Magical Mistakes(35)
“You keep forcing me into situations against my will,” he hissed at her. “Why is it you think I won’t retaliate just because it’s you?”
“We might be in danger.”
Ciar leaned closer. “You have two demons under your roof and you’re just realizing this now?”
His anger beat at her like a physical presence. “Who’s Rouke?” she demanded before his rage could escalate.
Ciar’s eyes widened and he released her like she’d burned him. “What did you say?”
Mikayla took a few steps back to put more space between them. “Tonight I heard Alina on the phone with someone named Rouke. It didn’t sound like a happy conversation.”
He shook his head in denial. “No. Alina wouldn’t have anything to do with Rouke.”
“Why? Who is he?”
“He’s…” Ciar stopped.
“Ciar,” she snapped.
“Rouke is my cousin,” he replied. “And with my brother dead and me here, he is the next in line to be the Clan Lord.”
The mysterious Rouke was in charge of one of the demon clans? Not the best news she’d ever received. “How is he connected to Alina?”
“I have no idea,” Ciar replied. “But there was no love lost between me and my cousin. Are you sure, Mikayla, you heard all this correctly? Alina would never associate with him.”
Mikayla tried to shrug off the sting of his doubt. “I wouldn’t lie to you,” she said. “I know you’re going to leave here soon but until you do I want…” She paused. “I want to protect you.”
His eyes warmed at her words. “Protect a demon?” he asked, stepping closer.
“Protect someone I care about.”
Carefully he reached out to touch her cheek, caressing her skin in a feather-light touch. She leaned into the contact, closing her eyes.
“Why do you think I’ll leave soon?” he asked softly.
Mikayla looked up at him. “Are you not? I heard Alina tell Rouke she was bringing the true heir home.”
Ciar stiffened. With a hiss of anger he drew away from her. “What?”
“I—” Mikayla hesitated. “I just told you what I heard. Aren’t you returning to the demon realm with her?”
“I will never return there,” Ciar snarled.
Mikayla frowned at the vehemence of his words. “Does Alina know that?”
“She should.” Turning, Ciar paced away from her. Mikayla could see the tension thrumming through his body. Not for the first time she felt like she was trying to put a puzzle together only to discover she was missing all the most important pieces.
“Ciar,” Mikayla called, stopping him. “I can’t play this game with you anymore. Please, tell me what I’m missing. If something dangerous is coming our way, I need to know in order to protect my family.”
“Rouke would never come here. He considers the human realm beneath him.”
Mikayla moved closer, careful not to touch him. “Why didn’t you go back when your brother died? Shouldn’t you have been next in line?”
A cold smile twisted his lips. “Not exactly.”
Mikayla frowned. If she didn’t know better, she’d say Ciar was hesitating. What was so bad he didn’t want to tell her?
“Whatever you’re hiding, you can tell me,” she told him. “I can take it.”
“You want to know all my darkest secrets, hmm?”
She nodded. “If you want to share them.”
He shook his head, a cold smile twisting his lips. “My father was the Clan Lord, it’s true, but my mother was not his wife. She was a servant in his home.”
Mikayla frowned as she processed the information. “So you’re illegitimate.”
His face was an unreadable mask as he nodded.
Mikayla waited for more but he merely watched her. After a moment, she asked, “That’s it?”
Ciar blinked in surprise.
“I’ve got to tell you, Ciar, I was prepared for something a hell of a lot worse.”
He shook his head with a rusty chuckle. “Mikayla, Mikayla. Where have you been all my life?”
“Seriously, this is your big secret?”
When he looked back at her, she caught her breath at the expression in his eyes. No one had ever looked at her with such gratitude, such tenderness. The man of her dreams stood before her, looking as if he’d just realized she was the woman of his dreams.
“The demon realm works differently than the human one,” he explained to her, moving closer. “Your bloodline is everything. A bastard son could never rule and Alina wanted to be the Clan Lady. She switched her affections to my brother and no one blamed her. Not even me. It’s simply how things work in my world. Power is life.”