Lord of Unkindness: Chapter Twenty-Five

 Notes: Have a pleasant lull before a wicked storm, babes!

Title: Lord of Unkindness: Chapter Twenty-Five

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Chapter Twenty-Five

 

In the end, Ciro manages four birds. Each one is painful to manifest, like pulling a length of intestine through a hole in his stomach, but he feels so much better to have them back. Four is a comfortable flock; four is enough to keep reserves in check while having a decent level of power at hand. Four is easier to hide than the dozen, or score, or however many Ciro has living out in the desert right now.

He can tell that Angelo and Annette are curious about the number of birds in his flock. He knows they want to ask, but they don’t and he’s grateful for the reprieve. Honestly, he doesn’t know how many birds he has anymore. He stopped keeping track of his power that closely once he broke free from his family home. Back there, the day he left, he had fifty-three birds wreaking havoc on his behalf. Now, he has the feeling he could have a lot more.

It's not a bad thing. If anything, it’s verification that all of the stuff Annette has been talking about, the growth of internal power and how things change. He knows he could talk it through with them and it would be fine. They’ll support him. They’ll help him come up with ways to manage his power, maybe even a way to hide all of his power inside of him and walk around like a normal human being.

The thought of it makes him shiver. If he had no power outside of his body, if there was nothing to surveil except Ciro himself, if he could mask his body and his magical signature without having to worry about being powerless…it would be so much more possible to hide. It might even be easy. What if he got a decent glamour from one of the fae, or a witch who specialized in that sort of magic? What if he could blend in so well that he could stay with Angelo, help out in his clinic, and never even be suspected?

“You look tired.”

Ciro glances over at Angelo, just back from taking Annette to the hotel. They’ve already decided that it’s best if she doesn’t stay here overnight; apart from the fact that someone would have to sleep on the couch (and it wouldn’t be Annette, Ciro is determined about that) he also isn’t comfortable with her being in close proximity to him for an extended period of time. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Angelo when it comes to the safety of this place, he just…

“Yeah.”

He’s just tired. And worried. And a mess, and he doesn’t want that to rub off on Annette any more than it already has. Annette has dealt with too much shit thanks to his family. Knowing that she doesn’t blame Ciro for the actions of the rest of his clan is a blessing he doesn’t really deserve, so the least he can do is not compound it.

Angelo sits down next to him tugs at his shoulders. Ciro goes, bemusedly, and finds his head cradled down in Angelo’s lap. Strong, blunt fingers find their way into his hair and start to scratch, and Ciro thinks he could be forgiven for the sound that comes out of his mouth. Something between a whimper and a groan, and it’s embarrassing but it makes Angelo laugh and scratch harder, so he can’t regret it.

“You’re just like that little kitten,” Angelo says, “all snuggly and warm and—whoa!”

Ciro doesn’t have to look to know that three of his birds have just landed on Angelo, one on each shoulder and another on top of his head.

“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it! Don’t peck me again,” Angelo says with a laugh in his voice. “I mean, he’s like a bird. A very sweet, cuddly bird who is my absolute favorite in all ways.”

“That’s more like it,” Ciro says, closing his eyes. He’s tired but right now, in the moment, he’s also the happiest he can remember being for a very long time. Not the relieved, desperate happiness that he felt when he saw Annette, or the wary pleasure of seeing Angelo again for the first time, but an easy, comfortable sense of happiness instead. It’s the sort of happiness he’s only ever felt with his mother before, and even then it was fleetingly rare.

It's dangerous, because he could see himself getting used to this. He wants to get used to this; he’d love to be able to settle in to a state of everyday joy with Angelo. He’d love to be a permanent presence in his life, to find new ways to use his magic that were about helping people instead of finding out their darkest secrets, to help Angelo heal instead of tear things down. And maybe…just maybe…

“What did Maria have to say?” he asks groggily as the memory of her visit surfaces.

“Apparently the Machados came to the clinic,” Angelo says, citing the name of one of the larger magical cartels in the city. “They started pushing her on some things, making a few threats. I guess when she couldn’t raise me on the phone she had a bit of a panic attack and drove out here.”

Ciro sighs. “Have the Machados been a problem for you before?”

“No, they haven’t,” Angelo replies, and he sounds disturbed by the fact. “I don’t know if they realized I was gone and decided to throw their weight around or if this has been building for a while and I just didn’t know it, but it surprises me. And I can’t leave Maria to handle it by herself.”

Tension slowly builds back in Ciro’s shoulders. “You have to go back.”

“Not permanently,” Angelo assures him. “Just long enough to handle this, then I’ll return. No more than another day.”

Ciro bites the inside of his cheek. He wants to offer to go with Angelo. He wants to offer to leave. He wants to tell him that he’s sorry again, that he missed him when he was off getting Annette and he doesn’t want him to leave again for purely selfish reasons.

He doesn’t do any of those things. Ciro’s not helpless, and he’s not selfish enough to force Angelo to stay with him when he’s got a business to run and friends to help. Ciro’s not more important than that.

“It’s fine,” Ciro says. “I’ll be able to see Annette. Are you going to get her in the morning, or…”

“I’ll offer, but she mentioned wanting to get some hikes in while she’s here. She might just get a rideshare to the bottom of the hill and walk up.” He leans down and presses a kiss to the side of Ciro’s head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I know.” Feeling a bit mischievous, Ciro rolls over so his lips are brushing against Angelo’s groin. The hand in his hair tightens, and Angelo’s breath hitches in a way that gets Ciro’s blood pumping. “Why don’t you put that grip to good use?” he murmurs as he mouths over the outline of Angelo’s cock.

“Good idea,” Angelo says breathlessly, and the rest of the night passes without any more doubts or worry.