Page 18 of The Orc Who Hated Christmas (An MM Monster Christmas #1)
CHAPTER 18
C as frowned at Graal.
“I’m fine.” Graal took a sip of his tea.
“Are you sure?”
Graal nodded but didn’t meet Cas’s gaze.
“Is the tea too sweet?” Cas took a step towards him.
Something definitely was off with Graal. It seemed to have happened within a split second. One moment, they’d been chatting comfortably about witchcraft and affinities, the next, Graal had withdrawn.
Had Cas said or done something? Was it because of his affinity?
“I’m sorry if the tea is too sweet. Like I said, I’m about spreading happiness and cheer. But I know some see that as frivolous and shallow.” Cas swallowed as his own words echoed Xavi’s from when they’d broken up. “I can make you a new cup of tea, something like Jack or Grady would make.”
He hadn’t thought Graal thought him shallow or frivolous. But he hadn’t realised Xavi had either. Not until Xavi had been breaking Cas’s heart .
“No.” Graal shook his head, taking another sip. “The tea is lovely. Perfect. The sweetness is balanced by the lemon and chamomile.”
Cas let out a breath. So what was wrong, then?
“But what is moon water?” Graal asked, seemingly having shaken off the dark mood.
Had Cas just imagined the shift? “We put water in a jar and leave it out so it can be charged by the moon.”
There were other steps involved—choosing a phase of the moon and whispering intentions—but he wanted to keep his explanations simple. He didn’t want to overwhelm Graal with information.
“Your parents taught you a lot.”
Cas nodded but kept an eye on Graal. He finished packing up the bakery. Before he left, he went to the altar. Cas placed his hands together, over his heart, and bowed his head. “My hearth, my home, my heart. Thank you for today.”
Then he blew out the black beeswax candle. He cleaned around the altar and got out a new incense stick, ready for Lachlan in the morning. Then they left the bakery.
“Thank you for showing me all that,” Graal said softly. The low mood seemed completely gone. “And thank you for explaining your witchcraft to me.”
“It was nice having you with me.” Cas linked his arm with Graal. “So should we go to your place?” Snowflakes fell from the sky.
“Are you sure?” Graal scratched at his beard. “My place isn’t that nice.”
“I want to see where you live,” Cas said. “I suppose we could go upstairs to my apartment. But I think Lachlan, Briar, and the twins will probably all be home.”
Lacy wouldn’t be there yet, so his room would be free. But she’d come back at some point, and Cas wanted to have more time in private with Graal than just a few hours. In fact, he kind of hoped Graal would invite him to stay the night. Then they could fuck for hours and hours.
Cas hoped he’d be unable to walk tomorrow. Luckily, he could fly.
“But if you don’t want me to come over, that’s fine too. I know I kind of invited myself.” And Cas didn’t want to force his presence on Graal.
Graal shrugged. “It’s fine. Just don’t expect too much.”
They walked about twenty minutes before Graal gestured ahead of them. “This is the building.”
Cas’s eyes widened. The apartment building looked lovely, recently painted with big windows. Garlands and tinsel decorated the downstairs windows. All in all, this seemed much nicer than his own home. What had Graal been talking about? Clearly, he didn’t realise how cramped and rundown their apartment was.
But they didn’t walk up the steps to the large front door. Cas frowned as they walked around the back. They approached a worn door down some stairs that seemed to lead to the basement.
Graal pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and entered. “There are above ground tenants. But orcs, trolls, ogres, and similar races get rooms on the basement floor.”
Cas’s skin prickled. That didn’t sound right. Why would certain races be put on a different floor? Cas bit his tongue as he followed Graal inside. But maybe they preferred it. Cas didn’t know a lot about other races. Actually, because he’d been raised by human witches, there was a lot about pixies he’d never really learnt.
Only a single lantern lit the space. Cas’s own aura cast more light than the lantern down the dark hallway. The air smelled of musk and damp. Cobwebs and dust lined the walls. Voices in languages he didn’t recognise could be heard behind the doors they passed.
Finally, they reached the end of the hallway. “This is me.” Graal unlocked the door and stepped in. “It’s not nice. I wasn’t exaggerating.”
Cas looked around the room.
It wasn’t…terrible. But Graal wasn’t wrong either. It wasn’t nice. It lacked a window. The walls remained bare, and everything in the room seemed basic and served a functional purpose. It didn’t feel like a home, like a space anyone would actually want to be in.
“It’s not so bad.” Cas flapped his wings, rising above the floor. “I mean, it could use a pixie’s touch. Just a little brightening up maybe. A bright rug or some bed-linen. Some candles.” He ran his hand over the worn table. “A tablecloth and maybe some paintings for the wall. A plant or two might be nice.”
Cas bit his lip. “Although, I guess you need a window for that so the plants can get some sunlight. But you could bring in some dried flowers. And maybe some dried herbs with a nice smell. I can bring you some!”
Graal grimaced. “The landlord doesn’t like us to bring our own stuff to decorate.”
“What? That’s absurd!” Cas frowned. “Why not?”
Graal didn’t speak for a second. “He said that orcs stink. He doesn’t want us to bring in our stuff and stink up the place.”
Ice slid down Cas’s spine. “He said that?” His wings beat faster. “Does he say things like that often?”
Graal ducked his head. “Yeah.”
“Like what?” Cas’s heart rate picked up.
Graal’s shoulders hunched. A muscle in Graal’s cheek twitched. “Part of what we pay for is to get water changed daily so we can wash.” He gestured to the basin. “But it often isn’t changed. When I brought it up, he just said it doesn’t matter, as it’s not like orcs wash properly. And our clothes are cleaned poorly because apparently orcs don’t need clean clothes,” Graal said, voice tight.
With each word Graal spoke, Cas could feel the tension and anger rise in his body. “Why don’t you leave?”
“I’ve looked around. But it seems like that is a pretty common treatment for orcs. A lot of places won’t even accept us as tenants.” Graal pointed to the ceiling. “But the upstairs people, I bet they’re cleaning water is changed every day. I bet their clothes are immaculately washed. Their rent includes good food plus use of the dining and drawing room.” His lips curled into a sneer. “And of course, they have actual windows so they can see outside.”
Cas had known that some looked down on orcs and other races. But he hadn’t realised how bad it could be and how pervasive it was throughout the city. “Who are the upstairs people?”
“Well, the landlord is a vampire,” Graal said. “And there is a human sorcerer, a djinn, a pixie, a family of fauns, a sprite, a unicorn, and I think a few others.”
“I’m so sorry.” Cas’s words felt inadequate.
“It’s not your fault.” Graal shook his head. “And you’ve never treated me badly. I’m just sorry you had to come here and see this. I should have told you before, but honestly, I didn’t want to say anything.”
“Why not?”
“I’m embarrassed,” Graal said it like it should be obvious.
Cas flew to him, gripping Graal’s shoulders in his hands. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve done nothing wrong. Your fucking landlord should be ashamed. Everyone who treats you like this should be ashamed.”
Too angry to stay in one place, Cas released Graal and began to fly around the room, back and forth, from wall to wall, trying to deal with his anger. “I can’t believe someone would treat you like this! You deserve so much better!”
A knock sounded on the door. Cas dropped to the floor and turned towards it. He was standing behind the door when it swung open, and a vampire and imp walked in.