Shadi interrupts, “After earning her PhD in archaeology and achieving renown in her field, my sister had one other dream. She longed to be a mother, to raise a family with the one she loved, something she hadaccepted would be impossible with the djinn she loved.” Tears well up behind his eyes, though he forces them back. “Your father was doomed to disappear along with her, his love for her keeping his material form intact just long enough to break all the rules and grant her a final wish. She couldn’t speak, so he granted the truest wish in her heart. Hiba wished for a child with the man she loved. She wished for you, Hakeem.”
Hakeem curls into Eddie and Jackson’s hold, hands shaking. “All their love, all their magic, it all came together to make you. You have her smile and her passion. Your father’s magic flows through you, your silvery eyes the same as his.”
Hakeem’s voice shakes as he pulls away from his boyfriends, “I don’t understand. Why was this such a big secret? I understand it’s a painful memory, but why do you seem to resent them, Khalo Shadi?”
Shadi turns his head, unable to hold his nephew’s questioning gaze, “Do either of you want to answer my nephew?” His tone is pointed as he regards Christopher and Annabella.
They both remain silent, eyes pointed to the floor. “Fine! Then allow me. Hakeem,” He regards his nephew, tears threatening to spill. “Not only did your mother find the ancient ruins and save two of the most powerful people in the realm not once, but twice. She lost her life for nothing.”
Hakeem is stunned, eyes wide, words lost to his trembling body. Jackson pulls him back to his embrace, letting Hakeem’s head rest on his chest. Eddie steps in front of them. “Mr. Al-Najim, what do you mean? Lady Nocturne? Appa?” He voices his questions to the room, seemingly no one dared to answer him.
Shadi wipes his tears with the back of his hand, “The information was wrong. The bureau followed a false lead, hoping to locate the lost key. All the clues my sister deciphered led to an empty throne room. The entire expedition was for nothing. The losses accrued were for nothing. My sister lost her life, her chance to have a family of her own, for nothing! It was a trap set up to weaken the royal families. And the whole thing was covered up. The bureau didn’t want people to learn of the shameful defeat these two,” he yells, turning his body to face Annabella and Christopher, “had at the hands of cultists. My sister’s death was labeled as an error in the field, as though she was to blame for the loss of her own life, all for the sake of keeping up appearances.”
Christopher slams his hands on the table and rises, “Shadi, it is not as simple as-”
“Quiet!” Shadi yells, chest heaving, “You don’t get to try and justify it. You and Annabella tried to throw money at us, to try and pay for your failures. You took advantage of the fact that Bahera and I had nothing, no way to provide for Hakeem. You wanted our silence.”
Annabella shouts her interjection, ruby mana thickening the air, “We wanted to give the boy a chance. He lost his mother, thanks to our shortcomings. We don’t deny that, Shadi. We wanted to help, to give the boy options in life. To give him the life Hiba, who was our dear friend, would never get the chance to give him. We have respected your wishes, Shadi, to keep our distance from your family, the memories too cruel to face. I don’t understand, after all we’ve done to try and make amends, why do you still resent us so fervently?”
“You want to know why, Annabella?” Shadi can’t stop the tears from rolling down his sun tanned cheeks, “I will tell you why. Because, my sister should’ve come home that day. She wasn’t a fighter and the two of you were, and are still, some of the most powerful people in the realms. The bureau should’ve been prepared for an ambush. You two should have been able to protect yourselves and your team. HIBA SHOULD HAVE COME BACK TO ME THAT DAY INSTEAD OF-”
Shadi’s explosive rant is cut off by Eddie’s sharp tone, face twisted in anger. “Mr. Al-Najim! I suggest you choose your next words wisely.”
Shadi’s eyes widen and his hand slaps across his mouth as he realizes what he was about to say, how it could be interpreted. He slowly turns his body, tears rolling down his face, to see Hakeem clinging onto Jackson. His nephew didn’t dare look at him, he couldn’t fault him for it. “Hakeem I- I didn’t mean- I never meant to imply…”
Jackson pulls Eddie back to him and Hakeem, leaving them behind as he steps up to Shadi. “Mr. Al-Najim, if I may be so bold. I am all too familiarwith the feeling of losing a loved one. I have no doubt in my mind you love Hakeem, but that doesn’t erase the pain of losing your sister.”
Shadi goes silent, his face turned away in shame. Hakeem pulls away from Eddie and moves past Jackson to place a gentle hand on his uncle’s shoulder. “Khalo Shadi,” Shadi risks a glance to his nephew, whose eyes are glossy yet filled with a kindness he feels undeserved to, “all these years, why did you insist I never call you Baba or Khalto Bahera Mama? You raised me with love like a parent should but you always insisted I never use those titles. Is it because you-”
“No!” Shadi cut off his nephew before he could finish that cruel thought. “Hakeem, I am so grateful to have you in my life. I never wished you were never born. I…I just…I had you refer to us as your aunt and uncle because, in some bizarre way, I convinced myself it meant Hiba would walk into the house alive and well someday. I never blamed you for what happened. I just-it was the only way I could cope.”
Christopher walks around his desk to stand beside Annabella. “It was easier to blame us than to risk your sorrow turning to resentment towards Hakeem. I understand. I know we can never make it up to you, Shadi. I do hope now that our boys have come together, we can heal and move forward, together.”
Jackson takes Eddie’s hand and steps forward, “There’s still one thing I don’t understand. Why did you want me and Eddie here for this as well? This feels like a private matter.”
Annabella holds up a piece of paper from the desk with two fingers, “Because there was something we had kept from all three of you. Nothing damning, but we had to keep it a secret to ensure fate could take its course.”
Eddie squeezes Jackson’s hand, “And that is?”
Annabella sighs, “Brenda Lee left a final prophecy before passing, one that was delivered to the three of us separately. It stated that the three of you,” She gestures to the boys, “were destined to meet. With the terms of her will concerning Jackson’s inheritance of the apartment, it was the perfect opportunity to secure all three of your futures. We never expected it to produce such,” she smiles fondly, “fortuitous results. We never wantedto force any of you on a path, so it was set up where the choice was still your own to make. And it seems to have been the right one.
“Jackson, you’ve opened your heart after so many years. Eddie, you seem to be awakening a power you thought lost to you ages ago. Hakeem, you have found two people who seem to care for you deeply, granting your mother’s final request that Christopher and I could never have hoped to fulfill on our own.”
“May you have all the love we could never give.”
Shadi places his hands on Hakeem’s arms, his own shoulder shuddering from overwhelming emotions. “I’m sorry if my stubbornness has hurt you in any way over the years, Hakeem. I knew I owed it to you and Hiba to at least make sure you saw that flier, to give you the choice to meet Jackson and Eddie. I wonder if you could have found happiness earlier if it wasn’t for me.”
Hakeem pulls his uncle into a hug, a few stray tears rolling down his soft cheeks. “Khalo Shadi, I promise you, all my life has led me here. You and Khalto Bahera gave me an amazing life, and two cousins who became my best friends growing up. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for loving me all these years.”
Shadi returns to the hug in full, voice cracking, “You are easy to love, Hakeem.”
Jackson relaxes next to Eddie, tension leaving his shoulders. “Why am I not surprised this all began with Brenda. That woman will be the undeath of me,” he says in an exhale.
Eddie chuckles as he kisses the top of Jackson’s head. “I’m glad though. I don’t think I would change a thing if it meant risking what we have.”
Hakeem goes over to them, wrapping his arms around his boyfriends, “All the chaos was worth it.”
Jackson chuckles and kisses him on the cheek, “Absolutely.”
