“Were you ever going to tell me?” she asks quietly from the doorway. Michael spins around, his head bouncing back and forth looking from me to her, her to me.
“Addie, let me explain…” I start.
“Just answer the question, Kaden. Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Yes, eventually. I would have had to. The Fae Royals aren’t people you can ignore – not easily anyway. I just thought you needed more time.”
“And you don’t think I’m capable of knowing what is best for me? Is that it?” she asks in quiet anger. I can see the rage lighting her eyes, this quiet approach is scarier than when she runs in balls to the wall.
“That’s not it, I just –”
“—thought you knew best. How have you not learnt that secrets destroy everything!”
“Addie, please.”
“No, Kaden, just no! What is it with the Bane brothers thinking they always know what is best for me?” she asks exasperated. “I am a grown woman, Kaden, or did you fail to notice?”
If only I hadn’t noticed, things would be a whole lot easier for me than they are right now.
“I’m not some china doll who needs protecting. I am the Reborn, whatever the hell that means. I have been through more at the age of eighteen than most people experience in a fucking lifetime.”
“I’m sorry, Addie. Truly I am, I was trying to do the right thing. I was trying to look out for you, put you first: be a better man, but I see I was wrong. I went about it in the wrong way. Please, forgive me.”
She huffs and throws her hands in the air. It would be cute is she wasn’t so angry at me.
“Of course, I forgive you. I’d be a heartless bitch if I didn’t after that little spiel, but my mother-dearest can think twice if she thinks I’ll just follow her summons. She doesn’t just get to pick up and play happy families after she abandoned me. She threw me away. I’ve survived long enough without her, and I’ll keep doing so.”
“Addie,” I barter, “that might not be the best plan of action, your mother isn’t the most unyielding of women. She tends to get her way – no matter what.”
“My family is right here, Kaden. You are my family. Michael, Rose, even Celeste. You were here for me when I needed you the most. She didn’t even come to his funeral. I didn’t need her then, and I sure as hell don’t need her now. I don’t want her to be a part of my life; I don’t want to be a princess!”
I had expected some resistance, but not this solid wall. I can see in her eyes that she means every word, and she’ll fight to the death to keep them. “Okay,” I say with resignation. “Just know it won’t be easy. The Royals don’t play by the rules the rest of us have to play by.”
“That is exactly why I don’t want anything to do with them,” she says before spinning on her heel and leaving the room.
I sag back into my chair.
“Well, that went well,” Michael pipes up.
“Oh, yeah, thanks for the help and support there, buddy!”
“Hey, you made the decision to keep it a secret. I agree with her.”
“Celeste knew, too, it’s not like I’m alone – and I know you agree with me in principle – Royal life won’t suit her. She’ll be bundled into dresses and paraded around like some sort of prize; she’d lose her mind.”
“She misses Dimitri. I know you’re leaving again, I’m assuming it’s to see them? It might just be worth a mention."
“Yeah, okay. I’m sure she’d like to see them all. I’ll see what I can do.”
Satisfied, Michael leaves. I’m grateful for the peace and quiet. I have a lot of thinking to do – mostly, I have to work out a way to stop the Royals taking claim of what is rightfully theirs. This should be fun.
I rub my hand down my face and try to shake off the tiredness. I can’t remember the last time life was this chaotic. I pull up the drive of Bane Manor, Xander’s house, our Syreline. It’s not changed a bit since I was here last, which is longer ago than I care to think about. I stop the car in the front courtyard, climb out and take a moment to fully appreciate the grandeur of the place, and to reacquaint myself with the water fountain, whose busty mermaids had held a certain early fascination. Now, however, their stony eyes watch me almost accusingly as I lean back against the 4x4 and try to pull myself together. The house is made of old sandstone. It is a relic from history; all lattice windows and heavy wooden doors. It’s well tended. Potted plants decorate the stairs leading to the door and fairy lights sparkle in the gloom of the day. It feels warm and welcoming, even though I feel like a stranger to my old home.
When I knock on the door, it is opened by a face I do not recognise. Things are always changing. She’s cute – small and smiling, which is a rare welcome for me.
“Kaden, welcome. Come on in. Dimitri is expecting you,” she says enthusiastically before spinning around and springing down the hall. I close the door behind me.
A voice comes from the bottom of the hallway. “Come on, you need to follow me.” I seek out the owner and see a perky brunette waiting for me. As I follow her, I take note of the small changes to the house. It’s brighter and airier than I remember. She skips along in front of me, leading me through the house to where Xander’s office is. Was.
Several people say hello to me as I pass; others glare at me with dislike or suspicion. I can’t blame them, my reconciliation with Xander was never common knowledge. The last they knew, he was alive and at odds with me. Then we fought Cole and he was dead. I can’t hold their doubt against them.
When we arrive at Xander’s office, the door is open, and Dimitri is sat at the desk looking at a map. He is surrounded by scattered papers and tugging at his hair in frustration.
“Alright there, mate?” I ask, falling into the chair the guest-side of the desk.
“I will be when you step up and take charge of the riff raff. I never wanted to run a household; I’m just not made for it,” he says. His frustration melts into a smile. “It’s good to see you, brother.”
