Phoenix Found (Brothers of Fire #5)

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Kaine stood on the other side of the bars, staring at Perrin. The holding cells on the castle grounds were barely used. So far in the last month they’d housed Everest and now Perrin. Both the head chef and his son were in trouble for fighting—though the father was receiving medical care. Fortunately, they had been in an area of a castle that wasn’t seen by the public, but the fight had been seen by other staff. Which made this problem trickier as there needed to be some kind of punishment.

At least both statements were the same.

And while Kaine didn’t want to get involved in ghoulish business, he was on Perrin’s side. No one should be forced into an arranged marriage, no matter how good the intention. And after checking with Dalmon on the details, the number of ghouls was not dire, the way it had been three centuries ago when this tradition had started.

It wasn’t that ghouls were homophobic, but they expected people to marry and have children and find their happiness in affairs. Which Kaine couldn’t imagine making anyone happy or making the situation less complicated.

This whole matter was also complicated because Perrin had already involved the Coven, the fight had been witnessed by staff, and Oliver had taken a fancy to him.

“What do you think happens now?” Kaine asked. They’d grown up together, part of the castle family without being part of the royal family. Until Kaine had been sent away to boarding school, they’d been friends.

Perrin sat on the bed, elbow resting on his knees. “Nothing good. If I hadn’t defended myself, he might’ve killed me.”

He shouldn’t judge, but the idea of tearing apart someone as punishment and then letting the rest of the family or clan devour them was particularly disgusting. Which was anti-ghoulish of him to think. “I’ve already spoken to your father. He wants you to be fired, so you’re forced to go to your potential bride and find work where she lives.”

Perrin snorted. “It’s traditional for the bride to join her husband. Clearly, he’s happy to break with tradition when it suits him.”

Kaine had raised that point, having given himself a crash course in ghoulish tradition. “He intends to disown you.”

Perrin nodded. “I expected that.”

“Is that it? You’re not going to fight for your job?” What about his interest in Oliver? Did that mean nothing?

Perrin considered him for several heartbeats. “Is there anything I can say that will enable me to keep it?”

“Dalmon said you’re going to Oliver’s estate to check it over, and then you are planning to take leave for a few months.”

“If my potential bride agrees to talk with me, I hope to reach an agreement where I can meet the traditional requirements without marrying her. I don’t want to marry her. I’d be quite happy not to follow this stupid tradition, but I guess it will only take a couple of generations for our numbers to fall again. We have all this technology…” He looked away. “But I feel like a medieval peasant duty-bound to follow the word of my father and my king…no disrespect to the actual king and your family, sir.”

Kaine’s lips twisted into a smile. “None taken. In a couple of generations, paranormals won’t be hiding from humans. As you said, we have all this technology.”

“If my father doesn’t want me here, then I cannot stay.”

“He can’t fire you. He is staff, the same as you.”

“He will make my life hellish.”

“He cannot do that either without facing punishment. He has been warned.” But the head chef was simmering with rage that his son was disrespecting tradition and family. The last thing Kaine wanted to deal with was the grizzly remains from a fight that wasn’t stopped in time. “It might be wise for you both to have some space.”

“Am I on leave or something?”

“You’re taking Oliver to his estate tomorrow?”

“That was the plan.”

“That is still the plan. And at some point, you will need to go out to the lodge to check on repairs?”

Perrin nodded.

“Would I be wrong in assuming that much of your work can be done from another base of operations?”

Perrin’s eyebrows knitted together. “All the scheduling and coordination I can do from anywhere, but the call-outs? I need to be here for them.”

“Or your assistant can do them. You do a lot of the work yourself, even though he could do much of it.” Kaine understood how hard it was to delegate sometimes. It felt easier to hold on to all the little jobs, even though there were bigger tasks that needed his attention. But in the end, he had to trust his people; otherwise, what was the point of having them?

“Am I supposed to drift between the various estates until my father cools down?”

“If you have a better idea, I’m open to suggestions.” At the moment, keeping the two ghouls separated was his entire plan.

Perrin’s lips twisted as though we were about to say something before swallowing the words.

Kaine sighed. “You might as well tell me now.”

He expected Perrin to mention Oliver.

