“Don’t bother. It would and will be a wasted talk. I’m afraid all that is here for you two is co-parenting,” Ender said succinctly. “Don’t stress your relationship because of little old me, I’m not interested.”
“Fair enough,” Killian replied, but the way he said it made him think the man was not actually agreeing with him.
He sighed, his eyes trailing over the Siren. Regardless, Soren was likely correct. His instincts probably wouldn’t let them leave at this point. Though, he could always try to kick them out after the babies were laid? Maybe…
“I suppose…I won’t keep you away if you want to be here.” His eyes narrowed. “That being said, I need you two to stay the fuck out of my way, and out of my business until I trust you enough to be involved.”
Killian raised a single brow in question. “How can you learn to trust us if we are staying out of your way?”
Ender shrugged. “Not my problem to figure out, now, is it?”
The Siren scoffed. “You just thrive on being a pain in the ass, don’t you?”
“Yep!” He chuckled. “Now…I have some calls to make. Stay here, don’t snoop, I’ll send someone and have them prepare a room for you both.”
Killian frowned. “Why?”
Ender blinked. “What do you mean ‘why’?”
“The doctor told us to stay close to you, because the closer we stay, the better your mood. So it only makes sense that Cyrus and I stay in your room.”
“Well, she is full of shit!” he hissed.
“Ender, you were turning people into stone and attacking others with chickens when we arrived. Not to mention, you were clearly exhausted and stressed out. We’ve only been here a few hours, and even with most of them spent asleep, you already seem worlds better.”
Ugh, fucking blabbermouth doctor!
“FINE! Stay in my room, but don’t touch anything, and don’t poke around. And just so you know, it’s only until the babies are laid,” he snapped, before grumbling, “Making such a big deal out of nothing. It’s not like the people I turned to stone are going to die! They’ll be fine in a few days!”
“Days?” Killian pressed.
“I’ll unfreeze them later today, okay?!” Ender huffed, pushing up from his chair.
“Can I use your shower?”
He waved his hand dismissively as he left.
Cyrus eyed the chickens walking around him. They were clearly staring back, while they clucked and pecked at the people who were still stuck as stone statues. He felt vaguely worried that they hadn’t been turned back yet.
Shaking his head, he took a calming breath before tugging his phone from around his neck. Opening it, he quickly called his mother, mainly as she tended to always answer, while his father was more of a call back type of person.
Vivian Grimm picked up on the first ring, and he wasn’t shocked in the least that she skipped all pleasantries. “Cyrus Bartholomew Grimm, you better explain what in the hell is going on, leaving nothing out, because I damn well deserve to know why I’ve gone from expecting to plan your wedding, tobeing hounded by your father’s relatives because you have quit your job and run off with my soon to be son-in-law to Goddess knows where!?”
“Is the line secure?”
“You know it is!”
Cyrus took another deep breath. “Eight months ago, I walked into Killian’s office and…I saw a skull?—”
His mother gasped. “That…oh no… Killian wasn’t supposed to survive being kidnapped, was he?”
He licked his lips, his stomach twisting with the knowledge. “No.”
“Oh, baby…I’m so sorry. The choice you made, I’m sure it wasn’t easy. I wish—Cyrus, why didn’t you tell us?! I know we’ve had our disagreements, but…”
“I…I don’t know. I just thought the less who knew, the safer we’d be.”
That and, despite knowing they seemed to hate the other Fates, he hadn’t been sure he could trust them with the information.
