11. ~Caspian~

“No matter if we’re apart or the distance or time between us, it’ll never diminish this connection we share. It was forged in fucking hellfire, there’s no breaking it.”

Those were Caleb’s words to me long before he’d left.

Judging by our brief conversation earlier, he still believed in them.

Still believed them to be true.

It was different being the one left to the one who’d made the choice to leave, though.

We’d never found ourselves in this sort of situation before.

For years on end, the notion of us parting, to any of the three of us going our separate ways, had just never been on the table.

And then he’d made that break.

And with that, he’d broken us.

Seeing him again, all I’d felt was hurt.

I hadn’t been able to feel anything beyond it.

It was why I’d cut our conversation to the quick. I’d been on the verge of lashing out, of saying something that could’ve served to push him back into the shadows again.

It was up to him now.

To take that step back to us.

Until then, he was just a soldier to me.

I couldn’t allow it to be any other way until something shifted for him, until I knew he wasn’t going to rip my fucking heart out again.

I hadn’t invited him back to King Manor for a reason and with him knowing me as well as he did, he would’ve realized that.

I wanted to tell myself that it was self-preservation, pure and simple.

But, in truth, there was some punishment intended there also.

“How is she?”

I spun at the sound of Bastian’s voice. I’d been so consumed by my thoughts and trying to wrap my head around these latest developments that I hadn’t even heard him walking up to the room—the same spare room we’d put Skylar up in the last time she’d stayed over.

I pushed off the locked door and walked to him. “She was in a state. Caleb had a tough time talking her down so I had to sedate her.”

I’d told him that she was back here, but that was all he knew, because he’d been at his support group meeting, taking on another session because of all these developments happening in such a short amount of time—all potentially triggering developments to him.

“She’s also… restrained.”

“Like an out-of-control animal?”

“That’s closer to how she is right now than you realize.”

“Shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a moment, then asked me, “Do you think you can help her? Like you helped me?”

“Is that what you want, sweetheart?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Well, you hate her, don’t you?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You really want to test me with this right now?”

“I want you to get a handle on your emotions when it comes to her. Last time you went it alone and it didn’t work out very well at all.”

“All right, yeah. I hear you. I just… I needed to hate her. For my own sanity. Without closure, it was the only way I could look at it and not lose my ever-loving mind. I’m still pissed that she left, as well as her pulling away even before all that shit happened that night. I feel—”

“Betrayed?”

He nodded. “And like… like what I had to offer her wasn’t enough.”

“You loved her and she didn’t return it in the way you needed.”

“Fuck, Cas. Yes, dammit. I guess I did.”

There was no guessing about it, but at least he was admitting that much.

“Like you feel with Cal, yeah?”

“Yes. Like I do with him. Her too, actually. We brought her into the inner circle. But she was just struggling, Bastian.”

“You think we could’ve pulled things back from the edge with her if Jett hadn’t interfered?”

“I do.”

“And now? With her like you described?”

“Only time will tell.”

His brow furrowed. “Wait, you’re always sure about things. You don’t embark on any endeavor unless you’ve already determined the outcome, you’re always so many moves ahead.”

“Not always, but for the most part. In this situation, however, there are too many volatile elements with very little stability. Until some of those begin to settle, I can’t know, Bastian, I can’t see clearly.”

“Well, the first volatile element we can conquer is helping her out of this animalistic state.”

“I need Caleb for that.”

“Yeah, he is uniquely qualified.” He looked around. “I didn’t see him on my way in here. Is he asleep already?”

“He’s not here, sweetheart.”

“Excuse me? The one person we need to help Sky isn’t here where we need him?”

“He can’t do anything while she’s unconscious, can he?” I bit back with a lot more edge than I’d intended.

I’d barely spoken his name for the last two years, yet here I was speaking and hearing it—and even seeing him—several times over in a matter of days. It was a lot. To say the least.

