Cassius woke with just an inkling of what had happened before he passed out. He opened his eyes, staring at the white wall. Shadows flickered on the white paint—more of a grayish without the light on. He was lying face down on a bed, but he couldn't move to see the rest of the room.
It was strange, nothing like he'd seen before, but it was normal. Nothing except the flickering shadows caught his attention, though he couldn't see much of anything else in the position he was in. His cheek pressed into the soft sheet-covered pillow and the blanket draped around him, avoiding his exposed back, kept him warm.
The sound of crackling fire was pleasant to his ears and he was almost lulled bak to sleep by the sound. But the pain was coming back to him like someone was pressed their fingers into the wounds. It came back faster now that he wasn't still coming back from sleep. He was awake and he wished that he could go back to the darkness on the other side.
A groan fell from his lips as he tried to turn over. His back muscles ached as much as his skin burned, but he tried once more to move.
His hands were bound. They were tied to the headboard just a few inches apart. He'd missed it before, too absorbed in the new room and the pain in his back. Now that he knew it, a set of panic settled within him. The last thing he remembered before he'd passed out were the guards releasing him from the cross after they'd whipped him bloody.
His eyes widened.
He remembered Rexton now. His soft voice echoed in his head.
Take him to my room.
That's where he was now, tied to the bed of the man who'd ordered him to be whipped. Somehow, it was worse than being tied to the cross. Beds entailed other things. Things he'd heard from the guards and others only in passing. These were vile things the Mekiah were accused of doing long before the Exterus took reign. These acts were okay if they were forced upon Mekiah. No one else.
Cassius pulled against the bindings, clenching his teeth as his exposed wounds burned. He let out a strangled noise, almost like the one Rexton had made while Cassius strangled him in his dream.
He stopped pulling, thinking about the hallucination he had. The beast had been there. It had been the voice of reason even if what was taking place hadn't been real. Cassius had been so far out of his mind. He was willing to end Rexton's life, take it as if he had the right to do so.
He thought he did. It was that beast that made him think twice about his actions. Would he still take the chance to kill Rexton? He would have said yes long before his encounter with the beast. Rexton wasn't innocent. He'd proved that himself when he'd ordered Cassius to be flayed.
He shouldn't be questioning it. He shouldn't hesitate.
Rexton would deserve it.
His thoughts fell silent as the door to the room creaked open. He stilled in the bed and tried to breathe calmly. Footsteps crept close to the end of the bed and stopped. A shadow, the size of Rexton, shown on the wall in front of Cassius.
"The doctor should be here soon." It was Rexton. His voice was loud though he was talking in his inside voice. It was soft, pleasant like the warm fire, and Cassius hated how much he liked it.
"You beat me to heal me?" Cassius's voice didn't sound like his own.
It was broken and parch from screaming endlessly for the pain to stop. It hadn't done him much good except steal his voice away. He clenched his teeth, straining against his binds. It hurt all the same, but he didn't know what else to do. Being around Rexton, this intimately, while he was chained to the man's bed, felt wrong and uncomfortable.
"I don't make it a habit with my men, but you are a wild one." He said it like it was supposed to be an endearment.
Cassius snorted. "Fuck you."
Rexton walked around to the side of the bed. Cassius saw his legs and focused his eyes on Rexton's knees. He was in his uniform. The same as always. He wondered if Rexton slept in it.
Rexton bent down. They were face to face. Cassius glared into his eyes.
"I know you don't like me."
"Do you find that hard to believe?"
For the first time, a smile crossed Rexton's face. It was a slap to Cassius and he felt like he'd been dumped into an ice bath. Rexton saw the surprise and the smile morphed into a smirk. He looked almost boyish, his face transformed by the simplest of acts. If Rexton wasn't the bastard he was and Cassius met him under other circumstances, Cassius might have liked him.
More than liked him even.
Cassius frowned. "What's going on? Why are you..."
He couldn't complete the sentence.
Rexton leaned his arm onto the side of the bed. It dipped under Cassius and brought them closer. He was conscious of the decreasing space between them and how it wouldn't take much for Rexton to lean over, to fill the space with one swift move. He knew he shouldn't think it. It was almost sinful and wrong for him to want their bodies to come together or for their lips to touch. But he could let his mind slip for a second. He didn't have much to lose.
Though he wasn't going soft. Rexton was still the enemy as was everyone in Xtavia. This felt too much like a play for Rexton to gain Cassius's trust.
"There are some things we need to discuss." The smile faded, but he wasn't the cold general Cassius knew. It irked him that he couldn't even be safe with the emotionless side of Rexton. He was different, a changing face that had no past and couldn't even smile.
