said.
“Perhaps,” Rafael said.
Micah grabbed the other man’s shoulder and spun him to look at him. “The only thing that can defeat you tonight is you, Rafael. I do not know why you think Hector is such great leadership material, because I don’t see it.”
“You told me as much.”
“Luca will be the better leader someday.”
“But he is not the better fighter,” Rafael said.
“Luca is still learning how to fight, but nothing will make Hector a better thinker.”
“Hector is not stupid,” Rafael said, and he was more upset than I thought he should be over a stranger.
“I never said he was.”
“Why do you defend Hector so much?” I asked.
There was another flash of looks between everyone, and this time it included Micah. “What aren’t you telling us?” Nathaniel asked.
Rafael looked at me and there was such pain in his eyes. “You know the human mates that are allowed among us.”
“Yeah, it’s the way you’re getting me in to watch tonight.”
“Wait, what?” Nathaniel asked.
“When did you invite Anita to watch the fight tonight?” Micah asked.
“In the showers, and that can wait. I want to know why Hector is so special to you, Rafael. Why is he so special that you’re almost ready to let him kill you, just so you don’t have to kill him?”
“You know all those crazy exes I spoke of?”
“Yeah.”
“Hector’s mother was one of them.”
“So, Hector is . . .” I didn’t want to finish the sentence; it was too Greek myth, or maybe Greek tragedy?
“My son,” Rafael finished for me.
8
“YOU DON’T KNOW that for certain,” Benito said, while the rest of us just stared at Rafael.
“Suelita says he is mine, why would she shame her husband if it isn’t true?”
“When did she tell you?” Micah asked.
“She called me after Hector made his challenge.”
“Suelita fears for her only son’s life,” Claudia said. “She’d do anything to save Hector, even lie about you being his father.”
“I do not think she lied,” Rafael said.
“What did she want you to do?” I asked.
Rafael looked at me, but it was like he wasn’t hearing me. He knew I was talking, but he wasn’t following. “What did Suelita want you to do as his father?” I asked.
“She wanted me to promise I would not kill our son.”
“Did she ask you to let him kill you?” I asked.
“No, she asked me to offer third blood instead of death.”
“And that offer has made you seem weak,” Benito said.
“Has she told Hector?” Micah asked.
Rafael shook his head. “Her husband is the only father Hector has ever known, and she wishes to keep it that way.”
“So, she tells you, so that you don’t want to hurt him, but she doesn’t tell him, so he still wants to kill you?” I asked.
“She is trying to get inside your head, Rafael. If she truly meant you to treat the boy as a father should, then she would tell him you are his father,” Benito said.
“I’m with Benito on this one,” I said.
“Even I think it’s a trick to mess with your head before the fight, and I just learned about it,” Nathaniel said.
“Suelita is a mother terrified for her child, she will do and say anything,” Claudia insisted.
“Does Hector look like his mother?” Micah asked.
“Why does that matter?” Rafael asked.
“Because he looks nothing like you.”
“Not all children look like their parents,” Rafael said.
“Does your son from your marriage look like you?” I asked.
“I have not seen my ex-wife or my son in so long I am not certain I would recognize him.” He couldn’t hide the pain in his face when he said it.
“I’m sorry, Rafael,” I said.
“If Hector’s mother is lying, then she’s trying to set you up for her son, so he can kill you and take your throne,” Micah said.
“And if she is telling the truth?”
“Then she is telling the truth to set you up for her son, so he can kill you and take your throne.”
“You repeated yourself,” Rafael said.
“No, I didn’t. I just pointed out that if it’s a lie, or if it’s the truth, the result that Hector’s mother is hoping for is the same, you dead and her son alive.”
“Wise, as always, Micah.” He said it, but not like it would change anything.
“You told me in the showers that you wanted me to seduce Hector if you die; are you seriously saying you’d want your lover to sleep with your son? That’s a little too . . . I don’t know . . . creepy.”
“I didn’t mean to tell you. I know it will