“Reven,” Kaleo said, trotting over to the bard.
Reven offered the same flat glare he offered before making Kaleo’s wings sag. The bard had half a mind to beat the boy bloody for the nonsense he pulled. “I’m sorry.”
The second apology of the day. Surely the end days were nigh.
Kaleo remained silent, eyes cast down. He split his time between Aeron and the boy with the clawed hands since their return. Jaysen’s story was both sad and curious all at once. A Speaker like Kaleo and Reven, but one Claimed so young as to be nearly unheard of. He remembered very little of life prior to being a Speaker and then very little of life without being Corrupted. The wounds he received were as serious as Aeron’s and equally difficult to heal because of the Corruption. He and Kaleo met in Yira’s Realm as children, both seeking a friend and finding it in their imagination rather than reality. The irony of that made Reven sigh.
“I know,” the bard finally said, pulling Kaleo into a tight hug. He felt the hesitation in Kaleo, unsure of how to respond to the new act of affection. “Try to listen more. I don’t want to lose my urchin.”
Kaleo’s arms wrapped around Reven’s middle then, squeezing tightly with a nod that was given into the bard’s chest.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The manse felt a great deal emptier without the Kormandi. Sure, Nadya remained and her mute shadow-born friend, but things felt quieter, less cluttered. A letter was sent with Sergio bound for Tierra Vida, informing the refugees of where the king intended to go. It was because of two Kormandi survivors that Navid knew where to find Aeron or the girls to find Kaleo. Paths all at a crossroads of each other.
Reven sat with Serai in the garden, the early morning sun rising up into the sky with a scalding heat that threatened to melt everyone into a puddle. They enjoyed the peace all the same. True peace appeared to be a distant dream, however, with too many things tearing apart the bard’s carefully laid out path and mucking it up with debris or ridiculous mountains. He held tight to the little moments of sanity he could grasp.
“You are thinking loud again,” Serai said, leaning her head on his shoulder. She entwined her fingers with his, tracing some of the tiny scars on the tops of his hands. He smirked, leaning his head against hers.
“Things are changing,” he said. “The things I know, things that have happened… It’s hard to make sense of it.”
She squeezed his hand, a silent reminder that he would not have to make sense of things alone. Malek hovered in the verdure that grew over the retaining wall of the garden with Azure perched on the drake’s head. The phoenix liked perching atop heads. He and Serai spoke to Kaleo about Fionn, the three of them making a promise to not keep secrets from each other. The boy sat with Jaysen, explaining things to the Corrupted tywyll now that he was awake. Serai did not like what was done to him or the one called Xandrix. Knowing that such things existed made her bristle like an angry alley cat defending her litter. Reven understood why - what was done was horrific, unnatural, cruel.
“What do you think of Sergio?” Reven asked, needing to focus on something normal.
“I like him. His eyes shrink when he smiles,” Serai answered. Reven snorted softly. Their peace did not last long.
“UNCLE!”
Reven and Serai both stood, frowning as the twins ran out into the garden with tears streaming down their faces. They both collided with Reven’s middle, making him fall back onto the retaining wall as they sobbed into his belly, sorrow striking the bard with full force. Their brother was gone. He looked to Serai, unable to find words to console them, to make things right. She shared the same grief, the same helplessness that Reven felt. Nothing assuaged loss.
“I’m sorry,” Reven said softly, stroking the girls’s hair. Navid hovered in the doorway to the garden on the verge of tears.
“Help him,” Eila begged.
“Please!” Rielle sobbed. Reven’s heart broke for them.
“Master bard!”
Lara. Reven’s stomach sank into his bowels.
Now what? The girl ran into the manse and out into the garden where everyone was gathering, chest heaving. He saw Kaleo hovering in the sitting room, trying to glean what was happening.
“You need to leave,” Lara panted, trotting to Reven while looking for Kaleo. He scooted past Navid, moving to Lara’s side with concern on his face for his sobbing cousins.
“Your mother is crazy,” Lara continued. “There are soldiers in town. They are coming for you. They will be here soon.”
“Are you bloody joking?” Kaleo screeched. The girls sniffled, looking up at Reven then at Lara.
“I wish. The woman in charge, she does not look happy,” Lara added.
“I’d imagine not,” Navid growled. “Leave it to your mother to send the one woman in all of creation that actually terrifies me. Do I even want to know what you’ve done to earn her ire?”
“Probably not,” Kaleo admitted. “We need to leave. Right now. Tondra is not going to pull her punches this time. It isn’t safe here anymore.”
The last was directed at Reven, making the bard shake his head in annoyance. Of course it wasn’t safe; why would his own house be safe? Nothing was ever easy.
“I can’t get everyone away. There’s too many,” Reven sighed.
“I can,” Serai said looking at Kaleo. “You will tell me where to go. I will take us there.”
Kaleo nodded, looking up at Navid then at Reven again with an apology in his big eyes. He certainly stuck his foot in