And, unlike Bastian, I didn’t have the luxury of time to process things like something this monumental really required. I had to fast-track everything. It was the busy, non-stop life I led. Unfortunately, this… him… it needed more than what I was currently allotting it.

“You flipped him off, didn’t you? Made him stay away?”

I ground my teeth. “Fine. Yes. That’s what happened.”

He laid his hand on my shoulder. “It’s not going to get better, nothing will be resolved, unless you have it out with him. You brought him into this by sending him to Sky, and he’s here. He didn’t leave right after either, according to your reports. I thought that meant he was here with you, but even so, he’s still here in the city. Here for us, Cas. It means something. It means a fuck of a lot. I’m still pissed at him too for leaving us, but even I can see it.”

“Bastian—”

He squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t let your pride and fear of the hurt keep him away now that he’s finally taken steps back toward us.”

I couldn’t help smiling.

“What?” he asked, amusement sparking at my odd reaction to the severity and heaviness of the situation.

“Just, there he is, the man wise beyond his years that I remember. Rein. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that from you.”

“Well, I’ve had a lot of help getting my shit together.” He winked. “Couldn’t disappoint after all of that now, could I?”

I chuckled. “Absolutely not.”

Unfortunately, that levity was cut into by the sound of my phone ringing.

I pulled it out and looked to see Luke calling.

“One moment,” I told Bastian with a raise of my finger.

He nodded and I took the call, “King.”

“Caleb has been spotted entering Haywire.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

I paused. For several moments, my brain tried to make sense of this fucked-up turn of events. This very unsavory turn of events.

“King? Are you still there?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m here.”

“How would you like me to proceed?”

“Leave it be, but notify me when Caleb leaves.”

“Consider it done.”

I hung up and pocketed my phone.

I looked to see Bastian eyeing me curiously. “What’s he done?”

“He’s at Haywire.”

He grinned.

Not what I’d expected.

“Why are you amused by that report?”

“Because he’s challenging you, pushing back. You hurt his feelings, now he’s trying to get under your skin. Both of ours actually. This is a good sign.”

“Highly immature, is what I would call it.”

“Yeah, well. You know how Cal can get like that when it comes to you.”

I did, yes.

I tossed Caleb a withering look as he walked to me by my desk. “You certainly gave Luke an eyeful.”

He grinned. “Do you think he liked what he saw?”

I growled and snagged his nape, jerking him to me.

He laughed and licked my jaw. “Aww, I love you too, Cas.”

I released him with a grunt and he hopped up onto my desk.

“You’re acting out because I left our bed,” I realized quickly.

That was only one of several memories of him acting out coming to mind, all rooted in his affection for me, any time he’d felt insecure with it, any time he’d felt some destabilization between us.

“I recall a few instances, yes.”

Ifthat was what it really was about this time around.

From my research on his activities over the last couple of years, it was clear he’d become more astute, involving himself in complicated situations with several layers and big picture matters. And to survive and even thrive in those sorts of circumstances, he’d learned to think several moves ahead, to strategize, and to read people well. Just like me.

With all of that in mind, perhaps he’d gone to Damien with more than the purpose of trying to piss me off as his intent.

For information.

“Cas?”

I blinked back to see Bastian eyeing me in question, wanting my response concerning Caleb, wanting me to assure him that I would bring him here for Skylar.

“I’ll remove the obstacles, but the rest is on him.”

“That’ll do. For now.”

“Now that you’re satisfied with that, get some sleep. There’s nothing more to be done here tonight. She’ll be out for several hours yet.”

He stared at her bedroom door for a moment, a war taking place all over his features.

Thankfully, commonsense won out and he gave me a nod. “Yeah.”

“You’re sure you’re still okay with her being here in our home? There’s a powerful difference between the notion of something versus its reality.”

He smiled sadly. “Where else should she possibly be but here with us, right?”

His words were bittersweet, but the raw truth hung there.

And it was the case for both her and Caleb.

They were both back with us.

There was a great deal of damage control required.

And it would change everything.