Betrayal.
Failures.
“Rowan, I can explain, okay? The king would have your head for knowing what I thought to be true. I couldn’t have that.”
“So you decided to just leave me? No explanation. Distracting me with the one person you know I can’t ignore. You used her too, Kael.”
“I had to find the truth, Rowan.”
Before I can argue, Masen appears in the doorway, the air turning to ice. Facing Masen is a lot harder than facing Kael, to see the brother I have grieved for years. Blamed myself for his death. For years I have carried the weight of his loss, and here he is. Alive.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Ro,” his voice is deep, full of missed apologies and years of regret.
“Is it really you?” I ask, flicking my eyes back to Kael, who gives me a knowing look, nodding his head between us.
“It’s me,” Masen whispers.
“You were dead. I saw the butterfly myself. You sent us your death note.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you were dead. I mourned you. And this whole time?”
“There was no choice, Ro. Believe me, it’s the last thing I wanted, but I had to leave you all behind.” I shake my head in anger, not understanding all the lies and secrecy. Feeling like an outsider among the men with whom I shared my childhood.
Snapping my head towards Kael,
“Did you know? Have you known all along?” I ask.
“No, I only found out after I left through the gate looking for him.”
“How did you know he’d be there?”
“I didn’t.”
“You’re telling me you left on a suspicion? On a maybe?” I seethe, my voice sharp. Kael shakes his head, anger simmering beneath his surface, his voice is agitated.
“It wasn’t a suspicion.”
“What was it then?”
“It was recognition.”
“What?”
Kael exhales, dragging a hand down his face as Masen moves to sit at the table. I cast a weary glance towards him, but he remains quiet.
“Elodie, you heard her in the meadow, didn’t you? She called him Sam,” he says, gesturing at Masen.
She did call him Sam.
My stomach tightens in realisation as I look back at Masen, who nods his head slowly.
“You’re Sam?” I think back to the aftermath in the meadow. I must have been in shock, not even registering the words Elodie had said, my focus pinned on the living shadow of my lost friend.
“I thought it was a coincidence at first.” Kael says. “The way she used to open a chess game with the same three moves. The same moves Masen used to use. The way she talked about science and nature. It was the exact same way Masen did,” Kael continues as my mind overloads with information. “Then one evening, she told me about this ‘Sam’ that she worked with, and the way she described him. It was Masen. I just knew it.” He sits down at the table now, next to Masen.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it, but like you said, I couldn’t be sure. It was too risky. But then, the evening Elodie had dinner with me. She pulled a pocketknife from her overalls. It was Masen’s knife. It had the exact same white antler handle with his initials carved into it. That’s when I knew there was no way it was a coincidence.”