“It’s not only me. Alice is dating a bear shifter. She’s hoping that I’ll be able to convince our father that arranged marriages are so last century and that she can have her little ghouls while being with the man she loves.”

“Right.” He needed to talk to Alice and Dalmon. “Is there anything else you need to tell me? Are you seeing someone that’s going to cause further complications?” He lifted his eyebrows, hoping Perrin would come clean.

Perrin’s already pale skin whitened, and he nodded.

That was better than nothing. “Does your father know who he is?”

“No one knows.”

“Someone always knows. Someone always sees something. You know the castle as well as anyone, and you know what goes on. Even if you believe you’ve been unseen, someone will have noticed you creeping.”

Perrin closed his eyes. “It wasn’t meant to happen. And I expected it to be just a kiss…”

Kaine laughed. “It’s never just a kiss, and if it is, you’re doing it wrong.”

“You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Dalmon told me. How’s your hand? ”

Perrin held up. A pale pink scar splashed over his palm and fingers. “Better than my leg.”

“Did they offer you any treatment?”

“I didn’t need any. But the wounds are deep, so the scars will take longer to heal.”

“Some scars never do.” Dalmon was less worried about Oliver than he was Everest. As far as Kaine was concerned, Everest was fine because he was bound to the lion shifter, and that bond was holding him together. Oliver…he’d had his magic bottled up for so long, had soul bruises Kaine couldn’t begin to imagine, and was hungry to taste the world. It was Oliver Kaine worried about. He wasn’t sure if Oliver was going to break or explode, but both would make a mess. But he trusted Perrin to catch Oliver.

Perrin frowned. “Are you talking about the ones my father made or the ones Oliver has?”

“Both. I don’t need to warn you to be careful.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be warning him not to play with ghouls? Especially now.”

“He needs to learn to make his own decisions, and you are setting a good example.” Sometimes standing up to family was the right thing to do.

“If I was setting a good example, I wouldn’t be on this side of the bars.”

“Usually, I’d agree with you, but this is not usual. I’m not sure if it’s safer to leave you here under guard or let you return to your quarters, also under guard.” Kaine didn’t want his father or mother coming after him, nor did he want Oliver near him tonight. His phone buzzed, and he checked the screen, grimacing as he read the message. “Your father’s eye couldn’t be saved.”

Perrin swore. “I didn’t mean?—”

“I know.” For Perrin, it had been a very lucky throw that had saved him from worse injuries. If the security guards had needed to separate the two ghouls, they may have also been hurt.

“Is he going to press charges?”

“He doesn’t have a claw to stand on.” The Coven and the castle backed Perrin, and if human cops became involved, the Coven would ensure any investigation was shut down. “He’s being kept in hospital overnight.” He didn’t want to ask, but he had to. “How much of a tradition follower is your mother?”

“She married him because she was told to. She was told to have three or more children, so she had four. I think they’ve both had affairs.” Were they still together out of convenience?

“So she may not support him one hundred percent.” Which meant she may not hunt her son. He needed to talk to her next and then Alice. “And your other siblings?”

“My older sister moved to be with her chosen husband in Germany, and my younger brother works at the abattoir. I don’t know what they’ll do.”

He didn’t want to leave Perrin in the holding cell overnight. He’d done nothing wrong. He seemed almost softhearted for a ghoul, more worried about others and keeping them happy. Or perhaps that was his own prejudices showing, and he needed to get to know the ones he had on staff a little better.

“I’ve arranged the security detail for the trip to Oliver’s estate. They will remain on site. Is there anything else you need?”

“As long as one of them is a shifter who enjoys hunting, I’ll be fine. I’ll need to feed in a couple of days.”

Kaine gave a slow nod, not wanting to think too deeply about that request. “I will make sure someone is there to assist.”

And he’d also send an eagle shifter in case Oliver wanted to fly. There was a part of him who wanted to be there, but if they kept Oliver’s ropes too tight, it would be obvious. They had to let him run. Convincing the others that it was the right thing to do was going to be easier if Oliver wasn’t there to be supervised.

Kaine summoned the two guards. “Take him to his rooms. No one is to enter.” He glanced at Perrin to be sure he understood that included Oliver.

Perrin gave a small nod.

Hopefully, Oliver wouldn’t go jumping into the middle of this mess.