Twenty-Six

Kai

I heard the new voice before I reached the living room, slightly higher-pitched, laced with kindness. Was that the healing mage they'd mentioned?

My head wasn't bleeding anymore, but it hurt like a bitch, so I sucked up my fears and walked into the living room.

Ember and Micah were on the couch, while Cam sat on the arm of a chair taken by a blond stranger.

The stranger glanced up at me, then smiled widely, his green-brown eyes brightening right up. He shot to his feet—and sent Cam falling before he caught himself—but didn't approach me.

"You must be Kai. I'm Raphael Presley. It's nice to meet you!"

I tilted my head, puzzled. His last name didn't sound like a mage name. Had he changed it after coming here?

"I'm Kai. Nice to meet you too," I said, reluctantly taking a few steps closer. It was clear the other three all trusted this man, but he was a mage. I couldn't stop myself from being nervous around him. I knew not all mages were like Osric—Micah was a mage, and he'd been nothing but sweet and kind to me—but I couldn't help myself.

"If you'll take a seat here, I can check out your injury. Is your head the only place it hurts?"

It wasn't the only one, but it was the most prominent. The others were just bruises that would heal on their own anyway.

"Yeah." I took the chair, sitting upright with my fingers digging into the armrest. Yet the moment Cam placed his palm on my shoulder, I felt better. Safer.

I couldn't feel the mate bond that connected us, but its effects were still there, and I couldn't deny them.

I jumped as Raphael brushed his fingers through my hair, and Cam squeezed my shoulder. Relaxing just a little, I waited as Raphael hissed and muttered to himself.

"Okay, good news is it's just a flesh wound, so even if I can't heal it, it'll be okay."

Why couldn't he?

Before I could ask, I felt his palm brush my hair, and then warmth. The magic tingled as it brushed my scalp, warm and almost minty in feel, and I exhaled slowly as the discomfort in my head finally lessened.

"There. The pain might stick around for a bit, but painkillers should help with that. This wasn't a magic injury, was it?"

"I hit my head on a rock," I said with a shake of my head, and Raphel winced sympathetically.

I realized with a start that I wasn't afraid of him any longer. Somehow, he'd put me at ease with his gentle ministrations and cheerful way of speaking.

"Okay, I'm done," he said, taking a step back and smiling at me. "Do you feel better?"

"Much. Thank you so much."

"I was happy to help!" Then he turned to Cam.

"Tell me everything. How did you meet? And why aren't Cassybear and the others here? Or did you tell them to stay home because of the drama when Ember arrived?"

I glanced from Cam to Raphael, curious about what had happened when Ember arrived. And who was Cassybear?

"Uh, we haven't told them yet," Cam said, a sheepish note in his voice, and Raphael's eyes widened.

"What? Are you telling me I'm the first one you told?"

Cam nodded, and Raphel grinned widely. While I got the feeling he was older than Cam—both in age and in their relationship dynamic—he looked more like a kid as he did a happy little jig.

"That is awesome. See, I knew I was your favorite!"

Cam rolled his eyes, but there was a fond smile on his lips. The two of them were clearly very close, and I remembered what Cam had said about Raphael saving his life.

"Sure, sure. We need to tell the dads ourselves, though, so don't you dare tell them."

Raphael mimed zipping up his lips, then took a few steps back. "I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks for getting here so quickly."

"You'd do the same," Raphael said, waving Cam off. Then he turned to Micah, his brows furrowing. "Are you okay? You're unusually quiet."

Micah pursed his lips, and his eyes flicked to mine, as if asking my permission to say whatever he wanted to. I shrugged, not caring either way.

"The person who stole Kai's coat...he was a mage. From Ravenshire."

Raphael scowled, and I blinked, surprised at the change. The scowl looked wrong, as if he wasn't meant to make a face like that.

"What could they possibly want with a selkie's coat? A stolen one at that?"

I was surprised Raphael knew the distinction, and I wondered just how old he was. Very few people these days knew the difference between a selkie coat given out of free will and a stolen one.

"Who knows? I don't care about the reason. All I know is we're going to get it back."

The steel in Cam's voice surprised me and made me feel safe at the same time. It was like I could feel his dragon speaking to me, promising to protect and guard me.

Raphael gazed at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Like I said, let me know if you need anything." Cam gave an almost arrogant smile, like he was completely confident he could handle it alone, and Raphael shook his head. "Okay, I'll leave you to it. Make sure you call your dads, both of you."

"I'm surprised Raiden hasn't called or shown up yet. He must've sensed Kai," Micah piped up, and I felt a little relieved that he sounded almost relaxed. Clearly, he had some baggage with Ravenshire too, and I wished I hadn't had to dig it up.

"Unless he can't. Kai's aura is mostly human right now, so it could've slipped past his guard without him noticing," Ember said, and Cam hummed thoughtfully.

"That's possible."

"Oh, by the way, Jai's making your favorite curry tonight. You're all welcome to join us for dinner," Raphael said, eyes flicking from Cam to the rest of us.

"Not tonight, Uncle Raph. Rain check?"

Raphael smiled. "Sure. Or I can send Dean over with a Tupperware."

Cam's eyes widened, and he grinned. "You're the best."

"And don't you forget it."

Once Raphael had left, I sank into the armchair as the events of today finally sank in. From the moment I'd woken up to find Osric stealing my coat, I hadn't had a moment's calm. I was tired, hungry, and just wanted to be alone for a little bit. Get my thoughts in order. Mourn the loss of my coat and figure out a way to get it back. Think about what it meant to have three men claiming to be my mates.

Ember

I watched Kai sag into the armchair, watched the way his eyes fell shut even though the furrow between his brows only deepened. He looked drawn and tired, and I could hear his stomach grumbling from here.

