop, but he really didn’t want to go there. The urge he had to create the arcanid was becoming increasingly worrying. Cecil had to keep arguing with himself that he didn’t need it.
But what was he to do? Other than when he was at work, or when Sin and the twins were around, Cecil had noone to talk to. And Sin was perpetually busy, which meant so were the twins, as they often went with him. It sucked. While it was hard to admit, he felt lonely when Sin wasn’t there.
It scared him that the man’s very presence seemed to instantly wash that loneliness away. How had Sin come to mean so much to him?
The rest of the people in the house were exactly like those on the couch. None of them would speak to him, but they made sure he knew they didn’t want him there. Cecil wasn’t sure there was anything he could do to change their minds.
It was slightly terrifying that he missed being surrounded by the fucking insane people back at the other branch. They may have been weird as hell, but at least they hadn’t been self-righteous douchebags.
When Sin strolled swiftly into the room, Cecil’s heart skipped a beat. And he couldn’t help but smile as the man approached.
Sin kissed him softly on the cheek before sitting across from him. A sound containment spell popped around him.
“You look lovely, Cecil. I wish I had time to unwrap you,” Sin purred.
Smiling wider, heat spread across Cecil’s cheeks.
“Sadly, I have another meeting and can’t stay.”
His smile waned. “Maybe later.” Cecil wanted to throw a fit, but he didn’t. Sin’s work was important and he’d never get in his way.
Sin reached over to grasp his right hand, his thumb rubbing the top of it. “So, what have you been up to?”
Cecil hesitated. Maybe it was time to tell Sin about howthe group was treating him. He didn’t need anyone to stick up for him…but maybe it would be okay this time.
“Well, I’ve been playing solitaire by myself.” He licked his suddenly dry lips. “It seems most of your group here…don’t like me very much.”
Sin jerked back, eyes widening before he shook his head. “I…I’m sure that’s not true.” He gently squeezed Cecil’s hand. “This branch is a bit closed off, and they tend to take longer to warm up to new people. Just wait, they will take to you, it will just take a bit of time.”
Cecil opened his mouth to argue, but couldn’t get the words out. He sighed and instead said, “If you say so.”
Sin didn’t believe him. He hadn’t expected that the vampire would side with them, but maybe he should have. It stung that Sin wouldn’t take his word for it, but he probably didn’t want to think those he considered family would act badly.
