It was hard to breathe with her hand lodged against my throat. Oberi didn’t react to bite or bark, just stood there patiently.
That meant he trusted her, at least to a point. My Familiar could read people’s intentions. I had to follow his lead. I lifted my hands in surrender, signaling I wasn’t a threat.
“I’ve failed to deal with you properly since you broke my granddaughter’s bond,” Doya snarled. “But I have my limits, and you have far past exceeded them. No one double-crosses my beloved Ava and fails to pay the price.”
“It was my bond, too.” I managed to croak the words, hoping that was the right thing to say.
Doya scoffed. “Please. Men only think of themselves. The only reason I haven’t seen fit to turn you into ashes is due to your ties to that poor creature beside you. I cannot take Oberi away from Ava, and unfortunately, he remains bonded to you.”
No wonder Ava was so fierce. Doya’s blood blazed through her veins. “I never meant to hurt her.”
“I don’t care what you meant.” The heat of a fireball was held so closely to my cheek that I swore the five o’clock shadow on my face was melting away. “Death may be out of the question, but there are ways to make you suffer for your transgressions without taking your life. Perhaps I’ll relent sooner, if you’re brave enough not to scream.”
The flames around me intensified and began to burn my clothes. I stiffened, ready to enter the fire and get this over with if that’s what it took. Doya was right. I’d hurt Ava, so if this was the price I had to pay, I’d pay it without complaint.
“Eleanor. Let him go.”
A level tone broke through the chaos, and the flames died. Baine gave a simpering sigh of relief.
“Haloke, I will not keep allowing this.” The fireball was drawn away, but Doya still had her hand on my throat. “Sophia has asked me to stay out of it, but as the matriarch of this family, I cannot continue letting this infernal boy go around wrecking Ava’s life as he pleases.”
I recognized the name— Haloke. This was Liam’s mother, and Ava’s other grandparent.
“I understand your rage. But I also implore you to use compassion,” Haloke uttered softly.
“Compassion? This arrogant street rat saw fit to dump a child on my granddaughter, and now he’s hiding from his duties as a father to do ancestors know what!” Doya barked.
I wasn't an absent parent. Far from it. I was doing all I could to build a world Casey could grow up in, but I guess I hadn’t been around the hospital for the past few days due to all this research, and Doya had noticed.
“It is not a crime to conceive a child, especially not a child created within a happy marriage,” Haloke stated. “This baby was made out of love, and love can still grow here.”
“She’s divorcing him,” Doya sneered. “I am not a Toaqua, meant to flow like water from one way to the next. I am Koigni. I am fire. I am destruction.”
“And your fire will destroy Ava if you harm him,” Haloke replied simply. “She still loves him.”
Doya sputtered in disgust. “I cannot imagine why. She has poor taste in men. This temporary infatuation with this man is nearly a passing phase. We must correct it by getting rid of this stain, and choosing someone else for her. It is the best option.”
“Think of your great-grandson. You cannot harm Charlie without harming Casey as well,” Haloke replied.
“I prefer female descendants, anyway,” Doya replied casually, but her voice cracked. She was starting to break.
“Eleanor. Please.”
Haloke reached out to withdraw Doya’s hand from my throat. I was able to breathe normally, and Doya’s high heel snapped against the floor as she stepped back. “Very well. But my point still stands. Ava needs to part from this filth, because he does nothing but make her life a living hell. I do not approve of it.”
“I truly, deeply and madly love your granddaughter. I’m doing the best I can.” I pushed off the wall, standing humbly before Doya to offer the best apology I could give. “I messed up. I ruined her in the worst way, and this baby wasn’t planned. But if there’s any chance I can make things right between us, I want to. I’m working as hard as possible to bring my family back together. Please, give me another chance. I only need one more shot to make things right.”
Doya harrumphed. “We shall see. So far, I am not impressed.”
“Holy shit!” Ez had been walking to the meeting, and his alarmed shout rang overhead as he entered the hall. He must’ve been looking at the scorch marks that were surely on the floor, and the new bruises around my neck. “Grandma, what did you do?”
“Ezekiel, my baby boy, this does not concern you,” Doya cooed. “This is a matter to be settled privately.”
Baby boy. She preferred female descendants, my ass.
“Mom talked to you about this. We literally argued about this over dinner yesterday!” Ez exclaimed.
“Words are cheap. Action is preferable, and I do not need permission to take it,” Doya replied.
