“I absolutely do not,” I say immediately.
Cassius snorts.
Oberon’s smile deepens just slightly.
And that’s when it really clicks. We’re brothers. Not by blood. Not by choice at the start. But something forged anyway. Something real.
No one says anything. We don’t have to. Then, like it’s inevitable, like the conversation was always going to turn this way, it goes to Alette.
“She shouldn’t have survived what she’s been through. Not as a human,” Oberon says quietly.
The shift in tone is immediate. He’s not talking about the cave. He’s talking about everything.
Sylvian nods once. “And yet, she did.”
“With help,” Cassius adds.
I lean back, folding my arms. “From all of us.”
Sylvian’s gaze flicks to Oberon. “The pit.”
I nod. “He kept her safe.”
“One of you would’ve found a way to help her,” Oberon says, but I think he’s proud to have been the one to protect her.
“Maybe,” Sylvian says. “But you were there.”
There’s a pause.
Then Sylvian adds, almost thoughtfully, “The water chamber.”
I let out a breath. “That was all of us.”
“Barely,” Oberon mutters, probably remembering how much he struggled with the tight space.
“But we did it,” I say.
Sylvian shifts slightly. “The merman.”
We all look at Sylvian. He doesn’t elaborate. He doesn’t need to.
I glance at Cassius and say, “You were pretty incredible.”
Cassius shrugs once. “She was in danger.”
“Exactly,” Sylvian says.
Another second passes.
“The fog,” Cassius says.
That one sits differently.
Oberon’s gaze sharpens. “Ashton was alone with her.”
“Yeah,” I say, a little quieter. “Yet another time when I felt strangely helpless since coming here.”
“Still,” Sylvian says, “you kept her alive.”
