Bastien ignored them as he tried to think of something to say to his son. Love, pride, disbelief, and fear tangled inside him, leaving him speechless.
What did someone say to a half-grown kid they didn’t know they had?
“It’s an honor to meet you.” Even Bastien cringed at the stupidity ofthatstatement.Why don’t you ask his age and remind him of all the years you’ve missed while you’re at it?
Great intro… moron.
Florian laughed. Then he reached up to touch the cleft in Bastien’s chin. “Everyone says I take after you. I do, don’t I?”
“God, I hope not.” Bastien grinned. “’Cause if you do, your mother has a whole other reason for wanting me dead.”
Her features softened. “You have no idea. Curse you at least three to four dozen times a day.”
“Oh my God! Bastien!” That shriek was even more ear-piercing.
Turning, he saw Tasi, Cin, and Brand as they came running.
And grabbed him into hugs so fierce, they almost knocked him over. It was like being dragged under by a riptide.
But he loved it too much to complain.
“We thought you were dead!” Tasi balled her hand in his hair and held him close as she rained kisses over his face.
“I saw The League report where you’d been killed!” Brand pulled Tasi away so that she could hug him.
He laughed at the unexpected exuberance. It was more than he’d ever hoped to experience from them. Honestly, he’d expected them to hate him as much as everyone else did. “My cousin Jullien did that for me so that they’d stop hunting me.”
Cin leaned against his back, making him the middle of their sandwich. Which reminded him of what he’d suggested to Alura that had sent her spiraling into a special level of pissed off she probably had yet to come down from.
Florian made a rude noise. “Not so fun when you’re the one getting squished, is it?”
Bastien laughed. “I disagree. This is awesome! Sign me up and leave me here.”
Pursing his lips, he glanced over to Ember. “You failed to tell me my father was mental.”
Iskander laughed at that. “I could have told you, kid.”
“And speaking of…” Tasi glanced to Ember. “By the two of you being here, I’m assuming this isn’t a social call.”
“No.” Bastien stepped back so that he could touch his son. “I’m going after Barnabas. We’re here to meet Florian and then I’m going to finish this.”
Iskander’s eyes widened at those words. For the first time, he looked at Bastien with something other than contempt. “Brother! Good friend, buddy, oh pal of mine! You are my new best friend. Where you go. I go.”
Bastien took another step away from him at those peculiar words. “What kind of distemper doyouhave?”
“The same one you do. Barnabas Cabarro. He killed my mother too, and he damn near killed me. You’re going after him… I plan to help.”
“You know that this is most likely a one-way trip.”
Iskander shrugged. “So long as he goes with me to the grave, I can die with that.”
Florian gasped at his words. “No. No, you can’t! Neither of you can die.” He turned to Ember. “Mom! Stop them!”
How she wished. Sadly, she’d never been able to stop either of them from being stupid.
Bastien opened his mouth to reassure him, but before he could, an alarm sounded. He grimaced at Ember.
Suddenly, there was a voice over an intercom. “League ships are sighted and heading in. Battle stations!” Then it switched over to an air raid siren.
