“Meh.” Cole shrugged. “You always find a way.”
A dry laugh rose in his throat. “Easy for you to say when it’s not all resting on your shoulders.”
“Yeah,” Cole said with a brazen chuckle. “It is.”
Aunt Blaire grabbed his hand. “You won’t be alone. We will help you. Kywyn, too. Autumn and Isobel. We want nothing more than your success. You have only to ask for help, and it will be given.”
“What if I fail?” he whispered.
“You won’t,” Aunt Blaire said with absolute confidence.
Sean’s gaze sought Cole’s.
“Then you’ll get up, and you’ll try again,” his cousin said. “Remember Advanced Calc? Or the four-minute mile? Spinning a basketball? The Rubik’s Cube? You sucked, but you just kept doing it until you succeeded. It’s what you’ve always done. This is no different.”
He tried to smile. “It’s a little different.”
“No, Sean. It’s not different. Being this person they want is a skill you can learn.” Cole’s unwavering gaze unwound a tiny knot of tension in Sean’s chest.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Just…learn it.”
CHAPTER 12
DAVID
It doesn’t matter what they expect. It only matters how you react.
After Isobel carted Sean from Kywyn’s suite, those words still echoed in David’s ears, setting off a chain reaction of quiet hysteria that he bottled up. Those few moments when he’d imagined this place might be the emancipation he’d always dreamed of felt so distant now. How had he not learned by now to stop wishing for things?
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Kywyn said under his breath toward Sean’s aunt. “How could you omit the fact that you not only knew Elenya’s son was alive but also where he was?”
“Elenya and Lana did not want their sons found, Kywyn. There was a reason they left!” She spared a short glance at David. “Elenya tried to spare her son their prejudices. Do you think he’ll be treatedwellhere?”
Couldn’t be worse than back home, David thought.
“Blaire—”
“I’m done arguing with you about this, Kywyn. Now, I will take my son and leave you be. I’m not needed here.”
With a last glare in David’s direction, Cole stood and followed his mother from the room. He’d been so silent during their conversation, David had almost forgotten Cole was present, but the glare was familiar. Fatigue, however, had worn David down, and anxiety had built a rat’s nest in his chest. He couldn’t summon the energy to respond with anything but a blank stare.
Once they were gone, stillness descended. Autumn and Kywyn traded a strange bout of eye contact, some silent conversation that David wasn’t privy to. Not that he cared. He was content to stew in the silence for a long, long time.
He replayed the story in his head once more.
Two brothers. One woman standing between them. Everyone died.
Behind his left eye, a pulsing pain roused. He needed a drink. A strong one. With gin.
Wordlessly, Autumn rose to grab a bottle of red wine. She uncorked it and poured a glass, then handed it to him. David hesitated before accepting but ultimately gave in. The wine was dry, with a crisp bite like nothing he’d ever tasted.
“There will be a bonfire tomorrow,” Kywyn said. “The realm will want to celebrate your return.” The man’s uncanny resemblance to Sean should have set off the hate receptors in David’s brain, but nothing surfaced.
He arched an eyebrow. “Celebratemyreturn, Kywyn? You sure?”
A small smile formed at Kywyn’s mouth. “You remind me of your mother.”
