“Sounds like my abuela.” Liora said with a chuckle. “Thank you, Ria.”
“Welcome.” Ria clapped her hands together once. “Time for my next patient.”
They followed her through to the adjoining room. Korinnae was on the settee with her legs folded beneath her, and beside the window stood Asterion.
“Korinnae, this is Ria,” Liora said. “She’s going to check on you, okay? She’s very good, she just finished with me.”
She glanced at Maldenis, then added, almost casually, “And you’ve already met Maldenis. He’s actually your half-brother.”
The calf looked at him with wide eyes.
Maldenis hadn’t been prepared for it, the word landing that plainly in a room with others around. It moved through him in two beats; the first was something close to vertigo, and the second was something else entirely, warmer and quieter, that he didn’t have a name for yet.
Korinnae studied him for a long moment with the frank assessment of a small child. Then she nodded, apparently satisfied, and turned her attention to Ria.
“Hi, you must be Korinnae. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Ria.…”
The rest of it faded into the background as Maldenis turned toward the window where Asterion was watching them, not moving an inch even as Liora and Maldenis approached him.
“How is she doing?” Liora asked.
“She survived the attack,” Asterion simply stated.
“And you? What happens to you both after this?”
“We leave.” There was no bitterness in his words, just fact. “Our clan does not tolerate magic. Now that it is known what she is, there is no going back.”
“We could help,” Liora said. “It’s our mission, to help the children of Zeus. Did they tell you of the prophecy and?—”
“Yes,” he bit out. “I will keep her safe. I promised her mother I would. We will be fine on our own.”
“Our team can find you place to stay, where those hunters won’t?—”
“I do not take charity,” he huffed.
An idea struck Maldenis. “You know this region, and you clearly know how to protect someone. We could use someone like you.”
“I said, I do not take?—”
“It’s work,” Maldenis said. “And you saw those hunters, what they could do. We need you,” he added, emphasizing the “need” part.
“We provide housing and protection,” Liora added. “Korinnae could go to a school in Alindale. And remember, she’s not out of the woods yet. The remedy Ria gave us isn’t permanent. She has to administer it regularly until we can find a real cure.”
His expression shifted, the internal struggling obviously playing out in his mind. “Can we not take potions from the witch?” he said, the last word spilling out of his mouth with distaste.
“Doesn’t seem like it,” she replied.
“So, I have no choice, if I want Korinnae to live?” he stated, glancing over at his niece.
“We don’t force people to work for us,” Liora said.
Maldenis added, “Even if you decide to find another place to stay, as long as you keep in touch, we’ll make sure she gets the treatments.” He was tempted to use his persuasion powers on the stubborn bull, but Maldenis knew this was a decision Asterion had to make on his own. “But it’s up to you.”
“So, what do you say?” Liora asked. “If you join us, Korinnae gets a safe place to stay, and she can make friends.”
Asterion paused for a moment. “And you speak for your whole group?”
“Yes,” Liora and Maldenis said at the same time, without hesitating.
