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What he was telling me seemed to apply to what I knew of Zenya Pendros, certainly. But Kleos was…something else. Something I’d only just begun to glimpse at. And I wasn’t ready to stop.

“Well, Cassius. Are you running?”

25

KLEOS

If I confessed to almost anyone I knew that I dined between the high sorcerer of the underside and his legendarily evil grandfather, they would offer me a straitjacket and a nice padded room.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly apprehensive after letting Lucian know I’d be just fine meeting a well-known serial killer. I was a little bit afraid. But I sincerely doubted he would have offered if Cassius was still a genuine threat. I called Gideon and let him know the greater lines of our findings for the day.

Though I doubted he would have said much against it, I didn’t confess that I was still at the manor, or that I didn’t intend to leave it tonight. I blushed at the thought.

The phone call didn’t last long, and I’d only attempted to return to my current read when Lucian reappeared. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Already?”

He smiled ruefully. “I didn’t think it wise to make the monster hiding somewhere in your belly wait.”

I rolled my eyes; to be fair, I had been known to go from hungry to hangry on occasion, so he had a point.

I followed him a few doors down, biting back my question. Were we truly going to eat with his grandfather? The answer waited for me in the kitchen, which kept the dark and red looks of the rest of Lucian’s wing, though it was considerably brighter. A long-haired carbon copy of Lucian waited for us, seated at the head of a long rectangular table, one eyebrow crooked.

I gulped and stepped inside.

Cassius was a silent, keen observer. He said hello, and occasionally yes or no, but there weren’t many other words crossing his lips. His eyes, however…

They were more steel than silver, and seemed to see far beyond flesh.

We all devoured the delicious creamy pasta, and Cassius poured wine while Lucian offered everyone a second helping of carbonara.

“Just a little. It’s too good to say no.” Finally, I leaned in and said, “I have to ask.”

I was likely emboldened by the third glass of smooth red wine.

Lucian visibly tensed, and it occurred to me that he might think I’d ask something along the lines of,You seem like a decent enough bloke, how come you murdered a bunch of people a few decades back?

I wasn’t that socially inept. Or drunk.

“How come you two lookso muchalike?”

It was uncanny. Between the two, Cassius seemed to be ever so slightly younger, perhaps—early twenties, while Lucian wasmore mature—so, had I known neither, I would have assumed they were brothers. They had the exact same build, tall and lean, but muscular, framed by a positively decadent pair of large shoulders. The pale hair and molten silver eyes were almost identical.

I was surprised, and frankly disturbed when the two exchanged a grin. Men who looked like them shouldn’t fucking smile at the same time. It wasn’t fair to panties everywhere.

“Because my father is a vain bastard, that’s why,” Cassius replied, using more words than he’d said all night. Then he continued, “I only know of three other sons of his—and he’s had many, over the centuries. We all have the same trademark good looks. As does every boy born in our line. The girls, they can get their appearance from the mother’s side, hence my Cassiopea.”

Lucian’s mother had dark hair from what I recalled. I wasn’t sure about the color of her eyes, as I had never stood close enough to her to notice, but it was fair to say she had taken very few features from her father.

“But the boys? We all favor him. I’m certain he’s cursed his bloodline.” Cassius grinned and added, “If you two have boys, they’ll be little copies of us. But I’d rather have another girl in the family. They’re far less dramatic.”

“You’re in no place to judge anyone for their drama, Cassius,” Lucian retorted, while I was too busy blushing and stuttering.

He’d just said it like Lucian and I were going to have kids together. And Lucian didn’t even bother to correct him. I could have justdiedof embarrassment.

My mortification must have been visible, because Lucian told me, “Don’t let the old man get to you. He justlovesbabies. He’s bound to make any female who comes within reach of us feel highly uncomfortable by taking them for broodmares.”

Cassius Regius loved babies. And by the sound of it, Lucian didn’t mean to roast over a fire. I was certain half of the valewould explode on spot, trying to get their minds around that. “Really?”