4. Raiden

RAIDEN

Istare down at the filled seat, disgruntled by the efforts we have to go to, but it's really no surprise, not when it comes down to it. Which is exactly why we were waiting in place. It doesn't stop the irritation from coiling through me, though.

Fucker.

Not willing to waste any more time, I whip the sack off Cassian's head and glare down at him.

Brody takes the signal, and his chants no longer fill the room as he releases his magical hold on the wolf.

"Was any of that actually necessary?" Cassian grunts, his hands balling in his lap, but he doesn't make to get up even though he can move at will now.

Cocking a brow at him, I push back with a question of my own. "Were you making your way over here like my message said?"

His eyes narrow. "I think you know the answer to that."

"Then it was necessary," I explain with a shrug, which makes him scoff.

"To get what you want?" he retorts, the bite clear in his tone.

I wave my hands out at either side, pointing toward Kryll to my left and Brody off to the right.

"To get what we all want."

His head twists, slowly peering around the room for the first time. He knows where he is. He's been in my room enough times, and the two men present are our closest friends, so when he continues to search, I instantly understand what he's hoping to set his eyes on.

"She's not here."

"What did you do to her?" His eyes darken as his jaw tics, his irritation rising to the surface as I grin.

"Ah, so you do care." I know I'm goading him, and I know it's working.

"What. Did. You. Do?"

Sometimes it's too fun. "Nothing," I admit, and he rears his head back in confusion.

"Nothing?"

"What did you want me to do to her?" I push with a pointed look, and he bares his teeth.

"You're the one who took her." He's right about that part. I can give him that, but he doesn't need to know my motives. Yet. When all I offer him is a shrug, he sighs. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Take her."

"Why not?" I shrug again, annoying him even more, but before he can try and chew my ear off, I redirect the conversation back to the point of this gathering. "You're the one in the hot seat, Cass. You're the one supposed to be answering questions here, not me."

His eyebrows furrow in confusion. "About what?"

"Dumb doesn't suit you, wolf."

Brody clears his throat, garnering Cassian's attention while I continue to stare at him. "He's referring to everything that just happened on the Kenner compound, Cass." His words are soft, but the confusion is still prominent.

One of us has to be the mediator; it's only fitting it's the mage that regularly helps us navigate our conflicts.

Cassian wipes a hand down his face, clearly trying to piece together a response. "I was heading home to give myself a minute to wrap my head around it all. So, I don't know what you want me to give you right now when I have no clue myself."

It makes sense, but this is also Cass. He can't hide away for days when we have things we need to discuss right now.

Kryll takes a seat on the coffee table, offering a soft yet tight smile to his friend. "I'm going to assume you didn't know about Queen Reagan."

There it is. The elephant in the room. The surprise that knocked us all off our feet and has us not thinking clearly.

"You would assume right," Cass bites back in response, his jaw ticking, and my eyes narrow.

"What did your father say?" He said something. I can see it in his eyes, and honesty is the only way forward.

He runs a hand through his hair as he subtly shakes his head. "He talked in circles. Even after openly admitting what he did to Addi, he?—"

"Adrianna," I interject, immediately feeling three sets of eyes swing my way.

"What?"

"She's royal. Her name is Adrianna, and that's how she should be addressed."

"I'll call her whatever the fuck I want," Cass snaps, and I shake my head in distaste.

"Your kingdom protocol is lacking."

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "My kingdom, what?"

I hold my hands up in disbelief. "You're such a wolf." The grumble falls effortlessly from my lips.

"Can we get back to the point?" he grunts in response, eyes wide, but his pupils are dilated.

"Fine, you were talking about Adrianna," I prompt, making him heave a heavy sigh.

"He openly admitted to attacking Addi but declined to admit if he was a part of the kingdom's demise. He also advised me that his control over the queen is entirely why The Council never gives him any pushback."

"They know," Kryll breathes, looking at Brody, and I follow his line of sight. His father sits on The Council. Does that mean he knew?

Fuck. This is getting messy, and I'm certain it's only just begun.

"So he says," Cass confirms, and I can't deny that a piece of me sees the sense and logic behind it. His father gets away with far too much shit for him not to have something over the governing body of our kingdom.

"Anything else?" I ask, but the defeat that radiates from him confirms his answer before he even speaks.

"Nothing."

I know he's telling the truth, but I can't help but push. Maybe it's because I'm getting tired, or maybe it's because of all the revelations Kenner unraveled tonight. "Do I need to check if you're lying?"

As predicted, Cassian rears back like I've punched him in the face. "You've never had to question my loyalty before. Why now?"

"Because your father?—"

"Is no extension of me, just as each of your bloodlines are not extensions of you. That's what we committed to one another when we made this pact. Is that changing?"

"No."

He searches my eyes for a moment before rising to his feet. "Good. Now, where is she?"

I should have known he would want that piece of information sooner rather than later. "In her room."

"Her room? You let her go?"

It's my turn to frown at him in confusion this time. "Why wouldn't I?"

"She lied," he snarls, and I roll my eyes at his dramatics.

"And that means we should keep her captive?" I clarify, watching as he peers at Kryll and Brody for backup but comes up empty-handed.

"I don't know. Maybe."

Taking a step toward him, I try to push down the disappointment threatening to rise within me. "I took her from the compound because I could see it in your father's eyes."

"What?"

"Your look is the same now. He wanted to keep her, too." His gaze narrows on me, but he doesn't deny it. Instead, he curses under his breath. "Maybe the apple doesn't always fall far from the tree."

"Fuck off, Raiden. She lied," he bites, but I see the hurt in his eyes from my words. Not because I said them, but because they could be true.

"Technically, she omitted," Brody interjects, and I have to bite back the grin from my face.

"And why the fuck would she tell us anyway?" Kryll pipes in, fueling the anger emitting from the wolf.

"Because we have a right to know."

"Do we? All we've done is wreak havoc on her life," Brody pushes back.

Kryll holds his hands up. "I haven't." Silence descends over us because the same can't be said for the rest of us. "What do we do with this little snippet of information then?"

"We dangle it over her head until we learn everything there is to know," I reply with a shrug. I might not want to hold her captive, but I still want the information. Color me intrigued.

"We won't have long then," Cassian murmurs, wiping a hand down his face.

"Why?"

"Something tells me my father will use the confirmation of who she is to his advantage." That's true. That's truer than true.

"This isn't his territory," Brody states, which is also true.

"Nothing is ever his territory, remember?" There's a sass to my voice as I take a swipe at Cassian, but the fact still remains: his reach is greater than most. Sighing, I consider what I learned from her already. Which really isn't much. "She wouldn't tell me anything about her sister that Kenner mentioned, but before I let her go, she told me about her ears."

"And?" Kryll nudges.

"It happened the night they escaped the castle." Cassian's hands ball into fists as a solemn reality washes over us. "How does that make you feel?" I ask him, intrigued to see the truth.

"Mad as fuck that I was blindsided."

But not mad as fuck that it happened. Should I read into that? Something about it pisses me off, and once again, I find myself making uncalculated moves.

"Now imagine how she feels," I rasp, making the others frown at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cassian grunts, and I shake my head.

"You're such a fucking wolf."

"Spit it out."

Cocking a brow at him, I sneer. I don't know whether I'm simply intent on hurting him today or if it's merely a coincidence.

"Do you really think she's going to go anywhere near you now? She's been fucking you. The son of the man who hurt her."