Chapter 27 #2
Cults and tattoos, ash and altars and rituals.
Victims all originating from the same isle, having connections to the same apothecary.
Though that lead had only provided a list of recent purchases with negligible overlap, it was shaping up before him, he knew it, without any guidance from the fucking Fates.
Still, he couldn’t help the nagging feeling that one thread was missing. That if he could latch on to it from the dark void in his mind, he may be able to make sense of this.
Grabbing his sword from beside the desk, Roremar slung it across his back and headed for the door.
His stomach twisted with nerves at the thought of leaving his siblings while they went to Alvan.
At the thought of Nico or any of the others living less-than-happy lives because of his own well-earned pain.
“Oh, Fate’s ass,” Nico swore, and Roremar quirked a brow. “In all your misery, I forgot the reason I came to find you.”
“Other than your secret love for the woman who feels like sunshine?”
Nico narrowed his eyes, and Roremar could already see him wishing he’d held on to that precise description. “Yes, other than that. Uncle Aldryn is in the kitchen with Mother. He wants a word.”
Roremar groaned. “Great.”
Enthusiastic voices echoed down the hall before Roremar and Nico entered the kitchen. Leo.
Of course, he put off going to bed once he knew their uncle was there.
The kid had lost his father when he was four.
He clung to any potential male role model he saw.
It always grated on Roremar, though. Leo didn’t remember Aldryn hadn’t been around much those early years.
Still was only around when it suited him.
Leo’s reliance on someone who hadn’t always been reliable set Roremar on edge.
Before they entered, Nico put a hand on his shoulder. “You still haven’t told Emmeline we’re related to the Temple Master?”
“No.” Roremar grimaced.
“Maybe you should? She’s bound to find out, and she didn’t seem too keen on deception when I first met her.”
A part of him knew Nico was right, but a larger part of him didn’t want to open up his complex relationship with his uncle to scrutiny. Emmeline would likely be mad, though.
Roremar sighed. “Maybe.” He strode into the kitchen before Nico could prod more.
“Uncle,” Roremar greeted. His mother and Leo were seated atop wooden stools at the island, Aldryn leaning against the counter, his clothes perfectly tailored as always, though Leo’s pants were about an inch too short, and their mother had already let out the hems.
Roremar kissed his mother on the cheek, adding to his uncle, “What brings you here?”
“How are the preparations treating you?” he asked.
“Good. Nico and I are heading to Desmond’s soon. We leave early tomorrow, and it’s closer to the docks.” Plus, he’d sworn to protect Emmeline day and night.
“I can’t believe you’re going to Alvan,” Leo gushed.
He spun toward their uncle, the same wavy hair Roremar and Nico bore flopping over his ears, though Leo’s was a few shades lighter.
“Did you know they have a museum—well, they have lots since they’re dedicated to the arts and magical studies—but there’s one that supposedly has real sculptures carved by Aevollon himself using chisels crafted from actual stars. ”
“I did, my boy,” Aldryn said, smiling fondly. “I’ve seen them myself, too.”
“Really?” Leo’s attention snapped to Roremar. “If you see them you have to tell me all about them. Maybe Desmond can draw them for me.”
“Sure thing, kid.” Roremar exchanged a glance with his mother, her eyes sparkling at her youngest son’s curiosity about the world. The same soft smile on her lips as Aldryn, her brother.
Though she was quiet, it was refreshing to see her happy instead of worn out or in pain. Instead of drowning in her own grief and loneliness.
At the thought of that word, hazel eyes flashed through his memory again. His chest ached, but Leo’s enthusiastic babbling about the wonders of Alvan soothed it. Aldryn listened to every word, teaching him even more.
While Roremar couldn’t get himself to release the grudge entirely, he supposed it was good his uncle was here now, even if he hadn’t always been. He couldn’t take that for granted.
“Leo,” their mother finally said, “I think it’s time you go up to bed. Let your brothers talk to your uncle a bit before their journey.”
Reluctantly, Leo said a drawn-out goodnight, spewing facts with every stair he climbed. It was exactly that innocence that Roremar wanted to nurture. Every time one of his siblings displayed it so unabashedly, his resolve to protect them solidified—through whatever means necessary.
“Be safe, you two,” Roremar’s mother said, kissing Nico on the cheek, then him. To Roremar, she added, “You’ll take care of him?”
Nico scoffed as if to say, I’m an adult, but Roremar nodded. “Always do.”
She took her leave, and then it was just Roremar, Nico, and Aldryn. A heaviness hung in the air, anticipation itching along Roremar’s skin.
“Why are you really here?” he asked. The mystlights in the kitchen were dim, the one above the worktable flickering, but he swore he saw a flash of uncertainty pass across the Temple Master’s face.
“I’ve got the letter that will grant you access to the Alvan Accords.” Aldryn pulled an envelope from an inner pocket of his cloak and handed it to Roremar.
“Thank you,” he said, tucking it into his pocket.
Falliare’s expression hardened. “This culprit has been getting closer. First with Miss DeLeoste, then the recent victim at the Academy. I think they know you are getting closer, as well. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that scared them into action.”
His stare probed Roremar, and he had the sudden feeling of being exposed. Vulnerability scratched at his throat, the instinct to look away nearly overpowering.
But he held his uncle’s firm gaze.
“Maybe that’s what we need,” Roremar suggested.
“Get them to slip up. Either way, we’re taking every precaution necessary.
That’s why Desmond and Nico are both coming.
We won’t let Emmeline leave our sight, and she’s prepared to read in regular intervals throughout the day, so we’ll be alert to anything nefarious waiting in the star paths. ”
As long as the fucking cruel Fates were willing to divulge it.
“And you’ve secured lodgings?” Aldryn verified.
“Yes,” Roremar swore, and Nico nodded along beside him. “Two rooms at the place you advised, prepared to host us as long as necessary. Thank you for the help with that.”
“Of course, boys.”
Concern flickered through his uncle’s words, so Roremar adopted the deepest air of confidence he could. “We’re going to find out who’s responsible for this.”
TO TEMPT THE FATES, AND REALMS WILL WREST,
The bloody words pressed into his memory, Emmeline’s petrified stare following.
They were getting closer. They had to be scaring someone if they’d triggered an attack. The pieces were there; he just had to find the image they built.
Jaw tight, Roremar added, “And no one will touch Emmeline again. I’ll give my life before it comes to that.”
Nico stiffened at the vow in Roremar’s voice, but he didn’t make eye contact with his brother. Couldn’t address the questions certainly laying there while trying to assure their uncle.
“Yes, well, let’s hope your defenses are enough,” the Temple Master said, again looking at Roremar like he was seeing straight into his spirit. “We have less than three weeks until the Revels.”
Less than three weeks to unveil a murderer and ensure his family’s stability. The pressure knotted Roremar’s chest, but he nodded dutifully. As they left the house, he looked back at the shuttered windows, his world asleep inside, and swore he’d take care of them.
And that one day, they’d all have the freedom and futures they deserved.