“It’s nice. Feels like home.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who the hells are you?”
Cas grinned. “Cas. I thought we established that.”
I changed tactic. “You’re an Olympian.”
He shrugged. “Pot, kettle.”
“Olympians work for Zeus.”
“Do you?” the dick countered.
I was far too exhausted to deal with him this early. And far too amenable after his delicious breakfast spread. Not to mention his blood.
“Listen we’re about to go on a mission together, and we’re supposed to trust each other enough for that. Can you accept the fact that I don’t intend to divulge all my dirty laundry and move on?”
“So, you’ve stopped pretending you don’t remember said laundry, then?” I pushed.
His lips curved up. “I never actually lied to you. I didn’t have a clue who I was when I said I didn’t. Now, I’m not telling you because you’ll jump to conclusions if you knew.”
That was a confession if I ever heard one. “You admit you’re not trustworthy.”
“You’re exhausting.” He sighed deeply. “What I’lladmitis that I’m not here to hurt you or any of your friends. I’m not here to let Zeus in. I have my own business in town, and it’s quite simply got nothing to do with you. I swear it upon the river Styx. You and I are bound by the same laws. You know what that means.”
I did. If he swore, this clearly, his words were truthful. Vows upon the Styx were primordially binding.
I ran his exact words through my mind, and decided that while it left a lot of room for potentially problematic reasons, it was good enough for the time being.
Damn him, his bribe absolutely worked, didn’t it?
“Fine.”
“Good. While we’re on the same page, I think we should train together.Reallytrain. I can’t really fight anyone else, and might as well actually show you how to fight.”
I flushed, still thoroughly ashamed of how little effort it took him to beat me on Monday.
I wasn’t eager for a repeat.
“We’re leaving tomorrow, and you skipped work yesterday. I visited two of the names on our list, but we still have three. We should focus on that.”
“Every member of the Guard trains daily. You can waste your hour in fights you’ll win without effort, or start training with me.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t have much of your magic left, anyway.”
He wasn’t impressed by my excuse. “I have plenty to share.”
“I wouldn’t want to get addicted.”
Cas snorted. “You’re not a bloody human, Silver. Whatever blocks it, you’re supposed to have an endless pool of power at your disposal. Taking a drop from me won’t hurt.”
Fuck him for having a response to everything. “I don’t want to,” I finally admitted.
“All right. I guess I’ll toss around the big oaf.”
The big oaf, apparently, was Gideon.
Two hours later, showered and dressed, I watched Gideon and Cas on the mat.
