by Chloe Adler
“Come on, kitty, I won’t hurt you,” I whisper and the cat sniffs again. Apparently deciding I’m a safer bet than falling, it pads dexterously down my arm and onto my shoulder, wrapping its tail around my neck.
“How cute,” a little girl in the audience cries. “Mama, can I have a shoulder kitty?”
Chapter Fourteen
Dominic
We all wait patiently for Iphi outside in front of the circus tent. The scene is surreal, me standing with Caspian, Aurelia and Alistair.
The juggling girl approaches, still wearing her tight black outfit from the performance, which doesn’t leave anything to the imagination. Her cleavage is pushed so high it looks as though she may topple over. Aurelia makes a sound in the back of her throat and gives the girl her back.
“Hi, I’m Alexis.” She extends her hand and I shake it. “You must be Dominic.”
“Nice to meet you, Alexis.”
“And you must be Caspian.” She extends her hand to my brother, who shakes it. “Iphi will be out in a few minutes. She’s trying to figure out what to do with the cat but it won’t leave her alone.”
I roll my eyes at my brother. “Tell her she’s welcome to bring the cat out here. I’m not surprised it adopted her.”
“She is the animal whisperer.” Caspian offers the girl a quick smile.
“That she is,” says Alexis, turning to me. “There’s something else.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I . . .” Alexis looks down at her knee-high patent leather boots. “I was wondering if you’d like to go have coffee or maybe dessert with me?”
Caspian elbows me in the side.
Aurelia snorts loudly but then quiets.
“Alexis, you’re a lovely woman—”
“He’d love to,” Caspian says.
Asshole.
“Oh great!” Her amber eyes light up. “Do you have a phone? I can enter my number into it.”
I start to shake my head but Caspian grabs it out of my back pocket and hands it to her like we’re playing a game of hot potato. Double asshole.
She grins and punches in her number, then hands it back to me. “Want to meet at Confections in an hour? It’s just down at the front of the pier.”
“I know where it is but—”
“He’ll see you there in an hour.” Caspian’s grin is ear to ear.
“If you’re running late, just text me.” She beams at me before moving away, swallowed up by the crowd.
I glare at my brother. “What did you do that for?”
“Yes,” Aurelia spins around, “what did you do that for?”
Caspian blushes but ignores Aurelia. “She’s a gorgeous, talented woman who obviously likes you. You are single, or did you forget that?” He narrows his eyes at me before turning away to look for Iphi.
He knows I’m not interested in Alexis because I’m interested in Iphigenia, but I already told him I’d bury my feelings for our pack. To keep our brotherhood intact. He’s probably just trying to help me forget about her and thinks this is the way to do it. It’s not, but Iphi isn’t mine, nor does she want me. I may not want to come to terms with that, but I’d best move in that direction.
Aurelia takes my elbow and leans close. “Don’t let your brother bully you. Let Iphigenia choose. She’d pick you over him, I’m sure of it.”
“There she is.” Caspian brushes past me to meet Iphi, who is striding toward us—wearing the cat, of course. Thorn is not going to be happy to find her shoulder taken by another creature, but then again, she does have two shoulders and a heart big enough for a zoo full of animals. As she nears I squint.
I know that cat.
I exchange a look with Cas, whose eyes have grown large. The cat snubs us both, sticking his nose in the air and wrapping his tail around her neck. I don’t blame him. Lucky cat. He gets her in both of his forms. Well, at least she’s being watched.
“Cas.” She goes to him first, kissing him on the cheek, but steals a glance at her mother, who is lost in conversation with Alistair. Caspian grabs her, pulling her in for a long, hard kiss. She doesn’t pull away but I can tell she’s uncomfortable. Nausea roils in the pit of my stomach, hot and wet. I turn away to give them privacy . . . but if they wanted privacy they wouldn’t be kissing in public.
I turn back. I watch the soft fall of her lashes on her cheeks, the heat crawling up her soft neck. If I can’t have her, I can be happy for her happiness and that of my brothers. Yes, happiness. That pleasant glow beneath my skin making my pants feel too tight is happiness. Maybe now that Rhys is in the doghouse she’ll have room for another in her cathouse. Guilt flashes through me, burning as bright as the North Star.
