"Why is it that every time I leave this palace you end up in trouble?" Cain stares at me from across the room. I fold my arms as I keep my position by the boy's side. "Do you go looking for it?"

I look back to the boy, chewing on my nail.

"How's he doing?"

I shrug. "He's been asleep for a while."

"If his owner hasn't broken a law then I have to take him back to him. I'm sorry but that's how it works." Cain starts to walk towards him and I shoot up from the chair, becoming a barricade between them. He stops.

"If you want to take him then you'll have to physically move me," I say.

He snarls a little. "Do you know how many of my kind are in the dungeons right now awaiting execution because they still kept humans locked up? They are the traitors. I cannot punish someone for something that happened before the law change."

"And you trust your law enforcers, right?"

"Of course."

"Do you trust me?" I say.

Cain flicks his eyes to the boy and sighs. "Yes."

"There is only one way to find out the truth," I say. "If you fed on him then you'd know."

"That's breaking the law."

"Cain, you have broken about a thousand laws since you met me," I growl at him. "You won't spare one for this boy? You can transfer it back right after. Please, do it now while he's asleep."

"Fine. I must be mad." He takes a step towards me, keeping his eyes on me with caution. "May I?"

I nod, moving to the side to let him pass. I stay against the wall as Cain places a hand to the boy's forehead.

"Poor human," Cain mumbles. "There's hardly anything left. I'm surprised he can even walk. His soul is so broken and beaten, how do they even taste them? Happy souls are so much more-"

"Cain." I clear my throat.

"Sorry."

He taps his finger against the boy's skin and closes his eyes. If the boy is almost consumed then that could be causing his memory loss. I hope it is that, I hope that there isn't a more serious reason relating to his head injuries. His soul we can save but we can't save his brain. Cain's connection only lasts seconds. He snaps his eyes open and pulls back his hand, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He looks deeply saddened. The boy is still in a deep sleep, the pain didn't even make him stir.

"I am glad you do not share my abilities, Aurora," Cain says quietly. "Because I never want you to see what I have just seen."

"I see it in your eyes," I say as I walk to his side. "He was tortured, wasn't he?"

Cain nods. "They all were. He is the last of twelve. Spanning over twenty-six months. He forced them to watch each other die, knowing that they'd be next. But the way he tortured them." Cain shakes his head. "I have never seen or heard of something so sadistic in all my time alive."

I swallow. "What's his name?"

"His parents named him Samson but they. . ." Cain trembles as he steps away. "They died before we came here. He was placed in foster care when he was three. He has never known a family since. They adored him so much. What is happening to me?" Cain covers his eyes with his hand.

I place my hand to his arm, gently adding pressure until he removes it and looks at me. "Your emotions are reacting to what you saw. You're handling it better than I ever could."

"Human emotions are so overwhelming," he says. "I commend your species for having to deal with them."

I smile. "Not all of us can."

Cain wraps his arm around me and we stare at the boy together. "His owner broke the law several times. I have grounds to take his life. But even if I return his soul, I don't think he will survive much longer. I will have Blake take him for a scan to be sure but he has multiple internal injuries."

"How long do you think he has?"

"Days," Cain says sadly.

Days? It's better than hours but it still doesn't seem like long enough. Nothing will ever be long enough to make up for everything he went through, that they all went through and are going through. What if there is a way to unite the humans for a day? To give them a gift that they've been deprived of for a long time? I smile to myself, imagining Jackson's face if it actually could happen.

"Then we'll make it special for him," I say. "We'll do something special for all the humans to show them that there's more to their lives than just waiting to die. I have an idea. The best idea."

Cain narrows his eyes. "What idea?"

"Let me think it over first. There's a lot that could go wrong."

"Okay," he laughs, kissing the side of my forehead. "I'll be back soon. I have a law-breaker to kill."

"Make him suffer," I mumble.

"I plan to."

I sit back down and I take Samson's hand. My first act of Queen was saving his life and it feels damn good. It feels right. I will make sure his last days are spent in nothing but happiness, the other humans get that privilege but he never has. Cain was almost in tears by what he saw, the suffering this child has endured over the last two years outweighs any doubt in my mind that he shouldn't be put first. He is now my priority, my responsibility, and I hope it will make his parents who have probably been watching over him with devastation finally rest.