Page 52 of Ramiel

“Why have my kind been evil in the past?”she asked.

“I’m not sure why all cambions are evil, but some of them even turn feral,” he said.“That’s the reason why the Knights of Order have never impregnated females.We didn’t want to have to destroy our own younglings if they were born with black souls.”

It took a few seconds for that information to sink into her head.“Are you saying you and your brothers have killed cambions in the past?”she asked, drawing away from him a bit.

He nodded gravely.“Ridding this planet of our enemies and their offspring are our main duties,” he told her.

Caterina’s mouth went dry and she felt a bit sick.“You’ve murdered every cambion that’s ever existed?”Her voice sounded both incredulous and dismayed.

“Think of the horrors you could inflict on humanity with your pyrokinetic ability,” Ramiel said gravely.“Few cambions have ever lived to maturity before.Their powers usually only tend to manifest at puberty.Some can use their magic at a much younger age.All of them were deadly even without magic and we couldn’t allow them to live.We’re not even sure how long your kind live for.Imagine the damage a single evil cambion could cause over hundreds or even thousands of years.”

Feeling numb by now, Caterina nodded jerkily.“Sure.I get it,” she said and stood up on shaky legs.“You couldn’t possibly hook up with a monster like me.I might turn evil and fry you to death just for fun.”

“Caterina,” Ramiel said in an apologetic tone as she walked away.

“It’s fine, Ramiel,” she said without stopping.“I’m going to turn in.I’ll see you in the morning.”

Caterina refused to cry when she returned to her bedroom, even though it felt a bit like her heart was breaking.She’d given up her family to search for her destiny only to be rejected.“Maybe Iama monster even though my soul is gray,” she whispered as she flopped onto her back on the bed.“I’ve used my magic to kill a lot of people by now.I guess it’s only a matter of time before my soul turns black and Ramiel will be forced to kill me.”

Bleak hopelessness had replaced her cautious hope that her destiny would be full of love and happiness.

Chapter Thirty-One

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OLIVER GIAMANO’S MINDwas blessedly clear as he jotted down notes in a journal.Almost a month had passed since the governor had decided to go along with Rahab’s plans.“I’ve been taking notes and a pattern is emerging,” the politician muttered darkly.

Nine months had passed since the Rapture and the world had changed so drastically.Thanks to his cunning, he was at the top of the food chain.Average in stature, his intelligence was where he excelled.“My ‘allies’ tried to take that away from me,” he said, keeping his voice down.He knew something was off about the Soldiers of Chaos motorbike club.It was far more than their size and freakishly red-tinted eyes that made his hackles rise.Some of them had strange talents as well.

“I haven’t seen them use magic, but the Mad Prophet knows all about them,” he said craftily, jotting down his thoughts as he spoke.After nearly four weeks of agreeing with everything Rahab and Xathan said during their meetings, he’d regained the clarity that had eluded him during the past few months.

“They’ve been controlling me like a puppet,” Oliver said, underlining the word twice.“I’m just a mouthpiece for Rahab.I’ve been parroting everything he tells me to say and he’s using me as a figurehead.”

Scribbling furiously to get his thoughts down on paper, he put the pen down, then massaged his aching hand.It was early in the morning, but he couldn’t sleep last night.He kept thinking about what Rahab’s end goal was.He was drawing people to the city and either turning them into mercenaries or slaves for the farms and factories.

“Why do you think he’s gathering an army, Governor Giamano?”he asked himself.“So he can rule this city one day,” he replied with a deep scowl.