Chapter Seventeen #2
I wanted to get to the council room as quickly as possible. I hurried out the door and Oberi followed, his paws padding on the marble. Takahashi went in a different direction to summon the Demigod Guardians.
I was unprepared for the grasp of pointed nails that dug into my neck, wrenching me off my feet before slamming me into a marble column.
I panicked, flailing as I attempted to fend off my attacker, but my arms went limp as I felt the warmth of raging flames ripple up my body.
The fires licked at my skin but didn’t burn, signaling that a powerful Koigni had surrounded me with their magic.
The nails dug in deeper, and I caught a smell of expensive perfume as the skirts of a velvet dress swished around my shoes.
A lioness Familiar gave a rumbling growl, which made my blood run cold.
“You absolute vermin,” a spiteful transatlantic accent hissed in my ear. “It wasn’t enough for you to take away my granddaughter’s magic and Familiar, was it? No. You had to saddle her with an infant.”
I’d barely spoken to her, but she’d been intimidating enough that I could never forget that voice.
Eleanor Doya. Ava’s grandmother, and Sophia’s mother, had cornered me here in this hallway.
She was strong for an elderly woman. I squirmed against her hold, but I didn’t think I could break out of her grasp unless I hurt her, which I wasn’t stupid enough to do.
The lioness at her side gave another deadly snarl.
“My dear, please, let’s take a breath.” The pleading voice of an older man, whimpering as he cowered beside his wife, did nothing to ease the conflict.
“Elliot, I’ve had enough. I’ve dealt with far worse cockroaches in my time than him. He’s an afterthought,” Doya spat.
At least Professor Baine was with her, but I doubted he’d be able to convince his wife to let me live, or step in if she committed to burning me alive.
Baine was definitely terrified of his spouse, so if Doya decided to end me, Baine would stand there and allow her to do whatever she was going to do.
It was hard to breathe with her hand lodged against my throat. Oberi didn’t react to bite or bark, just stood there patiently.
That meant he trusted her, at least to a point. My Familiar could read people’s intentions. I had to follow his lead. I lifted my hands in surrender, signaling I wasn’t a threat.
“I’ve failed to deal with you properly since you broke my granddaughter’s bond,” Doya snarled. “But I have my limits, and you have far past exceeded them. No one double-crosses my beloved Ava and fails to pay the price.”
“It was my bond, too.” I managed to croak the words, hoping that was the right thing to say.
Doya scoffed. “Please. Men only think of themselves. The only reason I haven’t seen fit to turn you into ashes is due to your ties to that poor creature beside you. I cannot take Oberi away from Ava, and unfortunately, he remains bonded to you.”
No wonder Ava was so fierce. Doya’s blood blazed through her veins. “I never meant to hurt her.”
“I don’t care what you meant.” The heat of a fireball was held so closely to my cheek that I swore the five o’clock shadow on my face was melting away.
“Death may be out of the question, but there are ways to make you suffer for your transgressions without taking your life. Perhaps I’ll relent sooner, if you’re brave enough not to scream. ”
The flames around me intensified and began to burn my clothes. I stiffened, ready to enter the fire and get this over with if that’s what it took. Doya was right. I’d hurt Ava, so if this was the price I had to pay, I’d pay it without complaint.
“Eleanor. Let him go.”
A level tone broke through the chaos, and the flames died. Baine gave a simpering sigh of relief.
“Haloke, I will not keep allowing this.” The fireball was drawn away, but Doya still had her hand on my throat. “Sophia has asked me to stay out of it, but as the matriarch of this family, I cannot continue letting this infernal boy go around wrecking Ava’s life as he pleases.”
I recognized the name— Haloke. This was Liam’s mother, and Ava’s other grandparent.
“I understand your rage. But I also implore you to use compassion,” Haloke uttered softly.
“Compassion? This arrogant street rat saw fit to dump a child on my granddaughter, and now he’s hiding from his duties as a father to do ancestors know what!” Doya barked.
I wasn't an absent parent. Far from it. I was doing all I could to build a world Casey could grow up in, but I guess I hadn’t been around the hospital for the past few days due to all this research, and Doya had noticed.
“It is not a crime to conceive a child, especially not a child created within a happy marriage,” Haloke stated. “This baby was made out of love, and love can still grow here.”
“She’s divorcing him,” Doya sneered. “I am not a Toaqua, meant to flow like water from one way to the next. I am Koigni. I am fire. I am destruction.”
