I'd expected to find one new family member, and instead I had two? And they both seemed like nice people, and no one in the herd had acted weird about my cart or my apparent disability. Maybe it was because of Oz? Or maybe they were just less traditional than my mom's herd had been.
Either way, I was glad I'd decided to find my father.
Twenty-Six
Zephyr
I leaned against atree as I watched Keoni do what he did best: socialize. It had taken him five minutes to decide he wanted to get to know everyone in the herd once he realized none of them cared about his disability the way his old herd had.
I could stand here and watch him all day. The sunlight sparkling off the lake's surface made his face glow like an angel's, his blond curls like a halo around his head, and I couldn't pull my gaze away from him, not even when I sensed someone sidle up to me.
"How did you two meet, if I may ask?" Tarquin asked, and it took some effort to pull my gaze away from his son.
"I found him a few years ago," I said, then elaborated. "I run a safe haven for supes who can't or don't want to live in the human world, who need help in some way, and my tracking spell led me to Keoni."
I didn't know if Keoni would be okay with me sharing his story, but I also wanted Tarquin to know I wouldn't let anyone hurt Keoni now. He had someone—a lot of someones, if I was being honest—looking out for him, and if Tarquin eventhoughtabout hurting him in any way...
"He'd been abandoned by his herd, his mother's herd. She'd died years before that, but the herd had taken care of him until he reached adulthood, at which point they declared it wasn't their duty anymore. He wasn't doing well when I found him. He didn't have his cart then, so he couldn't move around. I took him to the Sanctuary, and he's lived there ever since, though we just started dating."
"Why wait?" Tarquin asked, though I got the feeling that wasn't what he wanted to ask about.
"When we first met, he lied about his age. He thought I'd take away my offer if I knew he was an adult."
Tarquin shook his head, his eyes on the ground as he tugged at his hair. He really did look a lot like Keoni. There was no doubt they were related.
"I wish I'd known. I really liked his mother. I wanted her to come with me, but she didn't want to leave her herd. I wasn't the chief back then, and I had family in my herd, so I couldn't leave either. I wish I'd tried harder, or that I'd gone looking for her once I became chief. Even if she was gone by then, I would've at least found Keoni."
There was nothing I could say to make him feel better, so I stayed quiet, and we both watched Keoni flitter about and win everyone over.
"He's a friendly one, isn't he?" Tarquin murmured, his voice fond, and I hummed. "He reminds me of his mom."
"I'm sure he'd love to hear that. And anything else you remember about his mom."
People approached me every once in a while, sometimes simply to introduce themselves, other times with questions about my magic or Keoni or the Sanctuary. They seemed to be under the impression that it was a magical wonderland of some kind, and it made me curious what exactly Keoni was telling them about the place.
The herd convinced us to stay for lunch, and there was no way I could decline when Keoni widened his eyes and stuck his lower lip out at me, and so we stayed. Conversation flowed easily as we ate, as if Keoni and I had always been a part of this herd, and I had a feeling we'd be visiting them often.
Maybe I could place an anchor here and link it to the main door dial so we wouldn't need to use the portal every time. I'd have to discuss it with Tarquin, but I doubted he'd have a problem with it if it meant more visits from Keoni.
The sun was dipping low in the sky as we finally decided to head back after Keoni had gotten measurements of Oz's leg so he could ask Draven to make a prosthetic for him. He'd made me show Oz my arm and the way it functioned to convince him, then told him and the others about his stockings, though he'd skipped why he hadn't worn them today.
Judging by the look Tarquin had shot my way, at least he had figured out why.
Tarquin walked us back to the portal, and we stopped just outside as he and Keoni glanced at each other.
"Thank you for looking for me," Tarquin said, and Keoni smiled.
"I'm glad I did. This went a lot better than I'd hoped. Can I visit again?"
"Of course. As often as you want. We don't travel as much as we used to, so you'll find us here when you visit again. If we do decide to move, it won't be until I've told you where we're headed."
Keoni smiled, and Tarquin pulled him into another hug. Then, he approached me and embraced me too. I returned the hug somewhat awkwardly, and he smiled at me as he stepped back. "Thank you for taking such good care of Keoni over the years."
"He takes care of me too," I said, shooting Keoni a smile, and Tarquin beamed at us.
"See you soon!" Keoni said as he took my hand in his and, with a final wave at his father, led us through the portal.
I closed the portal behind us, and we stood there for a moment in the empty room. Then Keoni reached back and started unstrapping the cart, and I helped him untie his legs and put the stockings back on.
