Chapter Thirty.

"Father," Greyson said as his father drove, the teen deciding to break the silence.

He and Jess were sitting in the back seat, holding hands, and since Cam had already outed him… he thought it best to just talk to his dad then, rather than waiting until they got home.

"Is this about what your friend said?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah," Greyson nodded. "Cam's right, Father. I… I want to date Jess, even more after everything that happened."

When he finished, Greyson held his breath, unaware that he was doing so. He still remembered his parents' strict days. While they had loosened up since his return from the streets, the fear of it returning was still there for him, and they had a rule about dating.

He had to be at least sixteen and have a car before he could date. His sister, Kayla, had to be sixteen and have a car before she could date, too. Well, and they needed their drivers' licenses, too, of course.

So he knew there was a chance that the rule would still apply, and thinking about that increased his anxiety over the past. His father's silence only made things worse, too.

"If you don't exhale, you'll pass out," Lucas finally broke the silence, and Greyson released the breath he had been holding. "Greyson, I know you're worried about the rule, and about things returning to how they were before you ran away."

"I like Jess," Greyson said firmly.

"I can see that," Lucas responded. "And hear it in your voice. While I know some people start dating younger than you and end up married and happy – I even know a few who have – I still think you're too young."

"I'm not too young to know what love is!" Greyson protested. "You just think that because you're an adult and think you know everything!"

"That's not what I meant," Lucas cleared his throat. "Greyson, I said that I think you're too young, referring to dating, not being in love."

"I want to date Jess," Greyson said firmly.

"I know you do," Lucas said. "At the moment, I think you're both crushing on each other, and after what happened, this may have drawn you closer together, especially with Jess only recently discovering magic and all that. It would be best if you two waited before trying for a relationship to see how you feel in a few months. This way, you give yourselves time to adjust to what happened and Jess's new life circumstances. Then, if you both still want to date, then you can. Okay?"

"But-"

"Okay?" Lucas repeated, and Greyson knew he wouldn't win.

His father repeating 'okay' or 'understand' always meant that was the end of discussion.

"Okay," Greyson deflated. "That doesn't mean Jess and I won't say we're dating, though. We like each other. And we'll kiss each other, and hold hands, and still hang out."

"Try not to push your luck," Lucas said, though there was the hint of a smile on his lips.

The rest of the ride was in silence, apart from when Lucas stopped at a fast food restaurant for lunch and took the teens' orders. After that, he drove the rest of the way to his office, where the teens were placed in separate interview rooms to talk about what happened to them.

It was a formality more than anything, as the mysterious assassin killed every last person in the trafficking ring that wasn't at the mansion when Cam lost to his temper. A demigod's temper. There wasn't much for them to do other than close everything down.

After the teens revealed no new information, Lucas took Jess home, then Greyson to their own home. Then teen boy entered and looked around, inhaling the scent of his mother's baking. Chocolate chip cookies.

Greyson made his way into the kitchen and walked over to his mother, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she rinsed and put into the dishwasher the dishes she had used for making the cookie dough.

"Welcome back," she told him. "I'd hug you, but it's hard to do when you're hugging from behind."

"That's okay," he responded, his voice muffled against her back.

"The cookies will come out in just a minute," she told him. "Why don't you get yourself a glass of milk?"

Greyson released her and began to walk away, only to get pulled into his mother's arms as she lifted him off the ground, holding him tightly.

"Moooooom!" He complained, causing her to laugh.

"I'm just glad you're safe," she said. "I'd hate to think what would have happened if you were never found, or if you were forced to fight in a slave arena."

"They wanted to make me battle," he said. "Since… since I helped kill the Fairy Emperor, they wanted to make me fight. But they wanted to wait until the big auction. I guess it's not happening, now."

His mother set him down, and Greyson pulled a glass out of the cabinet and walked to the fridge.

"Greyson," Lucas said. "There was something they didn't ask you, but how were you caught?"

"It was after training," Greyson answered. "Jess and I were exhausted from it. The teacher we go to had pushed us really hard. I guess… I guess I let my guard down. That's not normal, and it won't happen again."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Who is your secret teacher?" Lucas asked. "I know I've avoided making you tell me, Greyson, but the timing of it, if they pushed you harder than normal, maybe they were in on it."

"Maybe?" Greyson shrugged. "I don't think she would be, though. She was just trying to push me harder than she had been later, get me to push my limits, since I was already trying to and she's spent more time focusing on Jess than me. And Jess is always exhausted after. I've been that exhausted before."

"Who was she?" Lucas asked. "I want to know, Greyson, and you need to tell me, or I'll put an end to your lessons with her."

"Her name is Elaine Sambar," Greyson answered. "The worst thing she ever did was use a truth potion on me, but she does that on everyone she interviews for lessons, to make sure they aren't government. It didn't work, because of my root spell and passive healing."

Lucas rubbed his temples.

"Greyson," he said. "Elaine was a trafficking queen. She would find magicians who hadn't been discovered yet and didn't have much to lose, then after building up their trust, she kidnapped them and sold them."

"Are you sure?" Greyson asked. "And you said 'was'."

"We have evidence of it," Lucas told his son. "And she's no longer in the picture. Your friend got to her, and she committed suicide after he left. He completely cleaned out her shop, too."

Greyson frowned, but pulled out his phone and called Cam.