Cassius couldn't comprehend it.
Manipulation. That had to be it. It was almost insulting to think Rexton though changing his personality or smiling once in a while would make Cassius trust him. He stared into Rexton's eyes, daring him to go on with this ploy. Rexton didn't seem to mind the look he was getting and it made Cassius question if this was a facade or if this was the real Rexton. Maybe it was a mix between the two. Perhaps Rexton put on many faces, changing when the situation suited a new mask.
He didn't know what to make of it, but it didn't change the fact that he was a slave and Rexton held the power in the relationship. It didn't change Rexton's actions either.
"President Maxem has granted permission for me to transfer you to my SWARM. As soon as tomorrow, you'll be introduced to the team and escorted around my base." Rexton paused, waiting for Cassius to react.
He blinked, unsure at first if he'd heard the man correctly. It was unexpected given that he'd run not once but twice from Rexton in the span of two days. The hanging factor in it all was that he'd escaped from a high class demon, which had started this whole chain of events.
"Tomorrow? Why?" He felt stupid for asking such vague questions, but he couldn't think of anything better to say. There were a lot of things he could say to Rexton's face, a lot of the would earn him a hit to the face or another round of trouble and he still felt tired and stripped of all his strength from last night.
Rexton lifted his hand, hesitating and then letting the hand fall on Cassius's shoulder. Cassius stiffened. He held his breath.
The hand was warm and the fingers tickled his skin as they moved across his back.
Rexton stood from the floor. He looked down at Cassius's back. He was light with his touches, but Cassius didn't like them either way. His heart raced as Rexton placed both hands on his sore back.
"They went a little hard, didn't they?"
Cassius growled into the pillow. "By your orders."
"I know it might seem..." He trailed off. His hands worked around the open wounds.
Rexton's fingers felt nice. Not at all how Cassius wished they would feel. They calmed the area, soothing the pain away.
"I suppose you don't like me very much."
Cassius yanked at the binds, not caring if his back screamed in pain. He craned his neck as far as it would go.
"What the fuck do you think?" He jerked around, but he couldn't break from the binding. "Drop the fucking act. We both know it looks ridiculous on you."
Rexton pressed his hands harder into Cassius's shoulder blades.
"Fuck—"
"This isn't an act." His fingers had turned from soothing to sharp jabs. "I did what had to be done to get you away from General Iza and onto Keshtin's HIVE. You're the only one who survived the attack by the demon and have exhibited high amounts of magic."
"I'm an asset, then? You're being nice to me because you want to keep your property in good condition?" Cassius slumped back on the bed. He took back all he'd said before. He was going to strangle Rexton when he got his hands free.
Rexton didn't answer. He continued massaging Cassius's back.
"Get your hands off me."
"It's helping."
"No it's—" He was cut off again, but this time it was by his own accord. He'd been so wrapped up in what Rexton was saying that he hadn't put much thought into what Rexton was doing.
His hands were back to their soothing gentle prodding, working around the sensitive skin, and pressing deep into the places that needed the most attention. Cassius sucked in a breath when Rexton pressed down on a particular spot.
"I'm sure you've noticed by now that I have magic abilities."
"I noticed," Cassius whispered.
"My hope is that with my help, paired with the doctor's, you'll be ready to train in the morning." A spark zapped Cassius. He jerked, startled by the sudden sting. "It's not the wisest decision, but we don't have much time to prepare before President Maxem requests for you in the field."
He couldn't fucking believe it. Rexton was healing him. Healing him.
The soft touches were starting to grow on him, but he was still weary about the situation and the position he was in. Rexton had propped his knee up on the bed to get a better reach. And so that he wasn't pressing into Cassius too hard.
His fingers were laced with the gentlest of magic, sparking in places that had once burned with so much pain Cassius thought he would pass out again, but Rexton had numbed the pain. He could feel the magic stitching his broken skin back together.
"Why all this?" Cassius's eyelids were heavy. He fought against sleep, but he was on the edge. "Why...why kill those guards?"
Why whip me when the guards were obviously under your command and no one else's?
None of it really made sense and he didn't know why or if he should really be asking these questions. Rexton had dragged him back, saved him, only to use him like all the others. He really didn't know what to think anymore. Didn't know if he could trust the Third Eye or himself at this point. After seeing so many visions and dreams involving the demon, he was starting to think he was going crazy.
A knock came to the door.
"I'll see you in the morning."
The words didn't fit. After all the things Rexton did to him, the last thing he wanted was for Rexton to think they could be civil.
Rexton moved away from the bed. His hands lifted from Cassius's skin, but where they'd touched, the skin was fine. There were some faint burning, but the harshest of the pain was gone.
