Page 52 of The Human’s Heart

If they weren’t there, I was pretty sure he’d fall over.

He looked terrible. His eyes were red rimmed, his face was blotchy and swollen, and his hair was a disaster. Even his clothes were rumpled, although we were all a little rumpled from sleep.

But Kian looked like he hadn’t even slept a wink.

Zaos whispered to me, “I’m gonna make Key a plate. Be right back.”

I nodded, then with some hesitation, I reached across the coffee table and took Kian’s hand in mine. He gave it a squeeze and sent me a sad smile that I returned. We stayed there, his dads rubbing his back and playing with his hair, with me holding his hand until Zay came back.

When my viramore placed the plate in front of his brother, I released him and sat back. Kian took the fork from Zay’s outstretched hand and mumbled, “Thank you.”

“Try to eat something. I know you don’t want to right now, but you need to keep your energy up.”

Kian took a breath, gave a nod, and scooped up a bite. As soon as he put it in his mouth, both of his dads looked relieved, and Talon shot Zay a grateful expression and a wink.

The rest of the afternoon and evening were somber events. Everyone was very careful with Kian, and I was pretty sure he was hating every minute of it while still appreciating the company and solidarity.

Maybe I was projecting since that was how I felt—everyone was very careful with me too—but I was pretty sure we were of the same mind.

Sebastian and Ailin took charge of speaking with Phia’s family and helping set up funeral arrangements or whatever it was that nymphs did. I didn’t think they buried their dead the way many humans did, but I wasn’t sure. I hated that I was going to find out.

Most of the younger kids went home, as well as many of the adults, but Kian, Sebastian, Ailin, and Zay’s dads, sisters, and a few cousins decided to stay. And I forced Jett and Ward to stay another night too. They seemed happy to.

I had a feeling we’d be hosting a lot of Zay’s family for the next week or two.

All I really cared about was keeping Kian here with us. He didn’t seem to want to go home, which I was glad for because I didn’t want him alone.

Maybe we could convince him to stay with us for a few weeks or something.

All I knew was that I wanted to help take care of Zay’s little brother… maybe he was really beginning to feel like my little brother too.

Chapter 16

Zaos

It had been two weeks since Phia’s celebration of life, and Kian was still staying in our guest room.

I was glad he was here, and so was Hugo. I’d been afraid that Hugo might get uncomfortable or annoyed at having another person around constantly, but he was just as pleased to have my brother here as I was.

If I couldn’t feel the truth of it, I might not have believed it since Hugo was such a private person. But he was truly happy having my little brother stay with us.

I hated the reason for it, and I hated that Kian spent so much time in his room. But I was glad he was comfortable here with us. I was glad he wasn’t alone.

And even though he was clearly heartbroken and likely depressed, being around us seemed to be doing him some good.

My sister, dads, and granddads came around all the time too, so people were in and out of the house, but things had calmed down significantly. Although I was definitely grateful for all the food everyone kept bringing us.

We’d also restarted the construction project. If nothing else, having all those people in our home for so many days proved exactly why we were adding a two-story tall addition with a billion bedrooms to our little house. I couldn’t wait for it to be done.

Although, then we’d have to decorate, which would be a whole thing with my Mr. Not Wanting To Spend More Money viramore in charge.

That thought made me smirk.

“Hey, baby brother,” I said when he walked into the kitchen.

He grunted at me and went straight for the coffee maker.

Hugo gave me a look, then turned his attention to Kian, asking, “Are you still going into work today?”