Page 37 of Cathmoir’s Sons (Bad Boys of Bevington #5)

Chapter 37

Mincing Mysteries

RHODES

L uca’s bare shoulders shake under my arm as he finishes telling me about the free-for-all in his Winter Study class. Evan was supposed to meet us for lunch directly after class, but he ended up helping the crows restrain the animal-rights activist and escort him off campus.

Fortunately, what I’ve made for lunch today isn’t as at risk of being overcooked as what I made the last time he came for lunch. The cottage pie—inspired by all the time I’ve been spending with Teddy and her husbands—is sitting in the middle of the table as we wait for Evan, filling the kitchen with its warm fragrance.

Luca bumps the side of his face against mine. Probably scent-marking me.

“How did your meeting go?” he asks.

“No problems.” I didn’t anticipate any. Just box-ticking as I completed the process of withdrawing from Bevington. “Dean Quinn made an appearance, which I didn’t expect. She’s evidently trying to find a way for me to graduate, but I don’t have enough credits. How the fuck did Law get enough to graduate early?”

“He’s a deranged overachiever,” Luca responds. “He’s been afraid since we were freshman that the war with the Mirk would pull him away from Bevvy early, so he took an extra class every semester. He also took two Winter Study classes every year. I think he had enough credits by the end of junior year, actually. Fucking nutjob.”

“That is deranged,” I agree.

“Doesn’t hurt that he’s had the bare minimum of a social life while he waited for Kellan,” Luca says, dipping his finger into the browned mashed potatoes topping the pie. I’d slap his hand away if I wasn’t entranced by the way he scoops up a fluffy fingerful and pops it into his mouth.

I run my hand up the back of his neck and fist it in his hair. “Aww, did dating me dent your academic performance, kit?”

Luca arches his neck, pressing his head back into my hand. “You are the single biggest distraction I’ve ever met. And you love it.”

I do. I love knowing how much I mean to Luca. And to Caileán.

“We’re a family, aren’t we?” I ask softly, shifting from teasing to something more tender. “The four of us. I didn’t expect to ever feel that way. I thought even if we managed to work something out, that I’d always be on the outside. You and Law and Caileán all being fae, I figured I’d always be the odd human out. But I don’t feel that way. The villa, that’s our home. Caileán’s pregnant with our kid. We’re hunting Ulune’s Daughter together . I want it always to be this way. The four of us together. I want you three involved in every aspect of my life, and I want to be involved in every aspect of yours. I know that’ll get harder once I’m not at Bevvy anymore, but I’ll put in the work to make it happen.”

Luca butts his face against mine again. “We’ll make it work. And I’ve never wanted anything other than the four of us to be a family. I know I wasn’t as enthusiastic as Law about Caileán’s pregnancy but it was just shock. I’m excited for our kits, too.”

“Did Caileán tell you the name we agreed on?—”

I’m interrupted by the front door opening and closing. Evan walks through into the dining room, rubbing a hand over his face.

“That smells wonderful,” he says. “Thank the Mother, I’m starving. I really do think Ed was rabid, you know.”

He holds out his left hand, which has a very red ring circling the edge.

“Mr. Koala didn’t actually bite you, did he?” I ask incredulously.

Who goes around biting strangers? What if they’re poisonous? With magi, you never can be sure.

Evan chuckles. “I’m not sure. There was a lot of knocking about while we got Just Ed under control. He might have bitten me. Or the edge of my hand might have made accidental contact with his teeth. Things were quite confused for a few minutes there.”

Luca sniggers and I join Evan in chuckling. “He sounds crazy.”

“The whole concept is nuts,” Evan agrees. “What made you pick that Winter Study class anyway, Luca? It doesn’t seem like it’s at your academic level.”

Luca grins, flashing his incisors. “I figured I’d be doing Plane-Walking as an independent study with Kellan all month, even before Doctor Prince left us the riddle of Ulune’s Daughter. But she can’t give me a grade or credit, so I took the class that promised the highest entertainment value.”

“Well, the class certainly delivered today. I’m tempted to sit in on the next three classes to see if they’re as entertaining,” Evan says. “I felt a little sorry for Professor Blink. Although I appreciate she brought it on herself.”