Iphi opens her eyes during the kiss and plants them on me. We stare at each other for one beat, two beats, three—and then she pulls away from Caspian but she still doesn’t look away from me.
All the moisture leaves my mouth and still I can’t stop staring into those blue eyes as warm as sea glass, as bright as the North Star.
“Iphigenia.” Aurelia breaks our spell and she turns toward her mother.
“Mama.” Iphi crosses to her, holding her arms out for a hug. “I’m so glad you came. Thank you so much, it means the world to me.” The woman sidesteps the hug and pats her daughter on the back of her shoulder. The cat shifts its position to the back of Iphi’s neck, where it drapes itself over her shoulders protectively. Nice one, Rhys. While I’m happy he’s watching her back, my leg muscles tighten and flex. I wish it was me on her shoulder, sidling up to her.
“Your performance was . . .” Aurelia narrows her eyes at Rhys the cat, who is staring right back at her, “interesting.”
Iphi’s face lights up, like her mother has just sung an opera in her honor, not dropped a few tepid words of reluctant “praise” at her feet. “Never a dull moment at the circus.”
“I’ll say.” Alistair steps forward and hugs Iphi awkwardly, trying not to dislodge the cat. “You were wonderful, dear, just wonderful.”
“Thank you, Alistair.” Iphi glances between them and us. “Have you officially met my friends?”
“We have.” I step forward.
“Dominic is the one who brought us here, darling,” says Aurelia. “He was kind enough to pick us up. He even paid for our tickets.”
Iphi’s mouth drops open and she gives me a look I don’t know how to interpret. “Thank you, Dom.” She places her hand on my arm, warming the chill that ran through my bones a second earlier. “That was so thoughtful of you.”
“It’s the least I could do.”
“Yes, well, Dominic has been a perfect gentleman. And now that we’re here, I do hope you’ll come back home with us, Iphigenia.” Her mother’s intense gaze doesn’t waver from her daughter’s face.
“We’d like you to move back in,” says Alistair. “If you’re amenable to that.”
“Really, Mama?” Iphi looks between them and the hope welling in those cerulean-blue eyes steals my breath.
“Yes, darling, really,” Aurelia says.
“But I’ve been calling and leaving messages for you these past two days. I thought . . .”
“I told you to check your machine,” Alistair says.
“I’ll never get use to that thing.” Aurelia shakes her head. “No matter, we’re here now and your room is waiting for you.”
“Can I bring Botting?”
“Him?” Aurelia points to Caspian. “Of course not, that would be most improper.” She takes a step toward Cas, eyeing him up and down. “Are you homeless?”
“N-no.” Caspian looks desperately between Iphi and me.
I introduced her to him not two hours ago. Does this woman have a selective memory or is she purposely being rude?
“Mother, this is Caspian. I assure you he is not homeless. The cat is Botting, and I’ve adopted him. Can he live with us?” Botting moves on her shoulders again, draping himself like a mink stole.
Botting? I bet Rhys loves that. “It looks like he’s ado
pted you.”
Iphi reaches up absently to pet him, grinning at me.
“What kind of cat is that?” She narrows her eyes at it. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Its eyes . . . just like mine. Is this some sort of joke, Iphigenia?”
“No, Mama, of course not. I don’t know what kind of cat—”
“It’s a chimera,” I answer. “They’re very rare but I assure you they do exist.” I point to Botting. “His eyes are indeed like yours. Beautiful.” More like conniving in Aurelia’s case, and more like watchful in Rhys’s, though, on second glance—his eyes are softer somehow, foggier. I haven’t seen him in his cat shift for a while but I don’t remember his eyes having that hazy quality, almost like he’s in a trance. But that’s improbable. Surely he’s hyperfocused on Iphi’s safety right now.
Aurelia blushes and fans herself with her hand. “Oh stop it, you scoundrel.”
