Page 17

“We’ll get you more in a few minutes after we see how this bit settles,” I promised while taking the glass from his hands.

Eldon gave a reluctant nod, but I think he understood. I wanted to reach out, to take Eldon’s hands in my own, but I refrained. I was too afraid of rejection and still wasn’t certain why Eldon was here and what caused his current condition. Jaakobah had something to do with it, but what?

Glass gone, Eldon’s fingers went back to grasping the quilt as his eyes darted around the room. I don’t think his gaze stayed anywhere long enough to truly take in what he saw. “Am I… Is this where you live? Did I make it?” Eldon’s words were laced with frantic desperation.

“If you were trying to make it to the Magical Usage Compound, then yes, you succeeded and yes, you’re currently in my home,” I answered.

Relief sagged Eldon’s shoulders. Wet tear tracks streamed down his face, dripping on his chest and blanket. “G-goddess… I really made it. I didn’t think…” Eldon hiccupped, coughing on snot.

“I’ll grab some tissues,” Lazarus offered, and I felt his presence move away from me. He returned quickly and handed Eldon the tissues.

Eldon’s nod was a version of thanks I think Lazarus and I both understood. Before I could ask anything else, Eldon sobbed, “I-I’m so sorry. I…I was such a fool.”

I cringed. “I’m hardly one to judge others when it comes to foolishness.” My continued faith and trust in Tenzen Huxley would forever be a stain on my conscience.

Eldon violently shook his head. “He’s awful, Keir. I should have seen it but I…I don’t think I wanted to. Father said… Father said a lot of things, and Mother—” Eldon gasped, his eyes flying wide as he fully turned their tear-filled intensity on me. “Mother’s dead. H-he…he killed her. She died saving me.”

Everything inside me went cold. Mind, body, and soul—completely numb. I hardly recognized my own voice when I said, “Tell me everything.”

Eight

Lazarus

My fingers gripped Keir’s shoulders as I sat behind him. The coffee table appeared to be my new chair. Keir remained where he was, kneeling by his brother’s side. My heart ached for the pain Keir must be going through. Losing a family member, even an estranged one, was difficult. Perhaps even more so.

Vidia and I had been on good terms when Verona murdered her. I had no other siblings and Vidia had been my best friend. By the time of her death, we did not speak often, but when we did, it was as if no time had passed. I had no doubt that when she perished, Vidia knew I loved her and that I was loved in return. With Verona dealt with and Vidia’s eggs safely incubating a few feet away from me, I’d found closure. I would always mourn my sister’s passing, but I never need question our feelings for each other or that we both knew where the other stood.

I had an ominous feeling that wasn’t true where Keir was concerned. I only wish Eldon’s confession proved me wrong.

“Tell me everything,” Keir had said. I’d never heard his voice that flat, that totally devoid of emotion. This wasn’t my caring gryphon. Not that I thought he didn’t care. More like he cared far too much and had to push those feelings down so as not to be overwhelmed.

Eldon swallowed thickly and I noted his hands were shaking again. “You were right, Keir. You were right about everything.” Eldon’s eyes locked on his quaking fingers, unable to look his brother in his eyes. “J-Jaakobah.” The name seemed difficult for Eldon to say. “He played us. He tricked us all. Everyone but you.” Eldon barked out a sound that might have been a laugh but fell short.

“We all make mistakes,” Keir graciously said, and I knew he was thinking about what happened with Huxley.

“It was more than a mistake.” Eldon’s head dropped further. “Father isn’t well.”

Keir pulled back. I’d maneuvered Keir between my spread legs, and his new position placed him in contact with my inner thighs. The move wasn’t sexual. It was a cry for comfort. I was happy to comply.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with Father?” A touch of emotion crept back into Keir’s tone.

“Wasting,” Eldon whispered, as if keeping his voice low might make the word untrue.

“No,” Keir tentatively denied. “That… How long?”

Eldon shook his head again. “I’m not sure. Looking back with fresh eyes, I think it started before you left. I think that’s why Jaakobah was able to twist Father’s thinking.”

I’d heard of Wasting before. It was a disease that struck fear into nearly every species, although some seemed more susceptible than others. Humans had a different name for a similar disease. I believe they called it dementia. I was no healer, but from what I understood, Wasting was a deterioration of the mind. It affected individuals differently. Some merely became forgetful. Others grew violent and saw conspiracies everywhere. Others still completely stopped caring for themselves and often died of starvation.

Regardless, those suffering from Wasting were susceptible to outside influence. They no longer trusted their own abilities to think and problem-solve, and so they relied on others to do it for them, often forming strong bonds of trust with those individuals. It wasn’t difficult to imagine someone like Jaakobah taking advantage of such a situation.

Keir’s fingers wrapped around my ankle, squeezing tight. “I didn’t know,” Keir said.

“You wouldn’t,” Eldon rushed to reassure. “I don’t think anyone truly knew when you left and since then…the flight’s been in denial. I tried to bring it up multiple times, but no one would listen. No one wants to believe that the great Hunapo Montenegro isn’t in his right mind.” Eldon took a deep breath that rattled through his lungs. “Mother knew,” Eldon said on a whisper. “I think she was in denial too, but there came a point where she couldn’t deny it any longer. When she saw what he’d had done to me…” Eldon’s voice trailed off as his eyes grew distant. “Father lied to her. She didn’t know. I’m still not sure how she found out, but when she did…Mother was furious.”

More tears dripped from Eldon’s eyes, falling on the quilt. “I begged her not to say anything. I was so afraid of what they’d do to her, and Mother was all that stood in the way between Jaakobah and Saraphina.”

I felt Keir’s muscles tense. “What happened to Phina? Where is she?”