Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Helios was a big hit with Alistair’s kids.
And his grandmother, surprisingly. Once he was assured by more than one member of Alistair’s family that they’d keep an eye on him, Elijah released the feline in the house, and the mage clan descended on him like a flock of worshippers, giving him treats and pets like it was his due.
Helios soaked up the attention, lording over his new followers with a strut in his step and a smug look that Elijah had never seen on a cat before.
He’d be a nightmare to live with once they headed home.
Being treated like a little prince for an entire day would make him entitled, he was sure of it.
Alistair spent most of his time on the ground, wrestling with his kids or playing games with them.
Elijah joined in on a few games, but he didn’t want to intrude, so eventually he got up to grab drinks for the little family and give them some time alone.
He headed into the kitchen, pouring glasses of pink lemonade Alistair’s cousin had made.
He was looking in the cupboard for something to carry them when more people came into the kitchen, speaking to each other in hushed tones Elijah couldn’t help overhearing.
“I thought you said he was unstable?” a male voice hissed.
“He was,” a female voice snapped back in a harsh whisper. “The last time I saw him, he was a shell of himself.”
The cupboard he’d been looking through just happened to be in the pantry and out of direct line of sight of the kitchen, blocking him from view of the speakers.
Elijah generally didn't like to eavesdrop, but he got the feeling they were talking about Alistair, and he couldn’t move. He needed to hear what they had to say.
“He still is unstable,” a new male voice said, this one sounding older and more pompous. “He’s wearing magical blockers. He seems normal, because he has no access to his magic.”
The female voice gasped, and a cup clattered against the counter like she’d knocked it over. “Magical blockers? When? How? I thought he was getting treatment.”
“I visited him a few times while he was institutionalized,” the older voice commented blandly. “I pointed out how he wasn’t getting any better and told him he was wasting all our time by pretending otherwise. When I last saw him, I brought the blockers with me.”
Cold sank under Elijah’s skin, settling in his chest and spreading outward.
The room seemed to dim, and white noise filled his ears.
His feet moved without his say so, and he stepped out into the kitchen, taking in the group crowded around the island.
The woman he recognized as Alistair’s ex.
Isaac had pointed her out, as well as the people beside her.
Her fiancé and Alistair’s ex father-in-law.
Elijah paid little mind to the couple, his eyes locked on the older man with the thin mustache and arrogant sneer.
“You. You did that to him?” he murmured.
The older man looked over his shoulder, looking Elijah over with a frown. “Who are you?”
Elijah ignored the question, asking one of his own instead. “Why? Why would you do that to him? He was trying to get better. Did you even give him a chance?”
The man scoffed. “It was bad enough that he needed treatment in the first place. It was selfish of him to drag it out and let his family suffer the embarrassment of being tied to him.”
Selfish? Not once since they met had Alistair ever been selfish.
He put Elijah’s needs before his own, comforting him even when they barely knew each other, and he was obviously uncomfortable.
He was protective, watching over Elijah without expecting a thing in return, and when he was having a rough day, Alistair did everything in his power to make it better.
There wasn’t an ounce of selfishness in him.
To say he was an embarrassment just because he needed help was wrong on so many levels.
“You’re a monster.”
“Excuse me?” the older man spluttered. “Do you know who I am?”
Elijah shook his head, eyes wide with the unfamiliar fury coursing through his veins. He’d never felt this angry in his entire life.
“I don't care who you are. You’re a monster. You got in his head before he had a chance to get better. You were the one who convinced him he had no other option. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
The ex, Edwina, spun around to glare at him. “Why don’t you mind your own business?”
The man beside her, for his part, didn’t say anything. He was frowning deeply, and the emotions coming off him were a modge podge of confusion and disgust, but Elijah couldn’t tell if that was because of him or what they did to Alistair.
“Does his family know? Do they know you were visiting him? Talking to him about things like that?” he continued, refusing to be cowed about this.
He wasn’t confrontational by nature, but convincing Alistair he needed the blockers while he was still going through treatment was beyond cruel.
It was inhumane. He was vulnerable, and that bastard got into his head.
“Stay out of it,” the old man hissed. “I was just offering him my opinion. He was the one who decided to use the blockers.”
For the first time in his life, Elijah let his magic swell, becoming an oppressive blanket of telepathic energy fueled by his rage. “You knew what you were doing! You manipulated a broken man into cutting himself off from everything that makes him whole! All for what? Your image? You’re a monster!”
“What the hell are you?” Alistair’s ex screamed.
He’d show them. It wouldn’t take more than a thought. He could show those cruel people what it was like to be cut off from their magic. Cut off from their loved ones. He could make it last forever if he wanted to. He–
Someone grabbed his wrist, spinning him around.
Elijah barely had a chance to take in that it was Alistair before his lips were taken in a ferocious kiss.
Along with it came wave after wave of emotions from Alistair; pain, worry, protectiveness, and a heavy dose of pride that surprised Elijah enough to draw him out of his wrath.