He craned his neck to watch Rexton walk to the door, but he could barely see past the foot of the bed. The door opened and a man who looked like any other guard walked in carrying a small medical case.
He'd only then remembered what he'd done, the power he'd shown and how Rexton hadn't really asked how he could do it after he'd ordered him beaten.
His eyes narrowed, glaring at the headboard as the doctor settled in to take a look at his back. He tuned out the doctor's words and the painful examination. Rexton was playing him, trying to flip the tables on the situation. He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't fall for it or anything he tried to do.
But the real truth was that he didn't know how he'd shown such power or how the magic had turned so deadly in a split second. The voice had been the one guiding him as he faced off with those jerk wads, the Exterus who had been looking for a dog to kick around.
The doctor opened his case and began to apply ointment to the healing cuts. His fingers were harsh and unpleasant compared to Rexton's. Cassius didn't like thinking about the difference or how he'd been ready to kiss Rexton for just a moment. The time had passed and he was still adamant about killing Rexton and every single slave owner in Xtavia, but he was confused as to what he could really do at this point.
He thought he had it all figured out and after failing so many times, he wasn't sure what was left for him to try.
The voice, the demon, General Iza, and General Rexton were all characters in a game that revolved around him. Rexton was pulling the shots and he operated under President Maxem.
But there was a feeling in his gut that told him he hadn't seen the last of Iza. He didn't know why or how this feeling came to be. It was just there.
Like a festering wound he couldn't get rid of.
***
Mica closed the door and leaned against it, smoothing his hair back with his hand. His hands were sputtering with shocks from the tip of his fingers down to his wrists. He'd used only a small amount of his magic to heal Cassius's back, but even giving him that much had made Mica weaker than he'd anticipated. He'd been ready to face Cassius, ready to try and turn the tables around, but he'd been repulsed by the damage the guards had done.
It had been his order, one that he would't have taken back if he could. It served its purpose, but he didn't like that it had to be done.
He looked up, gazing at the ceiling for no reason. Right from the beginning, his job had been to transport Cassius and convert him to the Keshtin SWARM. It had been President Maxem's orders. He would have listened because it was what he knew and even though he was working toward a plan of his own, there was something unsettling about seeing Lucius with Cassius.
He shouldn't have been there and now that he knew about Cassius, he would no doubt mouth off to Maxem.
Mica pushed off the door and walked down to the other hall of the base. The walls were bleak white and the floors were gray cement. The same as every other base in Xtavia.
He headed toward his office and went inside. He flicked the light on and sat at his desk. But he didn't have much to do now that he had Cassius here. The worst of it had been transporting him and ridding the two guards Iza had planted to steal Cassius back.
Maxem had ordered that as well and though Mica had been the one to tell him the news and the reason why Iza was after Cassius, he'd been the one to tell him to do it.
It shouldn't feel wrong. It shouldn't feel like anything because he knew what he was doing and he knew what needed to be done for everything to align. He hadn't expected Cassius to be so powerful. He'd been so jacked up on power he'd exploded in a ring of fire when his life was threatened. There had not been any reports about this behavior. Either it was new or Iza had been hiding more than Mica had initially suspected.
He was sure Cassius was telling the truth about him not knowing how he'd done it. Lucius would be angry, but it wasn't anything Mica couldn't handle himself. Maxem was in Mica's favor as it had always been when Lucius and Mica were children. It served him well then and it helped a lot now that he was older. Maxem trusted him which made things easier.
Saying that didn't meant it wasn't hard.
Mica leaned back in his chair. He folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
The darkness welcomed him with a warm hand, pulling him deep into the Third Eye.
There was no one else in Xtavia or in the world who could touch the Third Eye. He was the only one and while others knew he was special because he was a magic wielding Remu, they didn't know about this power. Maxem had taken him in when he was young, a dirty orphan in Keshtin without anyone to take care of him.
He'd thought it was because Maxem was a nice man who wanted to help him survive, but he was naive. Maxem was only out for his power. Mica could become a threat to Maxem and the Council, to any Exteru. He'd seen the future, saw Mica destroying the kingdom he'd built, and had done what he thought was best.
He raised Mica as his own and had turned Mica's magic around for his own gain.
Mica fell through into the wide expanse of the Third Eye, searching through the piles of information that was at his fingertips. Being here, wading through the thoughts and the memories made the outside world seem like nothing but a figment of his imagination. This was the real world where he could pluck through the lives of anyone he wanted.
He'd been away from it for so long it had become painful. But he was here now.
"Mica."
He turned and smiled. He couldn't see them. He never could, but the voice had always been there.
