Chapter 261: Folklore

“The name comes from the Lord of Valtham,” Cassian murmured against her pulse point. “It is a reminder of who commands that territory. Governments may change, rulers may come and go, and mortals may redraw their borders as many times as they please, but none of their politics can challenge the dominion of the one who claims Valtham.”

His lips barely brushed her skin as he continued, making it unnecessarily difficult for Cixi to concentrate on anything he was saying. “The Valtham royal family has ruled the city for nearly a thousand years. Even now, their hold over it is as absolute as it was centuries ago.”

Cixi drew a ragged breath, trying to steady the ridiculous hammering of her pulse, then lowered her chin to look at him. His unnaturally bright eyes glowed with that hellish brilliance again, beautiful enough to make staring at him feel dangerous. She forced herself to focus on the conversation instead.

“So did you meet the Valtham family because of Sashkia, or did you know them first and meet Sashkia through them?” she questioned next. Then another part of what he had said returned to her. “And you said in the absence of the Lord. Why absence? Is the Lord of Valtham dead?”

Her brows drew together as more questions immediately followed. “And Sashkia’s husband… is he a witch too? Is the entire Valtham family made up of witches?” She paused, then corrected herself with uncertainty. “Wait. If he is a man, wouldn’t that make him a warlock?” Cixi stared at Cassian for another second before adding, “Or is that another human word I have completely misunderstood, and you are about to make fun of me for it?”

“Lucian Valtham, the Lord of Valtham, is sleeping inside his coffin,” Cassian explained, his lips brushing the edge of her jaw as he spoke. “Sashkia’s husband is a vampire of royal blood. Lucian is Raynor’s godfather, and so in his slumber, Raynor governs the city in his place.”

A fresh jolt travelled down Cixi’s spine, her lips parting in genuine astonishment. “A vampire! So they exist as well?… I would not be surprised if you told me werewolves are roaming out there too.”

Cassian chuckled softly at Cixi’s comment; the sound was rich and dark in the quiet room. “Werewolves, Warlocks, Paladins, and many more walk among mortals, Cixi. All of them hiding beneath human skin.”

Cixi remained silent, stunned into stillness for several seconds before she forced herself to blink. “How come humans do not know about their existence? We have advanced militaries and surveillance technology, and not once has there been a single official announcement about them. And did you just mention, among witches, demons, the devil, vampires, and werewolves…. Paladins?”

Cassian caressed the sensitive curve at the back of her neck with long, warm fingers while their eyes remained locked. “Yes, paladins. If devils exist, surely angels do as well, right? To maintain the balance between bad and good, paladins were created.” He informed.

A sour bitterness tightened Cixi’s chest at the mention of good, evil, and the balance between them.

“Violent crimes increase every day. People are murdered, kidnapped, sold, tortured…” Her lips twisted with a humourless scoff. “I wonder whether these paladins even exist… anymore, because if they do, they are doing a miserable job. Infact it’s a shame to call themselves representatives of the heavens while the world keeps becoming worse right under their noses.” She shook her head, unable to stop the resentment rising with every word. “You should not have mentioned Paladians…. Because it sounds like a cruel joke.”

“I could not agree with you more, Cig.” Cassian agreed with Cixi with a faint smirk tugging at his lips as he approved of her sharp tongue. “They spend centuries preaching about their divine superiority from high pedestals, yet when blood spills, they are nothing but lazy hypocrites.”

“They are,” Cixi agreed, her voice turning quiet and distant. “In fact, please do not insult the word by calling them paladins. If they were truly born to protect the weak, they failed to protect people like me.”

Her gaze drifted past his shoulder as memories rose to haunt her. She remembered the constant cruelty from classmates in college. The humiliation she endured at her cleaning job, and the spiteful laughter that followed her everywhere. She had never been a doormat who yielded willingly, but a lone girl couldn’t fight heavy fists, family connections, and corrupt authority. She had spent three years entirely on her own, clawing through each day just to stay alive.

Cassian had already confirmed that they existed, yet Cixi could not bring herself to place even an ounce of faith in them.

If blessed warriors truly walked among humans, where had they been during the three years she had lived in constant fear of being abducted and trafficked because of her golden hair? Where had their divine sense of justice been whenever she changed her route home, covered her hair, checked behind her every few steps and wondered whether the person following her wanted to drag her into a car?

Where had they been when those vile thugs cornered her outside her dilapidated apartment building and beat her until she could barely remain on her feet?

A sudden sting pricked the bridge of her nose, and moisture blurred the corners of her eyes at those nightmares.

No good men came to rescue her. No divine warrior had appeared to protect her.

But Cassian had. The demon.

The same demon everyone would probably tell her she should fear, who had slaughtered those men without hesitation and removed the threat from her life. A demon had protected her from the filth of the human world while the so-called guardians of heaven had been nowhere to be found.

Perhaps that was what bothered her most.

She had spent her entire life being taught that demons represented darkness while beings of heaven represented goodness. Yet whenever darkness had reached for her, it was a demon who had stood between her and it.

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