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Auren clapped a hand down on my shoulder, grounding me, and cleared his throat. “They’re mates, remember? Even without the rings, they’re bound together forever and all that. So, really, a wedding is just a formality. It’s not as bad as you’re thinking.”
It felt horrifying. Not only had my brother been locked in a cage as a breeder for a pair of psychotic rulers, but now he was stuck marrying a woman who was willing to hand off their child to them, knowing their history with the children they’d taken in.
“I’ll think about it,” I managed to choke out.
Grel nodded, looking a bit uncomfortable with the entire conversation. “I’ll let him know next time I see them.”
He paused. “Michaelson is happy, Sariel. After Lucia conceived, they relaxed their grip on him enough that he was able to roam the palace grounds. Blossom and Tarragon have agreed to let them both know the child, too. They’ve gotten what they wanted, and hecouldnegotiate his freedom with it, but he stays for Lucia.”
In other words, my brother was there by choice. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the thought. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
He nodded again, looking a bit happier when I glanced up at his mangled face.
Grel was an enigma to me. Sure, he was my brother, but it didn’t feel that way. Knowing how the fae traded babies around like cattle, I was surprised he kept popping up and making an attempt to talk to me at all.
“Don’t overthink it,” he clipped out. “I just… wanted to know you. I know all the others in some capacity, but you were a surprise, and being able to check up on you is….”
Clicking his tongue, Grel looked away from us and huffed. I’d have thought the fae was choked up, if I didn't know better.
“I should have been there with you from the beginning. That vile man should never have been able totouchyou, much less hurt you. You’re just soyoung. I’m trying to make sure I’m there if you need me,” he finished, sounding constipated.
I was struck by how deeply that resonated with me.
Auren laughed, then tried to cover it with a cough when I glared at him, feeling warmth claw up the back of my neck.
“Older brother syndrome,” the Resistance Leader intoned seriously, managing to dodge my semi-playful swipe.
Grel’s discomfort was alleviated by the scene. A chuckle escaped him, and I realized that I felt a little less shitty about everything with that knowledge.
“I appreciate it, Grel,” I said. And I meant it.
With that, the discussion of our uncomfortable relationship and my brothers' mishaps was over. I managed a smooth exit, thankful that my brothers—I tripped over the term for both of them, making a mental note to work on that if Grel really was trying to have some sort of brotherly connection—let me go without too much fuss. The entire interaction was hard to wrap my head around.
Aria just howled with laughter when I explained what an odd conversation it had been to handle.
“That’s so sweet, Sariel! He’s trying to look after another little sibling—just like you!”
I tried to see it from her point of view. Aria looked at me expectantly when I made a small sound of disagreement. “It feels fake.”
“Why? Because the idea of someone just caring about you just for the sake of doing it seems unreasonable?”
She sounded so flippant about it, I almost missed what she’d said entirely.
“No,” I blurted out. When she gave me a look, I continued. “Well, yeah, but I just meant that Grel is probably a thousand years old and already has a huge family—not to mention he was raised in a culture where they hand their kids off to the psycho King and Queen regularly—so it's weird that he has any kind of brotherly instincts at all.”
Aria nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. So why would he fake caring, then?”
That, I didn’t know, and she smiled sweetly when she felt as much.
I didn’t know why Grel would go out of his way to treat me like he cared when he didn’t have to, but it felt too good to be true. I hadn’t even been this unsettled when I’d met our mother, and she’d been the one to drop me on Azazel's doorstep without a backward glance.
“I think it’s worth hearing him out,” Aria reasoned. “What does he have to gain by manipulating you? He’s already in with the Resistance, and Lucia and Mikey obviously trust him. If anything, you’d think he would avoid us, considering everyone who hates us.”
A fair assessment for an odd situation.
Itdidmake more sense for Grel to avoid me like the plague rather than try to befriend me, much less harbor any brotherly affection. We were both grown men—even though hehadcalled me young earlier—so, realistically, he could just leave me to my own devices. He wasn't like Auren, Mikey, and I, who’d all grown up together and shared the same house.
“It’s just uncomfortable,” I settled on as Aria’s fingers began toying with the buttons of my shirt.
