“You can’t just call an emperor ‘son.’”
“No, no,” Zane said quickly.“It’s okay, really.”Nobody had ever called him ‘son’ so warmly, not even his own father.Zane rather liked the sound of it.
“This isn’t how—” Perry began.
“Or who,” Nina interrupted.
“—we expected Talon to bring someone home, but it’s such a wonderful surprise in the midst of all this chaos.He’s good to you?He makes you happy?”
It amazed Zane that these people were looking out for his best interests, not because he was royalty, but because they genuinely cared.He glanced past Perry until Talon was the only thing he could see.Zane smiled softly.
“He makes me exceptionally happy.”
“Then welcome to the family.”
Other than Talon telling him that he loved him, those words were the best Zane had ever heard in his life.To be so instantly accepted for himself, instead of his title or what he represented, was so refreshing.It was what had drawn him to Talon in the first place, and now he understood where he got it from.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Talon said, “we really do need to get you two out of here.”
They took a moment to pack a small bag of necessities each, then they all clambered out of the basement.Perry and Nina froze when they saw Scuti.
“It’s okay,” Zane said.“We can trust him.”I hope.
“I’ll be taking you two to the border of Nyr,” Scuti said.
“Talon,” his mother said, clutching onto her son’s arm.“Are you not coming with us?What about Emmeric?”
Talon gently disconnected his mother’s grip and squeezed her fingers.“Emmeric is safe.He has a beautiful woman I’m sure he’d love to introduce to you to.But we have too much we still need to do.”
Nina’s eyes filled with tears.She stroked a hand across Talon’s cheek.“My boy, sometimes you are too selfless.”The color drained from Tal’s face.“Please promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I will,” Talon whispered.
“And tell Emmeric to do the same.”
He pulled his mother in for a fierce hug.Then it was his father’s turn.Perry and Talon spoke in soft tones with each other, and Nina turned to Zane.She hugged him tight around his middle.There was a burning in his sinuses—it had been so long since he’d felt the embrace of a mother.He held her close.
“You’ll take care of him, right?”she asked.
“Of course.”Zane smiled sadly.Talon hadn’t told his parents about what had happened in the Dead Lands, and Zane felt it wasn’t his place to mention it.But he put his entire heart and soul into that promise.
Scuti teleported Perry and Nina out of the house, leaving the two of them alone in silence.Zane slipped his hand into Talon’s.For the first time in the past hour, Tal’s face was placid.
“They’ll be okay.”
“I hope so.”Talon turned to Zane and enveloped him in his arms.Zane held him tight, knowing the other man needed to feel grounded.
They stood there for several minutes until Scuti reappeared.
“I watched them cross over the border into Nyr.Your parents are safe.”
“If you’re lying to me,” Talon said, violence wrapped around every word, “I swear to the old gods I will gut you.”
“I would expect nothing less,” Scuti said.
Tal’s parents were supposed to send word via carrier pigeon once they were safe.They’d purposefully not told that to Scuti, and soon they would be able to know if the star was trustworthy.Still, there were many things Altair had done to endear himself to them too, and look how that had turned out.
Scuti shrouded them in shadows again, and they slipped back through Athusia to find their friends exactly where they had left them.They’d get a few hours of rest and then leave for Istoria.Although everything within Zane wanted to take the fight to Rigil, especially since he wasright there, he knew it was not the smart move.They needed the might of multiple armies behind them if they were to rid Athusia of an entirely new tyrant.He was exhausted just thinking about it and briefly wondered if his empire would ever know peace.
