Cassius woke to the door opening.
"Were you sleeping?" Rexton stood at the end of the bed. His arms were crossed over his chest.
He wasn't wearing his uniform. He was dressed in dark pants and a black button up shirt. His hair wasn't styled back in military protocol. It didn't look that different than the straight back look he always wore, but Cassius could just tell it was different. It wasn't as perfect as it usually was.
Cassius bit the inside of his cheek. "No."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, trying to not think about how he had been asleep and peacefully dreaming. The dream was a fuzzy mess, but it still irked him that he could be dreaming in a place like this. Especially when he was being kept like this. Like a dog in an owner's house.
"Sure," Rexton said as he walked around toward Cassius. He looked down at him with a curious look. "How do you feel about taking a walk?"
Cassius almost choked. "A walk?"
Rexton shrugged. "I thought some fresh air might be good. Also, you've only seen a couple places in Keshtin."
"I'm sorry. Did I hear you correctly?"
"If you don't want to go, I understand."
Cassius sputtered. "That's not the problem. Are you really considering taking me outside? I think you might send the city into an uproar."
Rexton gave a small smile. "That's if they think you're a military Mekiah."
He pulled something out of his pocket. He threw it at Cassius before he had a chance to get a good look at it.
Cassius caught it with both hands. It was a collar. The leather was thick and smooth, high quality. The buckle was silver and round. The thing that truly stuck out, however, were the gems embedded into the leather all the way around. His cheeks burned.
"You're serious?"
When he looked up, Rexton was staring blankly back at him. "This might be stepping over some lines—"
"No shit." He tossed the collar onto the bed. He kept staring at it, his throat tight. Rexton wasn't exactly saying that he was a bed slave. Rexton might not have even realized how insulting it was to even think Cassius would be okay with this.
Or Rexton could be fucking with him.
"I want to talk to you, but I can't here." Rexton hadn't moved from where he stood. He almost seemed worried that he'd offended Cassius.
Cassius let out a drawn out sigh. "You got a change of clothes?"
At that, Rexton smiled.
***
They parked a block away from where Cassius had met Lucius. The road was quiet, not deserted, but just quiet. The change of clothes Rexton had given Cassius were jeans and a t-shirt. They were Rexton's clothes of course and that meant they smelled like Rexton.
It shouldn't have been weird. It was simply Cassius's own deranged mind that was turning the situation into something that it wasn't.
He peered out the window, scaling the buildings for some person to be waiting to shoot him down. Snipers were going to be the least of his worries if there were going to be too many people on the street. He turned then to look down at the sidewalk. He could see someone walking in the distance, but they were too far away to get a good look at them. He couldn't tell if they were Exteru or Remu. They might have even been Mekiah, though that was unlikely. Mekiahs—besides the very few that were household and had special permission—were let to wander around on their own.
Rexton turned to him. "Tell me when you're ready."
Cassius kept his hands in his lap. The collar was heavy on his neck. It itched. He wanted it off.
"Where exactly did you plan to take me?"
"Anywhere you like. I'd prefer somewhere small with minimal listening ears."
Cassius snorted. He waved his hand at the small car. "This is the best place then."
Rexton didn't answer. He gazed back at him with a curious look. "Are you afraid?"
"Ha!" Cassius turned to look out the window. He put his chin in his hand and leaned against the car door. "That's like asking if all Mekiah are afraid of Exterus."
"Well?"
"It's a dumb answer," Cassius bit out. "Quite obvious. Exterus out power Mekiah. They don't give a shit about us."
"So…"
"What is this?" He didn't know what came over him when he whirled around to face Rexton. He put his hand on the middle of the seat, leaning forward until he was invading Rexton's space. This was crossing a line. It seemed that all he was doing lately was crossing lines that would end up getting him hurt.
Rexton slowly blinked. "What does it look like?"
Cassius narrowed his eyes. "It looks like you're trying to win me over."
Rexton raised a brow. "Is it working?"
Cassius took a sharp breath. His hand tightened on the console. A crooked grin spread over Rexton's face. He was no longer pretending, no longer trying to hide the smile. Cassius's gaze fell to Rexton's lips. He licked his own out of habit. It had nothing to do with how red Rexton's looked.
It was only when Rexton looked away that Cassius could breathe again. He hadn't even noticed that he'd been holding his breath.
"Some air will do you good. Being locked up without moving your feet has messed with your head."
Cassius had the urge to roll his eyes.
"And since I can trust you with my secret, I think I can trust you with some other things."
"Why would you trust me? And why should I trust you?"
He met Cassius's eyes again. The magic being shared between them had never gone away. The ache in Cassius's neck hadn't gone away. But they were both settling in a way that was starting to feel normal.
There, in the car, Cassius could feel that he could trust Rexton. It wasn't about what had happened between them in the past—though Rexton would have to do a lot more than apologize to make up for it—and it wasn't about what was happening in the world.