“He speaks the truth, my love.” Alistair reaches out to pet the cat. “Multicolored eyes are also rare. Though this cat’s are beautiful, yours, darling . . . are spectacular.”
Aurelia puts her hand to her chest. “Boys, boys.”
I exchange a look with Iphi, who’s trying not to laugh.
Her mother sees her daughter’s reaction and bristles. “But what about your other cat? Or have you forgotten about him already?”
“I’m sure Armageddon will be fine with Botting.”
“He’s been roaming the house for days looking for you, meowing incessantly. I considered having him put down.”
Oh no, what have I done? How is it safe, psychologically, for Iphi to be with this woman? She’s either a sociopath or she’s trying to punish her daughter. Both are inexcusable!
Iphi’s hands fly to her mouth. “Mother, you would never do that! Kill our cat because he misses me?”
“Of course she wouldn’t,” says Alistair. “Would you, dear?”
Aurelia sniffs. “Why wouldn’t I? You abandoned him just like you abandoned your mother. You wouldn’t have even known. If you cared about him, you’d have taken him with you.”
Wow. Her mother is clearly falling back on a series of well-worked psychological manipulations. Covert intimidation, guilt trips and victim blaming. In this case, her own daughter being the victim. It takes all my self-control not to grab Iphi, throw her over my shoulder and carry her away from this woman.
But Iphi stands her ground. “If I thought you were going to kill him, of course I’d take him.”
“No one’s killing anyone,” Alistair says. “Dramatics, that’s all it is. Your mother was just hurt.”
This poor man is in complete denial, or blinded by love more likely, from the way he looks at her.
“You know you could just let him outside,” says Iphi. “He’d come find me.”
I move behind Iphi to pet Botting, scratching him behind the ears, my old tell from when we were on the streets. Sometimes when we needed food, Rhys, in his chimera form, would distract a store owner with some cute antics while one of us stole—usually Thorn, so if he got caught he could take all the blame. Then another person, usually me, pretended to be the owner of the cat. While Thorn was stealing, I’d pretend to discover my runaway cat. I’d scratch Rhys behind the ear and elicit the mark to join in, letting Rhys know everything was going well. If it wasn’t going well and Thorn was about to be nabbed—which happened on several occasions, thanks to eagle-eyed do-gooders—I would pat the top of his head instead and he’d jump off the counter and run, which was my excuse to run after him. If all went well, after Thorn was finished, I’d thank the owner, scoop up the cat and leave.
The cat purrs now, pushing up into my hand, his old response meaning, I hear you. “Whatever you want to do, Iphi, we’ll stand by you.” I don’t want to say this but I have to. I can’t control her. She needs to figure this out on her own, make her own mistakes and come to her own conclusions, and as long as Rhys stays with her, I’m confident she’ll be okay.
She sighs and looks up at me. “I’m moving back in with my mother.” For now, she mouths, for me. To me. Only I can see.
“No,” Caspian says at the same time I say, “Okay.”
Chapter Fifteen
Caspian
I hold my tongue until my princess, the witch and her boyfriend walk down the pier in search of ice cream. I want to claw my brother’s eyes out. I still might. The only thing keeping me from doing so is the fact that Rhys is with her. At least one of us is. As soon as they’re out of sight, I reel on him.
“What the hell, Dom? You don’t want to see me happy? You don’t want to see Iphigenia happy? Why on earth would you stand by while she moves back in with the wicked witch?” I’m so angry I’m shaking as much as when I drew my first pen and ink, no room for mistakes. But this time the adrenaline is not stemming from excitement.
“It’s what she wanted.” Dom keeps his voice low and even. I hate that voice. It’s the doctor voice he uses when trying to placate crazy patients. “If we try to keep her, she’ll resent us. This way she’ll move back in with her mom and try again. Things probably won’t go well and if that’s the case, she’ll be done for good. Otherwise she’ll always wonder, and Thorn will be caught in his shift and Nolan will be one bad day away from demon bait. She’s doing this as much for them as for herself.”
