“Sit, Ajax,” I command.
The boy, only a few years past manhood, pauses at my clipped tone before calmly shutting the door and seating himself in the chair before my desk. “What did you need to see me about, Sir?”
“When you were on duty yesterday, do you recall a group of foreigners entering the city? Their group consisted of three humans and an immortal shifter. They are…” I pause to peer up at the ceiling, searching for the words to best describe the strange party. “They may have seemed a bit odd. Especially the two women.”
He chuckles. “I remember them.”
Having no patience left to give, I get straight to the point. “Were the women touched inappropriately?”
His eyes drop to my chest, throat bobbing on a swallow as he speaks in a hushed tone. “Yes, Sir.”
Clenching my jaw, I ask through gritted teeth, “Did you touch them inappropriately?”
His head whips up. “No!”
“Did you attempt to stop the others from violating them?”
“No.”
“Did you plan to report this behavior?”
“No.”
I stiffen. “Why the fuck not?”
He shrugs, his brow pinched. “They handled them just fine on their own.”
Wrong answer.
Palms glittering orange, I summon a strand of fire. The flamed thread winds between my fingers as I flatten my palms on the desk and stand. It untwines, slithers down the back of my hand, then races across the desk towards Ajax. Rising up until it's only an inch from his face, the flame curls into itself and sputters a hiss. A viper preparing to strike.
Ajax warily arches back into his chair, his copper jewels flickering as his gaze hones in on the flamed serpent.
“Your duty as a guard is to protect. Even in the event your skills are unnecessary,” I growl. “Yet you did nothing as your fellow guards attempted to molest,” my lip curls in a sneer, “unarmed women, and you had no plans to report it.” Bending my arms, I lower my head to his. “What kind of guard does that make you? What kind of male?” I allow the insult to fester before adding, “You may not have participated in the act, but you’re just as guilty as the guards who did.”
He shows no reaction, his brown eyes bouncing between my furious ones. Searching for what, I don't know, but I don’t give a shit either.
Ajax finally speaks. “May I speak frankly, Sir?”
I nod slowly.
He squares his shoulders. “I have reported this type of behavior before. Multiple times. Yet, the guards have never been reprimanded.” He shrugs. “I assumed this was acceptable behavior.”
Surprised, I straighten. Breaths ripping from my lungs and my heart thumping against my chest, I feel the surge of blood rushing to my head and my temples begin to throb.
Ajax pays no mind to my reaction and continues without pause. “As for allowing such a perversion to take place within my presence? I don’t. I was ready to step in when the women handled it themselves.” He chuckles. “And they did so beautifully.”
Sucking on my teeth, I plop down in my chair, rubbing at the scruff along my jaw. Disinclined to admit my ignorance, but acknowledging to myself the fae deserves the truth, I bite out, “I haven’t received any of your reports.”
He snorts. “Figures.”
Opening a drawer, I pull out a few sheets of parchment and slide them across the desk. “I need you to write down every instance a guard's conduct was abusive, as well as the names of those who sanctioned these activities.”
Ajax shuffles forward to the edge of his seat. “Of course.” Grabbing a quill, he dips it into the inkpot and begins to write.
Mind cycling from one thought to the next, I drop my head back on the chair and allow the scratching of quill meeting parchment to clear my thoughts and, hopefully, quell my anger. Or at least lessen it.
I’ve always been what others might say overly aggressive, quick to anger. My mother says it comes from my human half, while Aurora believes it's from all the fire in my blood. They're both wrong. It's a Gods Blessing. Necessary tools bestowed by the gods themselves to a child who was destined since conception to be despised. Armor forged from anger gave me the strength to emotionally survive in a world inhospitable for a half-breed bastard such as myself, and aggression gave me the power to dominate those who refuse to accept me as I am. Strength and power are the only deterrents in this world, and mine is unparalleled.
In more ways than one.
Opening my eyes to half mast, I find Ajax still scribbling away. Reaching forward, I grasp the file I was reading before his arrival and flip it open, scanning past the charcoal drawing of Ajax’s likeness until I reach his test scores.
Magics: Highly Gifted
Sword work: Exceptionally Gifted
Hand to Hand Combat: Exceptionally Gifted
Archery: Moderately Gifted
Blade Combat: Exceptionally Gifted
Analytical Thinking: Profoundly Gifted
His scores take me by surprise. Very few immortals have ever tested as well as him, and never has a fae. He even received the best possible score in Analytical Thinking. Besides myself, the only other person alive to have received it is Griffin.
He should've been promoted ages ago. Why wasn't I notified of this?