It was all about what was going on between them. He didn't want to say it, he never would, but this was the first time he'd felt a connection like this to someone. Even though it had happened because of the bite, the demon, or the Third Eye, he couldn't dismiss the feeling. These shared things were bound to bring them closer whether they liked it or not.
He could sense that. He could sense that in Rexton. It was just mind boggling how he was starting to get use to feeling Rexton's emotions when it had only been a night. Only a few hours.
"Do I really have to answer that?" Rexton's voice had gone deeper. The tremor could be felt in Cassius's chest, as if he was speaking the words himself.
Cassius looked away. He suddenly felt very naked. The collar on his neck heavier.
"Fine." He threw the car door open. "Let's walk."
It was a test. The command felt so foreign, so strange. He wanted to take it back the second he'd said it.
But there was also the other part of him that loved it. He loved how he could just say something without having to watch his mouth. Punishment had never stopped him before, yet, there was something different when punishment wasn't a guarantee.
It felt like freedom.
He slammed the door shut, not bothering to see what Rexton's reaction was. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rexton exiting and noticeably closing the door much gentler than Cassius had. He locked the doors were the wave of his hand over the locks. The car glowed purple for a second before the color faded.
"How much do you trust me?"
Rexton slowly walked toward him on the sidewalk. He placed his hands into his pockets. "Enough to let you have full power."
He walked past Cassius. When he didn't look behind to see if Cassius was following, Cassius gave in and started walking. He mumbled 'prick' under his breath just to spite him. It was more for himself than anything else.
They turned the corner. It was then that Cassius found out that the street was busy after all. Though Keshtin looked similar to Parlera in some ways—the base for instance—there were far more things that differentiated them. One thing were the buildings. They were tall, so tall in fact, that Cassius had to crane his head back to see the top of them. They were sleek in build, nothing like the ordinary buildings in Parlera that were built hundred of years ago.
These buildings looked to be made in the image of Exterus. It was hard to not see the similarities. They were made of silver metal and shined when the sun hit them just right.
Another thing that was different in Keshtin were the people. Exterus were everywhere. There were a few Remu, but for the most part, Keshtin was where the Exterus lived. They walked around in beautiful clothes, each garment flowing with their movement.
Cassius stuck to Rexton's side. This walk was already taking a nosedive.
It wasn't just the people—he wished that it was just that. The looks he could handle. He'd been dealing with those kinds of looks his entire life.
What bothered him the most was actually how they weren't looking at him. Remu were usually afraid of him. They saw a Mekiah and they were reliving the years their ancestors had lived during their enslavement. The way the Exterus were looking at him made him feel insignificant. He might as well not have been there.
He didn't quite grasp what it meant until they were halfway down the block. His training came in handy at this part. It was easy to fall into line, look up straight, and tune most of the world out. He'd had to do it many times when he was working a mission. If he stopped for every time someone called him a slur or tried to start a fight with him, he would have been pulled from the SWARM the first month.
What it meant—the collar around his neck and the ignorance—was what he hated.
An Exteru, a man with light brown hair and light gray eyes, walked with a carbon copy of himself. It must have been the man's son. He was shorter than the man, but had a striking resemblance besides their clothes. The man was dressed in business wear and the young Exteru was in a school uniform.
Exterus had an hour break during the day between studies if they went to an Academy. Cassius knew that much.
But he wasn't interested in that.
The man and his son passed by.
"He's awfully big to be a bed slave, isn't he?"
Cassius stiffened. Rexton stopped as well. He hadn't caught the remark.
The man glanced Cassius's way. It was a small look, nothing that should have caught anyones attention. But it felt like the man had stripped him bare and just stared. As if he had the right to.
The man kept walking. "Watch your tongue. How would you feel if someone talked ill of your bed slave?"
It didn't matter if the kid looked ashamed or that the man had corrected him. None of it made it any better.
"Come on." Rexton stepped in front of him, breaking the gaze he hadn't realized he'd had locked on the Exterus.
He looked away, unsure of what he was feeling. There was some anger in there, but it was mostly disbelief. It shouldn't have been that way. He shouldn't have been taken off guard by such a thing. Though, he'd always been a Tracker. Everyone reacted to the military in different ways. Being a bed slave was a whole other thing.
People didn't see him as some evil creature. They saw him as a broken thing. They saw him as tame.
He glowered at the ground in disgust.
"What happened?"
They were walking to no place in particular. Rexton had been right. He'd needed to get out. He was starting to get too use to the good treatment back at the base. He needed to see what he'd been trying to escape from.
"The usual. Mekiah are property and that's it," he scoffed. "I'm sure they've got all you Remu twisted around their finger. You all worship them like dogs."
"They did save us. That isn't a lie."
Cassius did roll his eyes that time. "Does that make what they do any better?"
He gave a dark laugh. "Oh, right. I almost forgot that you're on their side. Tell me again why we're doing this?"
They turned a corner. The city came to a seemingly abrupt stop. The place they'd turned to was an alley way. It was a lot cleaner than the alley ways that could be found in Parlera. This looked almost decent enough to be a sitting area.