Go take care of our mate , Micah said in my mind, and I glanced down at him, conflicted. I wanted to take care of Kai, but I also didn't want to leave Micah.

"I got this, Em," Cam said, and I glanced up at him, relieved. "What say you, princess? Wanna cuddle for a bit?"

Micah beamed up at Cam, and I smiled to myself as I stood up and Cam took my place.

Walking across the room, I kneeled in front of Kai, placing a hand on his knee. "Hey, would you like something to eat?"

His eyes flicked open, then widened as they met mine. After a moment's pause, he nodded, and I smiled as I stood up, holding my hand out.

He took it after a moment's hesitation, his hand much warmer now that he was out of the water and in dry clothes, and I wrapped my hand around his smaller one, tugging him to his feet, then leading him to the kitchen.

Kai settled on a stool on the other side of the counter, and his dark eyes followed me as I moved around the kitchen. It was past lunch time, and I knew Micah and Cam must have been hungry too, so I settled on sandwiches since we had all the fixings and it wouldn't take too much time.

"Is there anything you don't like eating?"

Kai pursed his lips for a moment, then admitted, "Tomatoes."

I paused for a moment, glancing up at him. "Raw or cooked or both?"

"Raw or cooked. I can handle it in sauce and soup, but I don't like them in solid form, I guess." He sounded a little embarrassed as he admitted it, so I merely smiled at him and accepted it with a nod.

"No tomatoes, got it. Anything else?"

Kai shook his head, and I started on the sandwiches, quickly putting together four plates with four sandwiches—Micah and Kai probably wouldn't finish all of theirs, but Cam and I would happily take the leftovers—one without tomatoes.

Placing Kai's plate in front of him, I tilted my head and asked, "Would you like to eat in the living room with us? Or here?"

I got the feeling Kai needed a moment alone, and judging by the look of sheer relief in his eyes, I was right.

"Here, please."

"All right. If you can't finish it, just cover the dish with another and leave it on the counter. If you feel like taking a nap, there are four bedrooms upstairs. You can sleep in whichever one you want. Or you can join us in the living room."

Kai nodded as he picked up a sandwich and bit into it, chewing with a happy hum that made me smile.

Leaving him to it, I carried the other three plates to the living room. Cam and Micah both looked up at me, then at the empty space beside me.

"He needed some space, so he's eating in the kitchen."

Micah nodded as he took two plates from me, then passed one to Cam. I settled on the armchair with my plate, and decided that Cam was right. We needed a bigger couch.

"We should probably tell the dads," Cam said with a full mouth, and Micah scowled at him.

This is what the mind link is for, you know. So you don't talk with your mouth full like a heathen .

Cam grinned, unrepentant. I don't want Kai to think we're keeping things from him . Also, I thought it was so I could talk when my mouth is stuffed with your cock.

Rolling my eyes at Cam's ridiculousness as well as his thoughtfulness, I added my own opinion out loud. "We should tell them, but I'm afraid they'll want to visit, and I don't think Kai is ready right now." Especially Cassian, since he was a mage too, and much more intimidating than Raphael, at least until you spent some time with him and his mate and realized Gus was actually the one to look out for.

"We can text them, and explain the situation," Micah said, and Cam hummed.

"Good idea. I'll do it now before Raph decides he's done waiting and blurts it out in the group chat.”

Cam pulled his phone out, and I imagined he was sending the text in the 'family' group he had with his dads, Micah's dads, both their siblings, themselves, and recently me.

Cam : Good news! We found our final mate. His name is Kai, and he's a selkie. Please don't come to visit just yet. His coat was stolen, and he isn't in a good space right now. We'll tell you when he's ready for visitors. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any advice you might have about going to and navigating around Ravenshire. We have to get Kai's coat back.

Well, that was one way to do it.

"I don't think Cassian will be happy about you going to Ravenshire," I said to Micah, and he sighed, knowing I was right.

"He'll probably insist on coming too. But I don't want him to have to deal with those assholes any more than I want to deal with them myself. Dad suffered at their hands a lot longer than I did."

I didn't know the story of why Cassian had left Ravenshire, and while I was curious, I'd never ask unless Cassian himself wanted to tell me. It was enough to know that Ravenshire's residents hadn't treated any of the mages I knew well.

Our phones buzzed simultaneously, then again, and again. Shaking his head, Cam unlocked his phone as Micah peered at his screen, and I did the same.

Cassian : Are you saying a mage stole his coat?

Gus : Congratulations, kids! And Ember!

I smiled. Gus was not a big fan of the age gap between me and those two, but he couldn't say anything because Cam was quick to bring up the age gap between his dads, so Gus had to satisfy himself with little quips like these. I didn't really mind. I knew I was much older than Cam and Micah—as well as Micah's dads and William—but I also knew I'd never use that against them in any way.

Raiden : We won't visit, but we should have this conversation in person. I've tried to keep an eye on that island, but I was focused on trouble headed our way. I should've been more careful.

William : How do you manage to find a way to blame yourself for everything? This is not your fault.

Cam : Dad's right, DD. The Ravenshire mages have been assholes since long before you got here.

Cassian : Agreed.

The conversation went on for a while after that, but by the end of it, Raiden had extracted a promise from Cam that we'd visit as soon as Kai was ready, and that we wouldn't take a step toward— or fly toward , he'd added emphatically—Ravenshire before that.

When I took the empty plates back to the kitchen, I found Kai's in the sink but no Kai. Straining my ears, I heard his steady breathing upstairs, and allowed myself to relax. Some sleep would do him good, and while he rested, I'd make sure my other mates were doing well too. Especially Cam. Finding out not one but two of his mates had been hurt by the same people must've sent his dragon into a frenzy, and I was honestly surprised at how well he was dealing with it. Maybe being half human gave him more control over his dragon side?