As the fury drained away, Alistair’s voice in his head took its place, his magic still open enough to catch every word.
It’s okay. You did good. Come back to me, Eli.
Letting out an unsteady breath, he relaxed in Alistair’s arms, letting the emotions of the man holding him soothe his ragged nerves. When Alistair pulled him closer, Elijah buried his face against Alistair’s shoulder, hugging him tightly as he wrestled his magic back under control again.
Shouts broke through the white noise in his ears, and he finally tuned back into the conversation to hear Alistair’s grandmother, Agatha, confronting the older man from before.“Answer the question, Gerard! Was he speaking the truth?”
“Agatha, I didn’t–”
“Sirene? Do you have anything to say?” Agatha demanded, ignoring the older man’s protest.
“I’m sure this was just a misunderstanding,” a new voice, he assumed Sirene, replied uneasily. “That man is obviously a jealous lover causing trouble, I’m sure–”
The room seemed to shake and darken, making Elijah finally look up.
Outside the windows, the sun was still shining, and he could see the kids and extended family playing like nothing was wrong.
But in the kitchen, the room was cold and dark, the phenomenon seeming to spill from the elder facing off with Alistair’s ex and her family.
“Someone had better tell me the truth now or there will be consequences,” she hissed, her voice foreboding and edged in danger. It was enough to scare the family across from her and Gerard finally started speaking, his hands waving as he tried to defend himself.
“It was a suggestion! He was a threat to my grandchildren! They shouldn’t have to suffer just because he failed his mission!”
“Failed? He was a POW!” a middle aged woman with the same colored hair as Alistair shouted, outrage etched into her expression.
“As the leader of his unit–” he started.
Elijah felt his magic swell again, but this time he wasn’t alone. Agatha seemed to spark with electricity, and the cupboards and doors all rattled as wind raced through the room. The woman, Sirene, put her hands up, seeming to realize they were treading on thin ice.
“He didn’t mean that. Alistair obviously wasn’t at fault for what happened. But even you have to admit he wasn’t the same when he came back. He wasn’t getting any better with treatment. It was just a suggestion. An option he chose to take himself.”
“You never gave him a chance,” Elijah spoke up from the circle of Alistair’s arms, glaring at them. “Treatment after that kind of trauma takes time and trust. He trusted you to have his best interests at heart. You took advantage of that.”
Gerard spun to face him, his teeth bared in outrage, but before he could say a word, Agatha cut in.
“He’s right. You took advantage of my family. You need to leave this place. Immediately. Leave and never return.”
He might have been willing to argue with Elijah, but he wasn’t willing to pick a fight with the head of the Silverbreeze clan. With one last final glower in Elijah’s direction, he spun on his heel, marching out of the kitchen with his wife hurrying to follow him.
“Did you know, Edwina?” Agatha demanded of Alistair’s ex.
Edwina was frowning deeply, her eyes cast in the direction her parents had left. She finally shook her head, turning back to face Agatha. Her gaze lifted to look at Alistair next, and she shook her head a little more firmly.
“No. I didn't know he was even visiting. I was busy trying to deal with the kids and–” She cut herself off, shaking her head one last time. “I didn’t know.”
She was leaving parts out, like how she seemed intent on taking advantage of Alistair being unstable when they were speaking earlier, but Elijah didn't bring that up just yet. There was something more important that needed to be addressed.
“Will this affect you seeing your kids?” he murmured to Alistair.
He’d never intended to put strain on Alistair’s relationship with his ex.
Alistair didn’t get to see them enough as it was.
Now, with the in-laws effectively banished from the house, they could try to take the kids away.
Elijah would be devastated if he had a hand in that.
Alistair’s grip on him tightened, giving away his fear of that outcome even before the swell of it overtook his emotions.
Elijah swallowed hard, digging his fingers a little tighter into Alistair’s clothes.
He wasn’t ready to lose this man. He kind of felt like he never would be.
If losing his temper caused trouble for Alistair, he’d never use his magic again.
Isaac swept into the room without knocking, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Edwina.
He must have caught at least some of the conversation because he asked the question outright that he and Alistair were both thinking.
“Are you planning on keeping my niblings away from my brother after what your parents did to him? Are you really that much of a bitch?”
“Isaac!” Agatha snapped, scowling at him.
Isaac didn’t even flinch, shooting her a stubborn look.
“What? I heard what they said. It was lucky that Maverick thought to take the kids into the forest to play so they didn't have to hear it.” He swung back around to Edwina. “It was already bad enough showing up here with Dillweed Dilwyn. Are you really so callous as to keep your kids away from their father? Because I won’t stand by and let things stay that way. I hope you know that.”
Flustered, Edwina said, “I never intended to keep Alistair away from his kids. I only kept them apart because it wasn’t safe!”
“Even if your parents tell you not to let them near me?”