The first time he'd connected to the Third Eye he'd been seven-years-old. He didn't know how he did it, but he could remember the exhilarating feeling the moment he and it connected. It was like being whole, complete in a way that made him feel he could go through anything if only it was there for him.
And in the large darkness, the voice had always been there when he needed it. It didn't really speak to him as much as he felt their thoughts in his head. The words didn't need to be said, they were just there without needing to think.
He welcomed the voice, holding it close to him, in his mind and in his heart. The warmth and love it had for him outshined all the horrible things outside his small world he'd built.
It was all he needed.
Cassius didn't like being alone in the room with the Remu doctor who didn't seem to care if Cassius was in extreme pain. In fact, it seemed like the man wanted to cause him more pain than the wound was.
The lashings had left his entire body aching and he'd cried out all the tears he had inside. He'd been ripped open by the beating. The only thing he wanted now was to be left alone to contemplate what he was going to do now. He wasn't left alone.
The doctor was still there by his side, sticking his fingers all over his back with no prediction. The man jammed his fingers into whatever ointment he had with him and slathered it over the entirety of Cassius's back. Each time he felt the man's hands upon him, he thought he was being hit all over again. It shouldn't have been as bad as before, but it felt the same. He had the thought to conjure up the magic he had left and blast the man on his ass, but he was already in hot water as it was.
The power he had when he faced Rexton and the man named Lucius, it was beyond anything he'd ever seen in the world. He had no idea he had that kind of power. He didn't know it was possible to harvest something that great in a mortal body. Now that he did know, he didn't know he was supposed to feel about it.
Being able to touch the Third Eye was one thing, this was something entirely different. This kind of power meant he had something he could use against them. Rexton, Iza, and any other Exteru who wanted to get rid of him which was the majority.
He gave his restraints another pull.
It was light, not as if he was trying to dislodge his hands from the headboard. He tested rope, but it burned against his already sore skin. The skin around his wrists were bruised from when he tried to get a look at Rexton. All he'd ended up doing was hurting himself more.
The motion pulled him away from the humiliating scene. The doctor fussed with his aching back and he slipped to the dark expanse of his mind. He didn't try to contact the Third Eye. For the first time in years, he didn't want to be inside it. He didn't want all the information running inside his head. And he didn't want to run into that voice.
The demon had been with it.
Or the demon was the voice. He really didn't know anything that was going on besides the fact that he'd fallen into hot water again. Rexton had transferred him to a new SWARM and tomorrow he would be meeting his new crew.
Members. Colleagues.
He didn't give a fuck who they were. They were going to be the same as the others. Mekiah don't mix with Remu and Exteru. They were below second-class citizens. They were dirt in the eyes of the public. He doubted it would be any different in the Capital.
All this thinking was making his head spin and with the doctor touching him, he couldn't fall asleep. He was trapped between fallen into darkness and being ripped back to reality by the aching pain in his back. Then, when the doctor had finished covering his wounds and had packed his things, he was left alone in a quiet room.
He didn't know where Rexton was and he kinda didn't care. He was worried though that he wasn't looking at the situation in the right way. Rexton had been friendly—sort of—when he'd healed Cassius and hadn't tried to force information out of him too aggressively. It was the kind of mind games Iza would have played if he was smart enough.
That the thing though. Rexton was way smarter than Iza could ever be. He had his emotions under his thumb, had everyone on his side, and had the brains to not burn bridges he would need in the future. He'd trapped Cassius in a corner and made it seem like he had nowhere else to go.
And he didn't.
Cassius was now on Rexton's side, as the man had intended. He had no choice but to play by the new rules—even if those rules would strip him of all his dignity and freedom.
That was what all this was about. Freedom.
The whipping might have been a show for the guards—he saw that now—but it also sent a cold message. Rexton was telling Cassius that no matter what Cassius was still a slave. He was still under his thumb. He was putting up a face to cover the wounds he'd made, but he wasn't going to fall for that shit.
He'd spent too many years being pushed around by Iza to simple roll over by the first person who showed even a small ounce of kindness.
It wasn't even kindness really. When he stepped back and looked at the bigger picture, he could see all these puzzle pieces line up. He didn't know how they fit or what Rexton was planning, but he did know that Rexton wasn't on anyone's side. Rexton worked only for himself.
The trait seemed to be in everyone Cassius had fallen into the hands of. Iza, Rexton, Felix—they were out for their own gain and it didn't matter who they had to destroy to get what they wanted.
He somewhat understood their thinking. Getting into the minds of his captures had saved his ass so many times, he couldn't count them on his fingers. This was really about survival. In order to outmatch them, he had to start thinking like them. It was disgusting and the worst kind of torture he had to go through just to see another day, but it had to be done.