“Should I check on him?” she asks, and I falter. I don’t want to answer for him, but I don’t want to get it wrong either. “He would probably appreciate the distraction,” I admit, rubbing at the back of my neck. “But I think he needs a moment to digest what just happened, and if you go in there, he’s not going to take care of himself because he’ll be hellbent on caring for you,” I add, and her eyebrows knit together, concern washing over her features, but she nods as she gnaws on her bottom lip.
“He was there for me after I killed Warren. I want to be there for him too,” she states, and I wrap my arm around her reassuringly,
“And you will be.”
She exhales, leaning into me as she kicks her sneakers off and crosses her legs, tilting her attention toward Kael as she clears her throat.
“So, we both got to see our parents today,” she murmurs, and he hums from his spot, leaning against the wall by the door.
“How do you feel?” he asks, and she shrugs.
“Overwhelmed,” she admits, her chin dippingas she admits the truth, and I press my hand against her thigh, squeezing with comfort.
“They're good people, though. That's obvious,” I murmur, and Kael clears his throat.
“He's right. Their intentions are nothing but pure when it comes to you,” he adds, and when I glance at him, I see the uncertainty in his eyes, sensing exactly what he's not saying.
“And you don't think your parents are?” I ask, and he shrugs, confirming my concerns.
“Instead of taking me with them to shield me from my brother's bullshit, they left me susceptible to it.”
“That's pretty shit,” I answer honestly, and his lips set in a thin line as Elodie winces.
“They do seem to care,” she adds, and he offers her a tight smile.
“I know. I guess seeing them reminds me I'm a child in someone's eyes, and I start acting like one,” he grumbles, more irritated with himself than anything.
Elodie shrugs. “We're all allowed to have our feelings, and there's no judgment here,” she promises.
“But I think it also reminded me of what they lacked when I was younger too.” Hedrags a hand down his face. “The reality is, it hasn’t changed. Their focus has always been on a bigger issue, leaving me alone to deal with the consequences of being faced with that kind of mental and emotional neglect.”
“Fuck, that’s raw, Kael. I’m sorry,” she breathes, and he waves her off as he stands away from the wall.
“Don’t be, it wasn’t your doing,” he insists as he cuts the distance between us, taking the spot on her other side as he reaches for her hand, taking the physical support along with the mental offering.
Elodie watches as Kael strokes his thumb across her skin, seemingly taking her own strength from him too. “On the topic of families,” she murmurs, peering at me.
“Yeah?” I encourage her when she says nothing else.
“Well, probably not even just families. It's just… how old is Jude?”
“Seventeen years older than me,” Kael explains, and her crinkled forehead unravels.
“It’s just so strange. When I was reading through the books in The Sanctum, they made everything seem as if they had been in control for hundreds of years. Especially with the Trial Gamesbooks, which read as if they didn’t happen every year, but there had been over forty of them or something like that.” Her brows pinch together again and I scoff, but it's Kael who speaks.
“I think it’s fair to say we're learning not to trust the shit that they have to say, because it's mostly never true, especially if it’s written in one of their books,” he grumbles, and I can't deny that fact either.
“I think once we’re done here, we won’t have The Sanctum to worry about anymore,” I state, and they both nod in agreement. “But for now, we need a moment for us to regroup and relax. By the sounds of things, everything is about to get even more intense before it gets better,” I declare, and they both murmur their agreement at the same time as the door to the adjoining bathroom opens.
Rion appears in the doorway, steam billowing around him. The blood is gone, and in its place remains a towel wrapped around his waist. Elodie leaps off the bed, darting toward him before she wraps her arms around his shoulders and he catches her midair.
They embrace for a moment, and it has a funny way of melting my insides too.
Before Elodie arrived, Rion was snappier thanKael, grumpier than most people I'd ever met, too afraid to let anyone close, which isn't surprising with everything he’s lived through, especially with his father and Professor Drayker.
But as I stare at them now, all I can see is how gentle he is with her.
They need each other. Weallneed each other.
