Page 72 of The Wickedness of Man

With considerable effort, I pulled back and pressed a hand against his chest, pulling some of his energy into me. I didn’t know how I knew what to do, but it was instinctive and natural; I followed the sensation.

“I’m okay. Are you?” I asked.

His gaze grew heavier again, lids sliding down. “Yes,” he whispered. “If you’re safe.”

“I’m safe. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“No,” said Caleb, his words slurring as if he were drunk. “The organization… they’ll come looking. I have to lead them away from you…” He tried to stand, but I pulled more energy from him, and he remained upright but wobbled, then leaned into my touch and covered my hand with his own.

“Caleb, Carmilla will help. She’ll take you away after you’ve rested for a while?—”

“No,” he said, trying to force himself back to alertness and failing. “I have to go. I’m going back to blow the whole place up if I have to.”

“You’ll be killed or captured,” Carmilla said, crossing her arms. She looked to me. “Make him forget.”

“Forget?” I asked.

“What he’s trying to do. I can’t have him charging his way in. He’s mid-transition into a full incubus—it’s slow, but it’s going to affect him more than he realizes. If he tries to go in there right now, he’ll get usallkilled. I have a plan—it’s not quite ready yet, but please… just trust me.”

I turned back to Caleb, focused my attention on where my hand touched his, then felt my power flowing over him. “You forgot what we were talking about. You realize how tired you are; you want to sleep a bit longer.”

“I’m… sorry.” Caleb sank onto his own lap like a collapsed doll. “I don’t know why, I’m just… so tired. What… what were we talking about?”

“Nothing—just that we’re safe for now. You can sleep a little longer, and we’ll talk later, okay?” I said.

Caleb nodded. “Good,” he murmured, then slumped back to the couch, out cold.

I grabbed one of Katie’s throws and covered him with it before turning back to Carmilla.

“He shouldn’t have been able to sense your emotions,” she reiterated. “Magda, he’s close to fully awakening. Once that happens, if you remain together, separating later is going to be next to impossible. You’re both already so entangled with each other… If you don’t think this is what you want, then it’s for the best that you both go your own ways now, before things go much farther. I can’t have him storming off to play the hero. I’ve got…” She paused, staring at him. “I’ve got things I need to take care of, and neither of you are ready to deal with this just yet. There are places I can take you both. Places with other cambions who can help you and teach you.”

I certainly agreed with her on the whole “not ready” part. I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep, myself. I was so exhausted I hadn’t even gotten a cup of coffee after cleaning up the mug I’d broken. I tucked the blanket up around Caleb’sshoulders; touched his cheek tenderly. There was no reason for us to feel this way… The face that we did had been someone else’s decision. Someone else’s engineering.

My entire life had been crafted by someone else. His too, by the sound of it. Carmilla said he’d been “made for me.” What did that even mean? And why did Carmilla find the idea of us bonding so worrisome if that was the case? I didn’t even know what being ademonmeant. I didn’t know what my life would look like from here on in.

“Arranged marriage,” I whispered. “Someone wanted us to meet. To have sex. To turn into demons. Together.”

My heart thumped painfully in my chest at the thought.

“Yes.” Carmilla placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Caleb thinks it’s because they made him such a good killer. Are they planning on doing that to me? Will those bastards use me to hurt other people?”

“It’s… not out of the question,” Carmilla agreed. “There are countless ways they could use the two of you; try not to dwell on it. For now, it’s best that you both get somewhere safe—far out of the organization’s reach—so we don’t have to plan for contingencies.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?” I asked. “About what happens if Caleb and I bond. What is it you’re not saying?”

Carmilla shook her head. “I don’t want to worry you. As I keep saying, I could be wrong.”

“But you don’t think you are.” I met her gaze.

The doctor looked away; withdrew her hand from my shoulder. “I’m… not sure. Please don’t ask me to go into detail or demand that I explain just yet. I just get the feeling that if the organization planned for the two of you to get together, then any deep connections between you should probably be avoided—at least until we have more of an idea what they might be planning.”

“I spent my entire life being forced into purity checks, having countless strangers prod my insides so that my parents could reassure themselves that I wasn’t having sex.” I forced my anger down. I didn’t want to wake Caleb up again. “Was that part of this plan? Weretheypart of this plan? Did they know that someday, I’d be chosen for this like some ripe fruit ready for the harvesting?”

“I don’t know, Magda. Truthfully, I hadn’t considered Benedict capable of such cunning. There are too many questions, and too few answers to be certain.”

“Okay,” I said after a long pause. “Then Caleb and I should go our separate ways as soon as possible.” I was surprised to discover how painful those words were.

---