"Stop for a second. Take a breather." Rexton leaned against the brick wall. He stood opposite Cassius. He looked so unbothered. Cassius just couldn't understand it.
Cassius thought about what Rexton said. He looked him up and down. There was no hidden meaning. He wasn't going to suddenly jump him. He meant what he said.
Cassius leaned against the brick wall. He crossed his arms and stared back at Rexton.
"Are you good?"
Cassius nodded.
"There are some things I only recently found out about regarding the mission you were on. You were chasing a Mekiah from Isteria. They were believed to be a spy." Rexton sighed. "Turns out, the reports about them being a spy has no source. It was made up."
Cassius furrowed his brows. "Okay. They aren't a spy. How does that help us with the demon?"
"I think that's what we should be focusing on. The Mekiah isn't connected to the demon. The girl and the demon are two different things."
"Wait." Cassius waved his hands. "I don't think I'm following."
"There's more." Rexton turned to the side. He watched the street as if he was waiting for someone to find them. "I've been investigating into President Maxem. I have reason to believe he's behind a network trying to start a war with Isteria."
He'd heard a lot of crazy things in the years he'd been working for the government. His whole life was built on a bunch of crazy circumstances. This, however, was one thing that was on the edge of being crazy. These were the kinds of accusations made by people who believed in conspiracies.
He wasn't into politics. He didn't have the time to form opinions because he wouldn't have a say in them anyway. Yet, that didn't mean he didn't listen when the certain conversations were being made.
Isteria wasn't an ally country. It wasn't enemy territory either. In fact, Isteria was one of the biggest traders for Mekiah. They were a technology based country that was built off the backs of slaves. It didn't make sense that Maxem would be going after Xtavia's biggest buyer. The revenue stream must be huge sense Cassius never heard about Isteria breeding their own Mekiah.
He winced at the thought. The HIVES in Xtavia were unique. There wasn't another country that had taken up such a system.
"Maxem might seem like he's in control, but he's lost the support of many presidents. Isteria is moving toward technology. Soon, they won't need Mekiah labor."
Cassius zoned out on a space behind Rexton's head. "He's losing business…"
Rexton gave a firm nod. "Not many people share his views anymore. They find it archaic."
Cassius met his eyes again. He thought he misheard. There was no way that Remu and Exterus were starting to have second thoughts about enslaving Mekiah.
Rexton looked away. His eyes showed a deep sadness that made Cassius's chest ache. He was becoming too trusting of this man. He was letting himself become blinded by things that weren't true. They were all a show for him to let down his guard. He didn't know what Rexton could be planning to do. It was an irrational fear.
He pushed it aside and tried to just trust for once. It might go wrong in the end, but the worst thing was his death. That honestly didn't sound that bad sometimes.
"Who shares those views?"
Rexton shrugged. "Did you think I would have done all this if I didn't believe it was wrong?"
Cassius shook his head in disbelief. "Then what was all that before? The whipping?"
Reston turned away, wiping his face. He looked exhausted. "I couldn't flip like a coin. I had a hunch about you, about your powers, and thought you could be useful. Maxem would have been pretty suspicious if I started being nice to you all of a sudden."
Cassius didn't know why that seemed to upset him more. He clenched his fists and started walking away. He marched the opposite way they'd come, trying to get as much distance between him and Rexton.
"It wasn't anything personal."
He was walking right behind him. Cassius couldn't go anywhere without him. It wasn't either of their choices.
"Right. Nothing personal."
Again, it didn't make him feel better.
"Is it because I was using you?"
"Are you still doing it?"
They came to the end of the alley. It was a quiet street with many shops. There was barely anyone on the sidewalks.
Rexton sighed. "You can still feel me, right?"
Cassius's chest felt heavy again. Talking about their magic being linked made him think about other ways they could be connected.
"Yeah," he whispered.
Anyone could see them. They weren't hiding.
Rexton slowly took Cassius's hand. He watched Cassius's face, searching for a change in body language. Cassius knew he would stop touching him if he asked, but he wasn't going to. He was fine with this.
They didn't need to be touching for them to sense each other. Yet, Rexton placed Cassius's hand on his face.
Neither spoke or moved. All that could be heard was traffic and city noise.
"I could hurt you." It wouldn't take much to kill Rexton right then. He wasn't protecting himself and Cassius had all his power.
"You're not going to."
He didn't know how they'd gotten so close. His hand was warm on Rexton's face. He could feel the light stubble and the smooth skin under his fingertips.
"I trust you."
Cassius could feel it. When he looked into Rexton's eyes, he could feel how much he trusted Cassius.
He pulled his hand away.
"Rexton—"
"Call me Mica."
Cassius sent him a bewildered look.
He was grinning. "We start with names. We'll be on the same field."
Cassius wasn't quite sure what to say. He was going to say that it didn't matter if they trusted one another. They weren't going to become buddy-buddy and take on the world.
Then, it struck him.
"That's what you mean by research." He turned his widened eyes to Rexton—or Mica. "You're going to kill him."
Mica's grin didn't waver. It got bigger.
"Yes. I am."