“So you’re just letting her go without a fight? You have no idea what the outcome will be, you’re not a goddamn psychic. Plus, what’s this we thing? She’s my girlfriend. She could have been happy at the Grove. She just needed a little more convincing. I was waiting until after her performance to suggest she start making up with her mom by visiting her. But I waited so she could focus on her act. You’re an asshole, you know that?”
Dom holds both hands up. “Caspian. You’re too close to it, to her. You’re not able to step back and look at the bigger picture right now.”
“You’re psychoanalyzing me? Just because you have a fucking psych degree you think you know what’s good for everyone? You don’t know shit.” I fist my hands at my sides to keep from punching him in his smug face.
“I understand your anger—”
“Fuck you.” I may be the quintessential sensitive artist who doesn’t make waves, but not this time. Dominic always thinks he’s smarter than me, smarter than everyone, like stuffing his feelings away into neat little boxes is such a healthy way to live. It pisses me the hell off. The thought of living without Iphi next door where I can keep an eye on her, where I can kiss her and hold her, dissolves me.
“She’ll be fine, Cas. And besides, she won’t be there alone, she’ll have Botting there watching out for her.”
“Fat lot of good that does.” I know he’s right. Rhys can protect her. Rhys will protect her. But Rhys is not me.
“I know you’re upset and I don’t blame you, but trying to hold on to a butterfly—”
“Are you really going to spout some New Age platitude at me?”
“No,” Dom says on a sigh, then shoves his glasses up with one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“Are you guys fighting?” Iphi approaches us, carrying an ice cream cone. She takes a lick and hands it to Caspian. Botting perches on her shoulder, looking between us. He’s paying rapt attention.
What does it say about me that I want to tuck her under my arm like a football and run? Not to score a touchdown, but to get the hell out of the Edge. With her. I could do it in my shift too. If she was game, I would, I tell myself. But in truth I wouldn’t really drag her off caveman-style no matter how much I want to. No matter how angry I am at Dominic right now, there’s no way in hell I’m leaving my brothers. I take a lick of the ice cream. Vanilla bean, a girl after my own heart. “Are you going to introduce me to your mom as your boyfriend?” Smooth, Cas. How did that slip out?
She takes my hand in hers. It’s warm and soft, small and nestled in my palm. “You and I haven’t even discussed the b word in private yet and it seems unfair to do it without talking this over with Rhys first.”
Botting lets out a loud mewl of agreement. Ass. He may be here but he doesn’t have a voice right now.
“Even after everything Rhys did?” I ask, more for Botting than for myself.
“Of course. Just because he couldn’t control himself doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. We all make mistakes.”
“Well if that’s the case, I’ll text him right now.” I take out my cell with my other hand and Botting jumps off her shoulder and onto mine.
Dominic leans toward me, whispering, “Passive-aggressive move, bro.” I growl low in my throat. Botting swats my ear. Fine! Fuck you guys! I stop texting.
She removes her hand from mine. “This isn’t the right time for all of this. My mother is waiting for me and I’d rather the three of us meet in private after I’m settled back home.”
Back home. My eyes glaze over like I’m peering at her through a telephoto camera lens and she’s getting smaller and smaller, the focal distance growing. The Grove is her home.
Aurelia approaches with her boyfriend. “Well look, that cat can obviously stay with your . . . friend. No need to bring him to my house. Are you ready to go yet, dear?” She looks at Dom. “Will you drive us?”
“I’ll be happy to take you back home.” I force myself to smile at her. “And though I’d love to keep the cat, we live right behind open space and there are far too many wild animals for him to be safe.”
“Keep him inside then.” Aurelia grits her teeth.
“Their houses are too small, Mama. They live in tiny homes.”
“What’s a tiny home?” Alistair steps closer to me and holds his hand out for the cat to smell.
“They’re really cute,” says Iphi, “but each one is the size of a trailer.”
“Well good thing you’re coming home with us. No daughter of mine will live in a trailer.”
“Ma’am.” I wave my hand toward the foot of the pier, indicating we should start walking down to the parking lot.
“Fine, fine. You can take us home. What’s your name again?” Aurelia looks me up and down, making a show of it.