“If she didn’t sacrifice baby koalas to her dark gods, it wouldn’t have come to this,” Luca quips.

Lords throws his head back and laughs.

After we’ve demolished the cottage pie, we sit around the table and throw around theories about O’s death, Bromios’ allies, and what the doom of Ulune’s Daughter might actually be. Luca and Evan vote for a giant whirlpool while I’m on the side of a hell-mouth.

“The whole concept of heaven and hell post-dates Charybdis,” Luca tells me. “It’s an a-historical hypothesis.”

“An a-historical hypothesis, a-historical hypithesis, historical apotheosis,” Evan mutters.

“Was that you trying to say a-historical hypothesis three times fast?” Luca asks.

Evan shakes his head and taps his temple with two fingers. “Fucking helm. Sometimes words catch at me, swirl around, and spit themselves back out in different combinations. Teddy has a theory about the helm and me being a Water-mage. Most Capricorn Primus have been Earth-mages, even though your Element isn’t dictated by your Zodiac sign. Teddy thinks my Element confuses the helm after being worn by so many Earth-magi and it ends up drunkenly divining.”

“A confused Cassandra?” Luca quips.

Evan groans. “Not helping.”

“Does your bladdered blessedness ever say anything useful?” Luca asks. “Because historical apotheosis doesn’t get us anywhere.”

Evan shrugs. “Not really.”

“I’ve got something I’d like you to swirl around,” I tell him. “One of Bevington’s swimmers killed himself. Drowned in the pool. He said his brain had turned against him and all he could see was nightmares. I don’t know. I feel like these deaths are related somehow.”

“Fear death by water,” Evan says, his eyes unfocused. “The drowned man. He carries something which I am forbidden to see. The cursed pack. The ancient burden. He is the death of sleep.”

My heart skips, leaving my chest tight and my throat clogged. Did the Archangel just speak to us? I cough. “Did you say?—”

“Rho,” Luca says, his voice low, his tone warning.

“What?”

He sighs. “Be careful. Don’t hurt Caileán.”

“How could investigating Yan’s death hurt Caileán?” I demand.

“Just be careful,” Luca repeats.

Evan runs his hand over his face. “Did Professor Wyndham bring a dream demon to Bevington?”

“No,” Luca says sharply. “And don’t you fucking dare accuse her of that. She’s carrying enough grief and guilt already. These deaths aren’t related. O was here in Bevington while Kellan was on Isla Cedros.”

Remembering the pictures in Kellan’s family home, I shake my head. “No, Lu. Kellan was here when O died. She probably didn’t hear about it for a while because the family kept it quiet, but she was home.”

Luca glares at me. “Do not accuse her of this.”

“I’m not accusing her of anything. I’m just making sure we all have our facts straight. O died while Kellan was home visiting her parents. Yan died while?—”

“Caileán was with us in Scilla,” Luca finishes for me. “She had nothing to do with Yan’s suicide.”

“Caileán may not have had a hand in either death,” Evan says. “But if she unleashed a dream demon, it might have. We need to look for connections between O and Yan.”

“I was hoping you could get us Carver’s case file,” I say to Evan. “And maybe oversee him a little? He didn’t have even basic control of the scene.”

“Was he treating it like a crime scene?” Evan asks.

I shake my head. “Coach showed him Yan’s note. After that, Carver seemed focused on removing the body and getting the pool cleaned.”

Evan rolls his eyes. “Everything is a crime scene until it’s not. I’d have thought the White Cloaks taught him that much.”

“Professor Dittman taught me that much,” I say.

I don’t know for sure whether Dittman taught Carver, but I’d assume so if Carver was on track to the justiciars.

Evan blows out a breath laden with beef gravy and disappointment. “I don’t know why I should be invested in his success or failure. The guy’s an asshole.” Evan shakes his head. “Maybe I still have too much respect for the office. The Mr. Black means something. It’s a burden to be chief crow, granted, but it’s also an honor. I hate the idea that Carver’s disrespecting that.”

“I hate the idea that whatever drove Yan into that pool with a backpack full of weights might not be caught because Carver’s incompetent,” I say.

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll go see Carver now before I head back to Thistlemist. When are you planning to return to Scilla?”

