AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t remember anything from before I was adopted. I thought I was an only child. I grew up an only child, living with an older couple who could never have a child of their own. It was about six months ago that I discovered that I was born in New Rosanthe and had a little brother,” Eno quickly explained. Davi jerked his hands in Eno’s and Eno slowly drew back, allowing his fingers to slide across the smooth surface to his side. “The person who told me was trying to make it look like I was a potential spy for New Rosanthe. I think she even wanted to get me to betray Caelan by intimating that she could hurt you if I didn’t cooperate.” Eno paused and licked his lips. “I swear, if I had known about you, I would have moved the heavens to find you.”
Davi lifted his eyes, his smile becoming crooked. “I guess it’s only fair. I didn’t find out that I had a brother until recently. It’s probably for the best that we didn’t know.”
“Why?”
“We both would have spent a lot of time miserable searching for each other.”
Eno snorted. “Okay. Good point.”
“But here we are. Found each other in a relatively short amount of time, and we’ve got years ahead of us to spend—”
“Shhhh!” Eno hissed, wildly waving both of his hands at his brother to stop his words. “Don’t jinx us!”
“Are you serious? Are you that superstitious?” Davi laughed.
“Not normally, but I’ve seen and experienced some really fucked-up shit in the past several months. I try not to do or say anything that would tempt the gods into screwing with my life.”
Davi arched one eyebrow at him and smirked. “Okay. You’ve got a good point. We live for today.”
“Other than the recent craziness, have you had a good life in Brightspire?” Eno asked, preferring to keep their conversation away from death and gods.
His brother relaxed in his chair and gave another one-shoulder shrug. “Not bad. Not great. Just one of those where I’m stuck in a rut with no way of doing anything different. At least, not until I met Vitor.”
Eno chewed on the inside of his mouth. He had no idea how to feel about this Vitor being in his brother’s life. Every warning bell was clanging in his head that this man was dangerous and trouble, but Eno couldn’t say a word. How would Davi react to tales of him crossing the Ordas on foot with only three other people, fighting New Rosanthe soldiers while on the run through Sirelis, and nearly dying from a dragon attack…twice?
Yeah, there was no way Davi would allow him to be anywhere near Caelan if he knew the entire story.
So, if Davi wanted to spend his time helping Vitor, Eno was happy for him. Even if he was also a little scared.
“Now that you know the truth about your heritage…” Eno started and then paused, suddenly unsure if he wanted to know the answer to his question. But he pushed on. “Are you planning to remain in Brightspire? Or do you think that you might be interested in coming to Stormbreak?”
Davi tossed his head back and laughed. “Are you kidding me?”
“What?”
“Of course I want out of Brightspire!” Davi leaned forward so that his chest was nearly touching the table. The overhead light gilded his brown hair, giving some strands a blond shine. “One of the last things our parents did for us before they died was to deliver us to Stormbreak. That’s where they thought we’d be safe. That’s where they wanted us to be. That’s where I want to be.”
“Excellent.”
“But…”
Eno sighed loudly. “How did I know there’d be a catch?”
“I’m not the only kid who was stolen away from Erya. I want to help Vitor find the others. Maybe they’re unhappy here, too. Maybe not. But I feel like they all deserve to know the truth and be given a choice.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Slowly, Eno nodded. “I get it.” He might want his brother in Stormbreak, where he liked to think he would be safer, but his brother had his own life and his own calling he had to heed. Eno respected that as well as his drive to help others like himself.
“Plus, I’m a local. I’ve grown up here my entire life. I can blend better than anyone Vitor might send from Erya. I know countless secrets about this city. I’ve got an edge that can help so many people.”
“What about your family? Do you have any family here?”
Davi shook his head. “I spent most of my life in the orphanage or school. It’s not like in Erya or Caspagir. Kids don’t get adopted here. You get shuffled around to different schools, different areas of focus until you graduate and get sent into the workforce.”
“Friends?”
“Not really. No one I’m particularly close with.”
“I’m sor—”
