The idea of an entire community hidden in plain sight was a little hard for Rani to wrap her head around. Wait till she heard how many of these locations were tucked away around the world. This swamp just happened to be home for the past couple generations. The tribunal had moved plenty of times before.
“The humans see and believe what they want to. We have spells that interfere with most technology, but there’s also a few different faction members littered throughout the human government to help maintain our seclusion.”
I gripped the steering wheel harder and adjusted the vent so the heat blew across my chest. Rather than shower and change like I made Rani do, I double-checked the truck and made sure nothing got left behind after the attack. Three hours into our drive and my clothes were still damp enough to be cold.
“Do you think they’re following us?” Rani asked after catching me staring too hard out the rearview mirror.
I had a white-knuckled grip on the wheel, a springboard for a back, and I was sure I had permanent wrinkles from scowling the entire drive. Fuck. I was making myself ugly and all because I was stressed about bringing my bond home to my family. Rani might think my reaction was for the djinn, but the truth was way more sad.
An hour wasn’t enough time to catch her up on an entire life’s worth of drama, but she deserved to know what she was getting herself into.
“How much do you know about my family?” I asked, slowly loosening my grip. Blood flowed back to my fingers as Rani thought my question over.
“Kai is your cousin, and his mom is the head of the witches,” she said. “So… you’re like a prince?”
I snorted, and it turned into an outright laugh. A real one. Oh gods, I couldn’t wait to tell Kai.
“You could have just said no,” Rani grumbled, and I patted her thigh in apology.
“I’m sorry,” I replied, still chuckling. Shit, there were tears in my eyes. “But if you understood what my life was like growing up, then you’d understand why I found that hilarious. Yes, my aunt is the head of the faction, and Kai is the heir. I’m his second, which makes me at the top of our faction’s food chain in terms of power.”
You’d think that position came with respect, but that’s the one thing I’d learned to never expect from my people. Even when my father officially recognized me as his heir, even when Kai declared me his right hand, all everyone saw was that I was half-human. They thought me weak, yet felt my magick each time I flexed it, even from four hours away.
“Despite my high rank, you won’t find support for me among my kind. Not from anyone except my father and Kai.” I felt her gaze and knew she saw the hurt and anger I tried so hard to bury when I talked about my reputation. “My aunt and siblings are the worst, since outright disrespect isn’t tolerated from the rest of the faction, but I hear the whispers.”
“What whispers?” Rani seethed, her face scrunched in outrage. “Are they seriously judging you for the unsavory acts that your positionrequiresyou to perform? Tell them to get off their fucking high horses and get their hands bloody for a change, then maybe—”
“It’s because I’m half-human.”
I spit it out before she had the chance to grow her indignation for the wrong reason. Unsure whether I’d told her before or not, I waited for the confusion or, gods forbid, the disgust. I wasn’texpecting silence. Was it just now sinking in; that her bond was an outcast? Perhaps she didn’t care now, but she would once the rest of the faction rubbed off on her. Once she saw where I lived and how they pushed me to the side. Her silence made me nervous.
“Those cowardly, simple-minded, contemptuous bastards!”
My lips twitched, and my chest filled with warmth. “Any more adjectives you want to throw in there?”
Rani pushed at my shoulder with a scowl. “It’s not funny, Ezra! Those fuckers seriously care that half of you doesn’t come from magick?”
I wish I could say it was more complicated than that, but she was right. Small-minded, that was the supernatural community. Anything different or weak was eradicated. Anything too strong to control as well. Just look at what happened to the nightmares and now the sirens. And look at me… taking my bond right into the fucking middle of it all.
“Human genes usually mean the offspring won’t be powerful,” I explained. “In a world where each faction vies to stay at the top, power is everything.”
“Well, that’s just elitist. And stupid.”
I didn’t disagree. Everyone else…
“I swear to God, let someone say some shit about you where I can hear,” Rani snarled, little fists clenched on her thighs. She was so cute when she got worked up. “I told you I can make spikes out of raindrops now, right? I’ll send little spikes right into their damn eyes!”
As much as I loved the idea and the visual that came with it, Rani already had a target on her back, and I was only making it larger by introducing her as my bond. She needed to hold onto that temper and not rock the boat. At the very least, until she learned our laws.
“I didn’t tell you this to upset you, babe, but to prepare you. There are some who may lash out atyouto get to me. My position will only solidify now that I’ve found you.”
The turnoff from the main highway to the obscure, unmarked road of the “nature preserve” was up ahead. There was so much I wanted to tell her—so much she needed to know—but we were out of time. Hopefully, I could catch her up quickly because my people weren’t going to take it easy on her.
My truck made quick work of the dirt road, and before long, the gates of the factions appeared ahead. You couldn’t see all of them from here; only the entrance to the oracle and vampire lands were up front. The other four gates were further back. Arranged like a wheel, each faction claimed a section of land for their people, where they could rule as they saw fit, as long as the common laws of the community were upheld.
The center of the tribunal held the shared meeting spots: a small town, restaurants, shops, and the like. Going onto another faction’s land was forbidden unless invited, making my faction’s land the safest place for Rani. I could only think of a few instances where that law had been broken and the consequences were severe enough that it didn’t happen often.
As my truck made its way around to the witch gate, my palms began to sweat. I wiped them on my pants, but it wasn’t much use. A tense silence took over as the barrier around our land recognized my magick and allowed me entrance. I was only half surprised. Every time I came back, I expected my aunt to have revoked my access. She probably would have by now if it were legal to do so without due cause.