I see the warning glance Luca shoots me, but I refuse to believe that Evan could do us any harm. “Storm should end tomorrow, so we’ll be diving again the morning after.”

That Evan doesn’t ask how I know when the storm will end should reassure Luca.

Judging by my kit’s glower as Evan leaves, he’s not even a little reassured.

“Take off your pants and get in the pit,” I tell him.

He crosses his arms over his bare chest. “Fuck you.”

“Not the way it works, and you know it. One minute to spill whatever’s got your balls knotted and then you obey me, or we start on three strikes.”

Luca’s nostrils flare as he takes a deep breath. Oh, my kit’s really got it on him. Is he jealous of my relationship with Evan?

“You just sat there and said our foursome is the most important thing in your world.”

I nod. “It is.”

“Lords walks in and you’re spilling Caileán’s secrets to him in the next fucking breath.”

“What secrets? He’s seen the exhibit. The dream demons are no secret. He knows as much as I do about O’s death?—”

“He had no reason to suspect that Kellan was in Bevington when O died until you made the connection for him. He didn’t know what Yan’s suicide note said until you told him.”

An itch works up my spine as I process what Luca’s saying.

“Kit, I’m just trying to connect the dots.”

Luca huffs. “I want justice for Yan, too, Rho, but not at Caileán’s expense. She’s already under enough scrutiny and pressure at Bevvy because of our relationship. Now you’re giving Lords ammo to take to Carver, who is not our girl’s biggest fan. I know you like and trust the guy, but he’s not part of our foursome. He’s the Capricorn Primus. He’s the archangel’s Hand on Earth. Confiding in him is fucking dangerous.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, holding my hands out to my kit. “You just called him the archangel’s Hand on Earth. Who could be safer to confide in?”

Luca shakes his head. “Caileán’s right about him. He’s moral but soft, which is an odd fucking combination and one that’s going to get him killed. You may not have noticed, but we’re wild fae. Caileán is dark fae. Unseelie , Rho. She’s not always going to choose the light Path. She’s not like Lords. She’ll make the hardest choices, the ones that protect our people, her sisters, and her lands. You understood this about Law. How can you not understand it about our mate?”

Caileán and Law are totally different people. Even though I want us to be a foursome going forward, it’s not because I’ve suddenly come to like Luca’s twin. It’s because I’ve seen how he supports Caileán.

“Not at all the same,” I tell him.

“Absolutely the same,” Luca insists. “That’s why they bring out the best in each other even when there’s such friction between them. They both have the spine to do what must be done. I love that about both of them. Do you?”

My mouth flaps as I consider what he’s said. “I love Caileán.”

Luca tips his head to one side. “What do you love about her?”

“Everything. I love how inquisitive she is. I love how she challenges me. I love sharing small moments with her. I want to build her up and help her succeed. Share her joys and sorrows. I want a family and a future with her.”

Luca nods. “You love her as a person, Rho.”

“Of course, I do.”

“Do you love her as a queen?”

“I . . .”

Do I? I thought I did until Luca questioned it.

“Did you love her in that moment when she killed Kimberly for you?” Luca continues.

No question about that.

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you hold her hand? She’d been holding hands with you to that moment. But just before she pulled all the breath out of your cousin’s lungs, she let your hand go. Didn’t you notice?”

I didn’t. “I assumed she needed to draw on your power.”

“In her hearthland? Come on, Rho. She could summon the Mother herself at Ceòfuar. Fuck she practically did when we healed you. She’s careful around you. She’s worried about you seeing her as monstrous, so she shields you. And you just gave her up to Lords and Carver.”

My own spine stiffens. “That was absolutely not my intention and if either of them goes after her, they’ll have to come through me first.”

The harshness of Luca’s expression eases. “Good. Now I know we’re on the same page.”

“Kit, I’m on your side, always. I’m on Caileán’s side, always. I might not always understand why you do what you do but never think we’re on different sides. I will always choose you.”

His shoulders sag as he relaxes. “That’s what I needed to hear.”

“I’m sorry I ever made you doubt it. Now stop back-talking me, take off your pants, and get in the damn pit.”

With a wicked grin that tells me there’s much more back talk to come, Luca shucks his pants and underwear off in one smooth movement and strolls into living room with its fur-lined cuddle pit.