“And your fire will destroy Ava if you harm him,” Haloke replied simply. “She still loves him.”
Doya sputtered in disgust. “I cannot imagine why. She has poor taste in men. This temporary infatuation with this man is nearly a passing phase. We must correct it by getting rid of this stain, and choosing someone else for her. It is the best option.”
“Think of your great-grandson. You cannot harm Charlie without harming Casey as well,” Haloke replied.
“I prefer female descendants, anyway,” Doya replied casually, but her voice cracked. She was starting to break.
“Eleanor. Please.”
Haloke reached out to withdraw Doya’s hand from my throat.
I was able to breathe normally, and Doya’s high heel snapped against the floor as she stepped back.
“Very well. But my point still stands. Ava needs to part from this filth, because he does nothing but make her life a living hell. I do not approve of it.”
“I truly, deeply and madly love your granddaughter. I’m doing the best I can.
” I pushed off the wall, standing humbly before Doya to offer the best apology I could give.
“I messed up. I ruined her in the worst way, and this baby wasn’t planned.
But if there’s any chance I can make things right between us, I want to.
I’m working as hard as possible to bring my family back together.
Please, give me another chance. I only need one more shot to make things right. ”
Doya harrumphed. “We shall see. So far, I am not impressed.”
“Holy shit!” Ez had been walking to the meeting, and his alarmed shout rang overhead as he entered the hall. He must’ve been looking at the scorch marks that were surely on the floor, and the new bruises around my neck. “Grandma, what did you do?”
“Ezekiel, my baby boy, this does not concern you,” Doya cooed. “This is a matter to be settled privately.”
Baby boy. She preferred female descendants, my ass.
“Mom talked to you about this. We literally argued about this over dinner yesterday!” Ez exclaimed.
“Words are cheap. Action is preferable, and I do not need permission to take it,” Doya replied.
“You have made your intentions clear,” Haloke said. “Charlie understands he cannot continue to make mistakes, and so does Ava. They both must work to make this marriage right again.”
“Ava has done nothing wrong. None of this would be happening if she hadn’t chosen him.”
Ava was far from a saint, but Doya didn’t want to admit that. I wasn’t the only one who saw her through rose-colored glasses.
“This marriage is theirs to work out.” Haloke stepped back. “Ava is strong enough to handle it, because you’ve taught her how. Now let there be peace.”
“Hmph. Very well.” A manicured finger poked into my chest as Doya threatened, “I’m watching you, boy. No more missteps against my granddaughter. Or they will be the last errors you make.”
Doya roamed down the hallway, muttering under her breath, while Baine went bumbling behind her.
The lioness Familiar followed, taking with her the promise of death.
I breathed a sigh, feeling my body slacken.
That had been really intense, and if the situation had become even more heated, it would’ve ended badly.
Haloke brushed my singed clothes of ash. “Are you all right, pawee?”
I didn’t know a lot of Hawkei, but Ava had told me that pawee was a word that meant little child. It softened me right up. “I’m fine. She didn’t hurt me. I wasn’t afraid, really. I knew she wouldn’t go that far.”
“She would, if truly provoked, but she understands Ava still needs you.” Haloke combed a strand of hair back into my messy locks.
“You shouldn’t be so kind. You should be just as angry with me as she is.”
“I’m not angry at you, pawee. I do not see a broken man, but a wounded child that is lashing out. Life has given me the experience to understand these things.” Haloke gently patted my chest.
Tears burned, threatening to overspill at her empathy. “But I’ve hurt your granddaughter so badly. It’s incredible you’re forgiving me like this.”
“Because you were hurting,” Haloke soothed. “You were reacting to your pain. You didn’t pause to comprehend who you might hurt.”
Haloke wrapped her arms around me, pressing her heart to mine.
She was so tiny she only came halfway up my chest, but she tried to reassure me like I was her own grandson.
I barely knew this woman, but her embrace was warm and comforting.
I’d never had a grandmother, so it was nice to fall into her arms and allow myself to be consoled, for once.
“Thank you.” I managed to get my tongue around the thick words as a few more tears slipped out. “I really am trying as hard as I can.”
“I know you are, Charlie. You aren’t the only one who has to heal. This family has to heal together.” Haloke pulled away, and I could hear the genuine smile in her voice. “Heal yourself, so you don’t pass on your wounds to your son.”
“I will.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. Haloke’s soft footsteps faded away as she exited the hall gracefully.