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But that didn’t stop Henry’s horror as he watched his quivering human form grow larger, taller, and wider until he became the giant.
“I don’t understand why the house is locked up and I can’t visit. I would accuse you of something sinister, but I just spotted Miss Sutton yesterday and figured that you managed to break out of that woman’s wily influence.”
Gunther’s words were callous but unguarded, indicating that the man was genuinely baffled over the matter. Henry bit his tongue from defending Pearl, feeling his soul shrivel with the urge to, but knowing he needed to feed Gunther the right unsuspicious information.
“I already told you. I’m doing a deep dive into the family issue because it’s getting ridiculous how long it’s taking to solve it. I need to do it alone, hence why Martin’s on vacation.”
“You’re doing it without the witch we hired to solve it?”
“Yes. But she’s not slacking off,” he couldn’t help adding, just in case his brother got the idea to report to Verity. “She’s doing her sleuthing too.”
“So, you’re the second pair of eyes,” Gunther deduced. “I see. I kind of get it too. Anything new to the investigation?”
“Some things.”
“What did you discover?”
That we’re still brothers. That we share the same mother, but she was cursed at some point and only got rid of it before you were born. That the curse contained the giant genes and our parents have been hiding it from the Lyras to keep me safe. That my giant nature comes at random and they had done everything to hide it from me and the rest of the family, including spells to make sure I don’t break out in public and out myself.
It took him a few days to find the books in the library, and even more to decipher the information. It changed his perspective of his parents when he found out that his father hadn’t been that good of a man, either, offending the wrong group of creatures—and his mother paid for the crime through the curse. It changed his perspective of Martin, too, once just a loyal butler who regularly reported to Verity but now averyloyal butler who had kept the family’s secret from Verity and the rest. The spells put on him had managed to make him instinctively hide whenever his giant broke out while also erasing his memories of it. But the blackout, torn clothes, and pain were signs that the spells were wearing off and he might not be able to control that side of him in the future.
“Nothing that could be considered a breakthrough, but I’ll get there,” he managed to say without his voice shaking. It had been hard to keep the shakes off once he found out the truth of his nature. It was hard not to feel betrayed, especially when he had been raised to believe that he was perfect and nothing could go wrong for him if he just followed his family’s legacy. That legacy felt like a lie now—but truth be told, it was already a lie the moment he met Pearl and discovered the Lyras weren’t as honorable as they painted themselves to be.
“I’m sure you will. And you know what? I’ll cover for you and tell the others you’re close,” Gunther offered, pleased with himself. “Consider it a favor for acting like a hermit.”
Henry grunted, relieved when the call ended. But another call vibrated on his device, the name making him stare before he eventually let it go without picking up. But this caller was persistent, ringing the device repeatedly until he directed the last one to a voice message.
“What’s going on? I visited your house this morning but it’s locked up. Are you out on vacation? Did you leave Broom’s Isle or something? I would like a little warning next time. It’s been almost a week and no one’s telling me anything.”
The magic made her voice sound like it was in the house with him. Yearning clenched his gut, but the image of the giant crushed it immediately. She was attracted to his man form, not the monster lurking underneath. She might be as horrified as his family at the knowledge, and a small part of him wondered if there was still enough resentment inside her to use it to betray the Lyras…
“No,” he scolded himself harshly, angered at his doubts. “She’s not like that. She’s not like…”
The Lyras. Carlos and Verity, who would treat me as they did Pampei and the man’s wife.
And Henry’s parents knew that. They loved him enough to protect him from that, but now he needed to protect himself.
The calls went on for the rest of the day, then the next few. He scoured the library until there were no hidden books left, gaining more understanding than he had in his lifetime—and the calls and messages still came.
“Fine. You wanted to prove a point that the sex was a mistake. Point taken. Let’s move on. I need to finish this assignment, Henry, and I would like us to move past the issue and keep being professional about it. Let’s just make this work until it’s done and we can get on with our separate lives.”
Her assumption that he considered it a mistake made his chest tighten, but he couldn’t find it in him to respond to her message yet. That was just as well as hours later, another painful blackout episode seized him and he woke up with more recorded evidence of his giant transformation. This time, the giant was more violent, a panicked fury forming when it couldn’t get out of the house, and letting that fury loose through broken vases and a torn couch. After carefully reviewing each frame, Henry stored the evidence in a personal safe and quietly cleaned up the mess.
He planned, too, listing them down through code and discarding spells until he found a few that his parents might have used. He planned his itinerary, sticking to trips that wouldn’t seem suspicious while he gathered the needed materials for the spells. That those trips needed to coincide with family matters and might take him years to complete sank his heart, but Henry was resolved to make it work.
Cages. Something hidden, obscure, underground. A portal leading there in case I randomly become a giant on the opposite side of the island. Maybe multiple underground cages.
There was a tick in his ear keeping him company. It took a few more ticks for it to dawn that it was coming from somewhere outside the house—and it was coming fast. With a curse, Henry locked his library and was racing to the back of the house, where the tick was louder and he spotted a portal twinkling into existence. The twinkle became a blinding glitter, urging his energy to crackle in response. He readied for the punch…then, felt his fist slackening when Pearl sashayed in with all the guts and glory of someone ready for battle.
“Pearl,” he couldn’t help saying, thunderstruck.
“Yes. It’s me,” she responded with gusto.
“How did you get past my security—”
“Potions. They rock and can bulldoze through anything if I set my mind to it.” Her chin lifted, gaze locked on him and scanning restlessly. A frown formed when she found him freshly showered and decently dressed.
“I can—”