“You, too, Dimitri. And as you know as well as I do, you’re far better suited to this than I ever would be.”
“Xander didn’t think so – he left specific instructions should the worst happen – and they include you being here, leading in his place. The house will follow you.”
My expression of cynicism isn’t missed.
“They might not know it yet but that’s because they don’t know you like he did. Like I do.”
I’m still looking sceptical.
“We’ll talk about it again. Kaden, this is your family. Speaking of family, how is Addie?” he asks.
“She misses you, that’s for sure,” I say softly.
“I miss her, too,” he admits. “But I’m not what is best for her right now. She needs to learn how strong she is and how capable. After Xander’s death, she began to lean on me too much. It wasn’t healthy for her – even if she felt otherwise. She’s a Valoire Princess, they’re going to come for her at some point and she needs to be ready. I won’t be able to go with her.”
“Well…” I breathe in deeply, not sure how Dimitri is going to react to my little bit of news.
He cocks his eyebrow. “Well, what?”
“They might have already tried,” I say, clamping my jaw tight.
“Are you kidding me? Already? Its barely been a month since…!”
“I know, man, but the Queen wants Addie returned to her in two weeks. As to be expected, Addie doesn’t want to go, and I’m not going to make her.” I try to act casual, leaning back in the chair as if I’m in control of the situation. I’m anything but.
“Don’t be a fool, Kaden! You’re many things, but a fool isn’t one of them. Is this really a war you want to fight? You know you’ll lose. She’s a Princess, she belongs with them now,” he says looking at me like I’m insane, but a little defeated too, like some of the light in his eyes has dimmed.
“It’s no war. She doesn’t want to go. I’m not going to make her – that’s where we are r
ight now. She’s always been a princess; we just didn’t know it. I’m not going to change how I treat her just because I now know."
“They threw her away, that’s their loss and our gain. I might not have always done right by her, but I’m not going to turn my back on her.” He drops his head into his hands before running one back through his hair. The tension is getting to him.
“Kaden, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to give her some space. Let her go, at least for now. Addie has been through so much – too much. She’s still mourning Xander, and while you try to hide it, it’s clear as day how you feel about her. You need to take a step back and let this play out.” He takes a deep breath, studying me to see if I’m going to lose it. “This is her birth right, Kaden; she deserves to live a life of luxury and to be happy and safe. We can’t offer her that. We don’t know for absolute certain if Cole is dead. You know what a serpent he is. Even if she did manage to kill him, the Seven are still out there – and so are Olivia and Elaihn; and then there is also Logan still in the wind. These are all different threats to her. She will be safe at the Palace. They will protect her.”
“But…” I start but he cuts me off.
“Just think about it. We are going to have enough on just dealing with this lot here. We can send someone with her to The Palace; she will need a personal guard. We’ll send someone we trust.”
“How is the search coming for Cole, Olivia and Elaihn?” I ask, dismissing thoughts of letting Addie go to the palace.
“Slowly,” he responds, letting me get away with brushing over the Addie thing. “We’ve heard nothing about Cole’s whereabouts – as far as everyone is concerned, Addie killed him. The accounts of witnesses are pretty much enough to convince me he’s gone.”
“What did they say?” I ask
“They said she shot at him and on impact, he crumbled into dust, which was carried away by the wind.”
“That sounds… nuts.”
“I know,” he agrees. “But they each said the same thing, and they were questioned separately so I have no reason to doubt it.”
“Alrighty then, what about Olivia and my sister?” I ask eagerly. It’s been so long since I saw her, I thought she was dead. I’ve been so wrapped up in Addie, I’ve barely had time to focus, or even process that my sister is really still alive.
“Sorry,” he says, shaking his head. “I have no further news. Kas sent out a hunting party and the last intel I had was they were trying to head into Canada. It’s not like they can fly, and they’re only moving at night. Olivia is doing well, remembering her evasion training, but they’re going to run out of resources soon enough, and with Elaihn being as fragile as she is, they’re going slower than normal. We’ll catch up to them eventually.”
Nervous excitement washes over me at the prospect of possibly having her back in my life, but at the same time, I’m hesitant. I haven’t forgotten how she was at the end, or what she did. I haven’t forgiven myself for it either. I have no idea what sort of state she’s in, but she’s still my twin.
“Good. What about the seven?”
“I have Gunner and Zero leading teams to hunt them down – theirs are more recon missions. I want to make sure they’re laying low, not planning any backlash. We can’t just kill them, the demons would run riot, but we don’t want them unchecked either. Once I have a status on each of them, I’ll reach out, try to negotiate a peace of sorts with them. The last thing we want right now is another war.”
“And if they step out of line?”
“If that happens, we’ll handle it,” he states seriously.
“See, man, you’ve totally got this under control,” I joke a little, trying to lift the mood.
“Don’t kid yourself, Kaden, this stuff I’m good at; I’ve done it for years. It’s the rest that scares the crap out of me. Family disputes, new Vampyrs. The politics of it all. Dealing directly with the Valoires and organising their protection details. Training. All of it! I’ll handle it until you’re ready, but one day, Kaden, this is all going to be yours.”
