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“A broken titan with half a soul and no power is not the same as a titan of old.” Baelen scoffed. “They were gods.”
This alarmed me more than any of the other strange behavior I had seen of him, because he hadn’t ever referred to me as a broken titan. But his fathers had.Have they done something to him?I knew his relationship with them was tempestuous, to say the least, but would they hurt Baelen in this way? But why would they make him behave like this if they wanted him to be with us?Perhaps they don’t.
But where do the shadows come in?
Regardless, Clawdia was right. This was not our Baelen. Whether brain damaged or under some mystical influence, I needed to observe and work out this problem. This, at least, I could do. My frown deepened, and I sat on the sofa to watch.
Everyone was silent for a period after Baelen’s announcement. Sigurd finally said, “I suppose that must be it.”
“I’m glad to satisfy your curiosity. I wonder if you might assuage mine.” He paused, looking around the room but still not meeting my eyes. “Privately.”
What could he possibly want to ask privately of a male he has only just met?
“Of course.”
Charlie’s eyebrows shot up, and his eyes flicked over to my Little Cat, who still had her back to us but was clearly listening and speaking to Charlie. “I’ll come with you.”
A dark look crossed Baelen’s face like a shadow before it cleared. “Private means—“
Sigurd tilted his head as he interrupted. “Charlie is my distant relative. Anything you have to say can surely be said with family present.”
The silence as Baelen considered this echoed. When he eventually muttered, “Of course,” and gave a false smile, everyone seemed confused.
Charlie followed them into the bedroom, and voices reverberated through the walls of the cabin.
“Strange,” Joseph remarked. “Is he always like that?”
“We are assessing the effect the portal might have had on him,” I replied diplomatically. “Did you get all the information you needed from Sigurd?”
“Yes, he confirmed all you told us. It’s helpful to know he is a creature of the realms. We hope to find living relatives of other Drakorians who might have information about their hoards.”
“Sigurd told us the descendants are dead.”
“Nothing truly goes extinct here. We are so accessible by the other realms that we’ll never just be a realm of humans.”
“And have your teams had any news on Fafnir?”
“Not yet. But with Arabella and Isaac back with their teams, we should have better coordination and better results.”
“They’ve gone already? Where is Alcor?”
“He’s gone with them but as a civilian. He is not to be involved in any missions.” But the turn of Joseph’s lip seemed to suggest he didn’t agree with the decision.
I worried for our demon friend. Being so close to the danger and having no recent memories of the woman who betrayed him was a recipe for disaster. I wished I had had the opportunity to speak to him before he left. To assure him he always had a home with us if worse came to worst. I sighed and reminded myself to ask Charlie about getting contact details for them, just in case.
The bedroom door opened, and Charlie, Sigurd, and Baelen stomped out.
“All done?” Joseph asked, not disguising his curiosity.
Sigurd and Baelen remained silent and rigid. Charlie grimaced and replied with an awkward, “Yep.”
Sensing the odd energy, Joseph clapped his hands. “Well, I suggest we all leave Sigurd to rest. He certainly needs it.” Sigurd gave him a smile and a grateful nod. Joseph looked at Charlie, Baelen, and me with a false smile, which set my teeth on edge. “I wanted to remind you of our meeting yesterday, in which we all agreed to support and fill the wards. With your very rare gifts, I’m sure you will be very helpful in ensuring we are kept safe here. We don’t want anyone finding an excuse to throw you off the island.” He chuckled, but the threat was made very clear.
Clawdia dropped down from the fridge and walked out of the door, her tale swatting from side to side as she wandered into the green landscape.
Joseph chuckled again. “That’s the spirit, Clawdia.” He turned back to us and waggled his brows. “You are certainly in the doghouse with that one.” He walked slowly after her, still chuckling.
I sighed. “I’ll leave your clothes in the cabin, then,” I called after her, but she’d already disappeared.
