Blood Brother Cursed (Sexton Blood Brothers #2)

Chapter 7

Some of the Pieces

By the time Phoenix walked into the kitchen, Astrid had shifted back into her human form and was removing items from the fridge. His tone was amused when he said, “I didn’t expect you to show off.”

She looked over her shoulder while putting the eggs on the counter. “I was just returning the favor. I just chose a more appropriate and private environment.”

“At least you have some sense when it comes to shifting. Although,” he tilted his head to the side, “it certainly explains why you were able to get away so easily. I have to admit, of all the cat shifters I’ve met, finding an ocelot is a first for me. It’s not exactly normal this far north.”

She stopped moving around the kitchen and looked at him. Elliott wasn’t the only person who could help her. “You know a lot of cat shifters?”

“Yes, they are one of the most common types of shifters, and they are the ones who are most likely to leave their birthplaces.”

“I’ve never known any.”

Phoenix just looked at her before asking, “Wasn’t your mother a cat shifter?”

“Apparently, yes.”

“You don’t know?”

“I never knew my mother, so I only have what Dad and Evan told me about her. She was gone before my first birthday.”

The room fell silent for a bit, except for the sounds of her moving around the kitchen and preparing food. Finally, he asked, “Is it something you want to talk about?”

Astrid kept her head down and worked as she pondered the question. Phoenix waited, allowing her time to think. “I’m not sure. It’s not something that I’ve really considered. I was too young to have developed a more mature opinion,” she turned and looked at him. “Mostly, I just asked why she left and cried when I didn’t get an answer that I could understand.”

She resumed working on their breakfast. “I didn’t talk to my dad about it since he had enough to worry about after Evan died. At this point, I’m not sure what good would come from talking about it. She ran off without any explanation. I don’t know how talking about it with anyone besides her would help. And I’m not even sure that I want to talk to her.”

“If you want, I could find her for you.”

She looked over at him. “Why?”

He shrugged. “It would give you a chance to learn more about her and yourself. Or you can just take on the information and file it away.”

She leaned against the counter as the food cooked. “You know, in all of my time working in cybersecurity, I never even considered looking for her.”

He gave her a soft smile. “That’s probably your answer then.”

After a moment of reflection, Astrid stood up. “Yeah. I think that’s probably… right.”

“But If you do want to talk about it at some point, I’m here for now.”

“So, you are planning on leaving?”

“It’s inevitable, given my job, but once I get this problem resolved, there will be thousands of others that need my attention.”

“Are you saying that you are neglecting thousands of problems to fix this one?”

“Against the wishes of everyone I know, yes.”

“It’s been twenty years since Evan died. Why did you wait until now to start looking into it?”

“My stepmother convinced my father that it was more profitable to be used elsewhere.”

Her head whipped around, and she looked at him. “Your stepmother?”

“Yes. My mother died when I was a few years old, so I don’t really remember her.”

“I’m so sorry – wait, you remember her?”

“Yes. I have a much better memory than most, thanks to my mother’s genetics. I got a lot from her, most of it good.”

“And the curse?”

His cool blue eyes held her gaze. “That’s from my dad, a calculated move on his part. He married my mother because her family was powerful and important in their community of polar bear shifters.”

“Really?” She was surprised by this, but he confirmed it by nodding. “You can’t shift into a dragon or a polar bear, can you?”

He laughed. “No, no. Shifters only have two forms, although I would certainly rather have been a bear because I wouldn’t have to deal with the curse.”

“It’s tied to you being a dragon shifter?”

“Yes, it’s a very calculated move on my father’s part.” His tone had changed, and he sounded bitter.

“How so?”

“I was told when my mother died that it was my fault. My father never bothered to bond with me, ensuring that I would never feel close to him. Naturally, he had a built-in way of turning me against him.”

“How?”

“I was five when he told me he was the reason I was cursed and that no one wanted to get close. He made sure to marry a really horrible woman years later and had my brothers. I don’t think they know that we are only half-siblings. And they think I’m younger than I am.”

“Because you couldn’t get close to them.”

He nodded.

“Do they know about the curse?”

He shook his head. “There was no point in telling them. I was always the aloof older brother who was too busy working to spend time with them.”

