Page 40 of The Devil's Mercy

“I didn’t stop feeling bad,” he disagreed. “But I was doing my job.”

“Bad, but not guilty.”

“What do you want me to say, Mercy?” Calix froze with his second slice halfway to his lips.

“Keep eating,” Titus told him gently. “We’re just talking.”

“Did you try to kill him?” He’d wanted to know for a while now, and the question popped out. It felt easier to ask with the other man standing behind him, with no fear of eye contact. He would have asked when the blindfold was on if he hadn’t been too afraid.

Maybe it was the lingering relaxation from the hot bath, or the warm food, or the light, nonthreatening touches he was subconsciously leaning into…Cal wasn’t as scared in that moment as he had been.

“If we’re talking about killers, Amory wasn’t your first. So, did you try to kill Aodhan too? Was that your meet-cute?” Calix held his breath, waiting for a response, that hand still on the back of his neck a reminder that he didn’t have any power or control here.

At any moment, the director could decide he wanted nothing more to do with him and snuff him out.

“Picturing me trying to stab him in a garden surrounded by itsus?” Titus teased.

“As interesting as you are when you’re being playful—and terrifying, by the way—I’m serious.”

He was silent a moment, and then, “He might have tried to murder me, but I’ve never once wanted to take his life. Own it, yes. But not destroy. He’s too brilliant for that. You are, too. That’s why I’ll keep you both shining for as long as possible. And, Cal, Connects live a very, very long time. Are you ready for that?”

“I’m not ready for any of this.” Calix went back to eating. “Same as I’m not ready to take a life outside of the line of duty. I’ve killed, but I’m not a killer.”

“You suffered for years after merely hitting Nero with your car,” Titus mused. “That makes sense. Don’t worry. We’ll never ask that of you. If we need someone dead, we can handle that on our own.”

Cal was counting on it.

Titus shifted, resting a hip against the edge of the desk so they were facing one another again, but Cal refused to look up at him, feigning interest in the last slice of pizza.

“Connects are unique for many reasons, the most important of which is the fact that we’re unique even amongst each other. While marks like my snake aren’t rare, they aren’t exactly common for my people either.” He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and presented his right forearm.

The snake shifted down from beneath the fabric and into view, then stopped in place. As soon as it did, it appeared like any other tattoo would, just with a lot of detail in each individual pearlescent scale.

“What is it?” Cal asked, unable to mask his curiosity.

“Some of us are born with more energy than we can handle. While it’s true the energy fluctuates and eventually burns through our physical body with age, some of us end up with too much from the get-go. We’re taught to turn that energy into a source that can be moved, helping to expend it.”

“That…doesn’t make any sense.” Maybe he was too dumb to follow. “Whatever. So is it a part of your or not?”

“It doesn’t have a mind of its own, if that’s what you’re asking. I can control it, but it also has its own autonomy. As it moves, it helps shift the energy built up within me. Energy feeds and controls it. Think of it like a motor. You need energy to keep it running. It’s the same concept, only my purpose isn’t to keepthe snake going, but to keep the energy burning. It’s good you aren’t afraid. You may need to borrow him for a bit.”

Calix pulled away. “What?”

“Aodhan needed to,” he explained. “Because he isn’t a Connect, the influx of energy after we bonded was too much for him to handle on his own. This helped. You may not have the same experience, you’re a Third, not a Second, so there are two of us to help you manage, but—”

“I was always told the position of Third was the most coveted,” he blurted, internally kicking himself for it afterward.

A pleased twinkle entered Titus’s gaze. “That’s right.”

“And Aodhan is okay with that?”

“He’s not going to try to kill you again. He’s past that urge. And, no, Aodhan doesn’t care that he’s a Second and not a Third. The Third is the most coveted because, as I just mentioned, they’re typically cared for more. I can take a Second on my own, but a Third? A Third must be agreed upon by both of us. Aodhan has nothing to be jealous of. Neither do you.”

“I’m not. And I’m still not agreeing to anything.”

Titus hummed noncommittally and carefully rolled his sleeve back down. “Is there anything else you’d like to ask me?”

He wanted to know if this was real or some elaborate hoax. Wanted to know why they’d choose him out of everyone. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask either of those things, too fearful of the answers.

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