“Nah, man, I’m not the right man for this. There are men better than me in just about every way – and I just don’t deserve it.”
“You’re a better man thank you think, Kaden, just look at everything you’ve done for Addie. You didn’t have to do that. You’re still doing it. Xander would be proud of you.”
“Sure he would, even with me falling for his girl,” I laugh, saying it out loud for the first time. Acknowledging it without any worry of the fallout. Maybe I am growing up.
“Even with that. He’s not here, and he’d want you both to be happy, even if that meant being together.”
I mull over his words, but I can’t imagine he’s right. Xander was selfless about almost everything, but never her. Not that I blame him, if she was mine, I’d cherish every second.
“Uh-huh. Anyway, I’m not here for long. I just wanted to catch up. I’ve got a whole world of crazy to deal with back home, so I will leave you to it.”
“Addie being a big ball of fun, huh?”
His laughter reaches his eyes and I note that he seems happier than he has in a while.
“Like you wouldn’t believe. Have you seen Dani since you left?”
“Not yet, but we keep in touch. Though, if you want to hold down the fort here, it’d free up some of my time to get to her,” he pokes.
“Yeah, yeah. Let me know when you’ve got an update?”
“Will do, Kaden. I’ll see you soon.”
I stand before making my own way back out of the house, a little disappointed that Little Miss Perky wasn’t around to show me out.
Walking towards the mansion I hear giggles and squeals coming from the garden. Smiling as I enter, I shake my jacket off, dropping it onto one of the chairs. Slowly, I make my way out towards the noise. Apparently, in the few days I’ve been gone, things have got better. I stand in the back doorway looking out over the green expanse and watch as Addie narrowly evades Michael’s capture in the air.
“You are so wicked fast, Addie, I’ve not seen anyone move and evade so quickly, especially after such a short time of training,” he says, obviously impressed, but peeved he can’t capture her.
She pulls her wings in and drops to the ground gracefully, swiftly followed by Michael. Neither of them have noticed me yet and I move further into the shadows so they don’t. Addie looks better than she did when I left. Advantages of being part Fae, part Fallen, I guess. Her hair is fuller and thicker, her cheeks are no longer gaunt, but rounded, but It’s her eyes that show the biggest difference; she almost looks as young and carefree as she did the first time I saw her.
Back then, she was happy, happier than I’ve seen her since. She still had an air of innocence – one I ripped away from her. The guilt eats me up, and I think Dimitri may have been right – maybe I should let her go. I should do what is best for her, regardless of my feelings for her.
Addie notices me and waves me over, smiling.
“Kaden! You’re home,” she laughs. “Did you see me beat him?” she asks pointing to Michael over her shoulder.
“Oh, sweet girl,” he laughs. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Glad to see you are feeling a little better, Addie.” I say.
She hugs me tightly and I try to ignore her strength; there is part of me that is afraid of it.
“I feel better, a little more like me. Thank you for putting up with my crazy, Kaden.”
“It wasn’t so bad, but if you need anything, you just let us know, okay?”
She nods and steps away from me back towards Michael.
“How about a movie night tonight?” I ask. “You, me, Michael and Celeste? I know we can’t go out and do much at the minute, but this we can do. It will be nice to spend some time together –”
“—what do you mean we can’t go out?” she asks, puzzled.
“I thought you knew! I’m sorry, Addie, it’s not just the Royals who want you now. We have no id
ea where Olivia and Elaihn are, and though we know for sure Cole is dead, thanks to you, The Seven are still M.I.A. We must assume for now that you’re at risk. The Palace probably is the safest place for you at present,” I say, putting my hand up to stop her as she tries to interrupt me. “I know you don’t want to go there, and I don’t want you there either. I want you where I can see you. Where I can protect you.”
She spins and hard-eyes Michael, who is staring at his feet sheepishly. “Why has no-one said anything to me about any of this?” she demands.
“Addie, come on,” Michael says flatly. “You’ve been going through so much; we didn’t want to add to it. We could handle this for you, so we did. You need to learn to trust us.”
I watch her visibly deflate, the fight leaves her. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Thank you.”
“So how about that movie? I’ve got this great one I’ve been meaning to watch. It’s about robots taking over the world, ha!” I try to lift the mood and they both just laugh at me.
“Whatttt? It’s meant to be good! Kas told me about it. Says new movies have nothing on old ones.”
“Sure, why not?” Addie agrees. “Can we get burgers though? Man, I’ve missed burgers! The one I had the other day just wasn’t enough to cut it,” she says with a huge grin.
“I’ll get the grill going. Go and round up some blanket and stuff, get them down to the cinema room. Drag Celeste into helping you, she’ll love it really, even though she’ll bitch and moan the entire time.”
Addie heads off enthusiastically whilst I get started on heating up the outdoor grill. I can’t even remember the last time we used it. I light it and close the lid, waiting for the coal to heat.
“So,” Michael asks, “what you said earlier, about her being safer at The Palace? Is that true?” He sits down on the wall, indicating that he’s expecting a full explanation.
Soar (The Immortal Chronicles Book 3) Page 4