For the first time in a long time, Astrid felt that someone actually had it worse than she did. She plated the food, then brought it over to the table.

“Oh, shoot! I forgot about drinks. What would you like? Juice? Coffee? Tea?”

“Tap water’s fine.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“I can taste the food better if I’m not mixing it was flavors from the drink.”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it. Are you sure, though?”

“Yes, you said they have improved the bacon, so I want to see if that’s true.”

Astrid got him his water, then poured herself some juice. They sat and ate in silence, except for the sounds of their utensils pinging and scraping against their plates. When Phoenix finished, he gave his critique of the meal.

“It was good. The way you make eggs is very different from anything I’ve had before.”

“How so?”

“My dad taught me, and he’s from Louisiana, so I’m guessing that his way was inspired by the region.”

“It’s possible. I’ve never actually been there.”

“You’ve never been to Louisiana?”

He shook his head. “No, dragons don’t tend to do well in those climates.”

“What? Really? I mean, because I thought lizards would do much better in warmer places.”

“Lizards, yes. But,” he said, smiling at her, “dragons are able to breathe fire, so getting cold really isn’t an issue. Staying cool can be.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that.”

“Did you even know that dragons were real before you saw me shift?”

“Um, no,” she said and smiled. “I thought they were fake.”

“You’ve done a great job learning how to manage your powers, but you clearly need to learn a lot about the shifter world.”

“As funny as it sounds, I think you’re right.”

“How is that funny?”

“Between my dad, Evan, and me, we have three different types of shifter blood, but we really didn’t know that much about it. Most of what my dad knew was from his first wife, Evan’s mom. But I don’t think they were together for more than a few years, and I don’t know when they found out about each other’s abilities. And my mom wasn’t any help since he didn’t know she was a shifter until she had me. I’m not sure why it finally came out then.”

Phoenix reached out and placed his hand palm down on the table. “I dare say your father was probably in the room when you were born, and it became obvious.”

“Why would it matter?”

“Because, Astrid, we are all born in our natural form.”

After a pause, she said, “I came out as a cat?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean that my mother had to shift first?”

“No, women stay in their human form to give birth most of the time. But infants always make it obvious if they have shifting abilities right from the beginning. No one has to teach you how to shift.”

Astrid said, “I never really thought about that. My dad kept me home for the longest time because I shifted a lot when I was young. It was only when Evan made me promise not to shift around other people that I stopped.”

“So, Evan convinced you not to shift in public?”

“Yes, the fear of disappointing him made me keep that promise. I really loved my brother.”

While maintaining eye contact, Phoenix nodded. “He was very charismatic and easy to get along with.”

“I still miss him.” It was the first time Astrid had voiced that feeling in a while. Suddenly, she started crying.

She was vaguely aware of the plates being moved, and then something was placed in her lap. Astrid looked down and saw that it was a handkerchief. He had taken their dishes and moved them to the sink to wash while she cried. He didn’t interrupt her as she just wept. But at one point, he came over and rubbed her back.

This brought her back to the present. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t invite you here for this,” Astrid snuffled. “Let me go get cleaned up.”

“Actually, I need to get going. Why don’t you get some sleep and try to recover and maybe reflect on your rather rash decisions.”

She smiled a little while wiping a tear away with the hankie. “I suppose I need to clean this now,” she said, holding it up to him.

“Keep it. I have plenty of others.” He patted her shoulder. “Have a good day, and let me know if you need help with anything.”

Phoenix was halfway to the door when she called out, “Can we get together again?”

“Sorry, Astrid. But from here on out, it has to be work only. I’m not going to be the reason why both you and your brother died.”

Even though he confirmed what she had thought, Astrid wasn’t sure how to respond. A part of her was angry. He clearly knew about the curse when he befriended her brother, but he did it anyway. At the same time, she knew what her brother was like. Unlike her, he was gregarious, and everyone loved him. Astrid was combative and temperamental. Evan was mellow and level-headed. Phoenix had left by the time she could think of something to say.

Exhaustion hit her hard. Dragging herself to the bathroom, Astrid made quick work of removing the grime from the last twenty-four hours. As soon as she reached her bed, she collapsed and slept for over ten hours. Her dreams were peaceful and included a pair of soft, clear blue eyes.