"Yo!"

"Hey, Cameron," Greyson said. "Um… you attacked Elaine?"

"She had you kidnapped," Cam said. "So yes, the twins, Eden, Callum, and I took care of her. I dunno what the feds did after we handed her over. We tied her up nice and tight and dropped her in their office. Well, Eden did. I didn't know he could teleport in there, and he won't tell me why he's been there. I think they've arrested him be-no, I wanted the burger. The BURGER. Yeah, that one. That was a sandwich-fore, which is why he'd be able to get in there."

Greyson stared into space incredulously. Cam didn't just resume what he was saying, he resumed the word he had been saying.

How did he even do that? Greyson wondered.

"So… Elaine really sold me?"

"Yep," Cam responded. "She said that when my former family's operation moved into the area, they told her she needed to produce five slaves for the big auction on the solstice, but that you'd count for something like three if she were somehow able to catch you. Hey, I gotta go. Bye!"

The call ended, and Greyson pocketed his phone.

"I… can't go to her for training anymore."

"No, you can't," Lucas walked over and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "I know you don't want to be registered, Greyson, but they wouldn't call on you for assistance until you were an adult, at minimum, and I can use my pull to-"

The doorbell rang, interrupting the conversation.

"I'LL GET IT!" Kayla, Greyson's sister, shouted, and they heard her running across the foyer to the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" Lucas asked his wife, both of the adults with looks of annoyance at Kayla's run through the house.

"No," she responded. "Think Kayla was? That was a fast response."

Greyson began filling his glass with milk from the fridge as his father went to investigate, and when he turned around, he found himself looking at a tall man with golden-blond hair and brown eyes. Pure-black wings with orange flecks were tucked against the man's back, his muscular torso bare, like most angels.

Kayla was checking out the angel, as the teens' father was staring at him in a way that told Greyson the he was uncomfortable for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the angel's power.

That was something Greyson could sense, too, but only once the angel had drawn near him. As a nephilim of a certain type, he could sense even masked angelic auras in angels as long as they were nearby.

And the angel before him had an aura almost as overwhelming as Cam's divinity.

"Hello, Greyson," the angel spoke.

"Who are you?" Greyson was on guard. "And why does my father seem wary of you?"

"Greyson," Lucas cleared his throat. "This is Refari, your father. Your birth father, I mean."

"You're Refari?" Greyson asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Refari nodded, and in just a couple of smooth steps, he was beside the young nephilim, gently grabbing the boy's jaw. "Give me just a few moments, and I'll have the tracker repaired."

"Tracker?" Greyson asked as the angel tilted his head up and poked a finger into the boy's mouth.

"Don't bite or try to talk," Refari said as he touched his finger to the tooth with the tracking spell. "I'll heal, but I still feel pain. I put trackers in all of my children, and yours got damaged when you were hit in the head by those kidnappers. I wish Callum told me you were found immediately, not after getting back."

The angel pulled his finger out of the boy's mouth, then looked down at him, a father's love in his eyes.

"Only by a stroke of luck were they able to succeed," he said. "Had they not broken the enchantment, I would have been able to rescue you immediately."

Greyson took in everything as he and the angel stared at each other.

"So you're my birth father?" Greyson asked, and the angel nodded. "Why is your aura so intense?"

"You can sense angelic auras?" Lucas asked in shock. "The ones that are suppressed, anyway?"

He looked at Refari.

"You're an Angel King?"

"Yes," Refari frowned. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't spread that. My status isn't that well-known, and the god I serve is largely inactive."

"We won't," Lucas knew better without the request than to reveal the angel's status.

"How did you know what he was?" Greyson frowned.

"Children of Angel Kings," Lucas informed his son. "Can sense the auras of angels, even if they're suppressed or concealed."

"Oh," Greyson said.

"Normally," Refari told Greyson. "I approach my children once they're sixteen, but circumstances are a little different for you. I wanted to fix the tracker rather than wait for it to do so on its own, and to confirm in-person that you were okay. Now that we've met, I've an offer to make."

"I'm not leaving Father," Greyson took a step back, bumping into the fridge.

"I wasn't going to suggest that," Refari told him. "I know you are not registered, Greyson. I keep tabs on all of my children. I also know several angels, demigods, nephilim, mages, and other supernats who would be willing to train you, free of charge. Specialists in various blood, water, and enchant magics. I also have a space where you can stretch your wings and fly without worry. There is no need to register, nor worry about being forced into any form of service. This is simply a gift I give to all my children."

Hope welled up in Greyson. He'd heard stories about Refari's power, and how he was largely disinterested in the world's affairs. That he was largely disinterested in even the heavens' affairs. If his biological father was offering such a thing, then he knew he could probably trust it.

Which meant that he could probably trust his trainer or trainers. And they were specialists, too, not just general trainers. That meant he could expect a specialized training from them.

"Okay," he nodded, a grin spreading on his face. "That sounds like it would be fun."

"Okay," Refari told him. "I'll have one of them contact you in the next few days, to see how you would like to set your training schedule. Goodbye, Greyson."

Refari put his hand on his son's head before leaving, and Greyson just stood there for a few moments, before taking a drink of the milk he'd nearly forgotten. Then, he looked at his mom, his grin still present.

"Can I have one of the cookies, now?" He asked, indicated the tray she had pulled out while he and the angel were talking.