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“Where’s Onyx?”
“I’m here! JaJa, look.”
Onyx is sitting up in the chair by the window with a blanket over his knees and actual colour in his face. He looks delighted to see us.
For a second it’s like looking at Jade in calmer water. Same blond hair. Same impossible green eyes. Same mouth. Jade came through that door checking the corners, the window and the man standing in it. Onyx just smiled at us.
My eyes go straight to the enormous bouquet of white winter lilies beside him. “Did he come in here alone?”
Onyx blinks. “Who, your dad? There were people outside, I think. But he sat with me.” Then his whole face brightens again as he looks at Jade. “JaJa, can you believe it? I had a visitor. An actual visitor.”
Jade’s attention snaps to him. “What did he want?”
“Nothing bad. He was nice.” Onyx touches one of the lilies with the tip of his finger. “He brought these himself too. He wanted to know how the treatment was going and whether I liked the food.”
My back teeth come together, my gaze cutting to Ryven across the room. He gives me one small shake of his head, jaw tight, the look saying he didn’t leave Onyx alone with him by choice.
“He stayed for almost an hour,” Onyx adds, completely unaware of the silence settling over the room.
“Onyx.” Jade’s voice goes careful. “What exactly did he ask you?”
“Just normal things. How long the course runs. Whether they’d told me when I’d be well. Whether you’d been to see me yet, and I said not yet but you were coming, and he said…” He trails off, looking between us.
Jade moves a little closer to the chair. “What did he say?”
“He said he was glad. That we’d all be family now.” Onyx’s smile falters at last. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
Jade doesn’t answer him, one hand settling on the back of Onyx’s chair.
Onyx turns to me instead. “He talked about your mother too. He said you have her hands.”
My stomach drops. Of course he did. Of course he reached for her first, because she is the one thing that still works on me and he has always known it.
“Where is he now?”
“Oh.” Onyx glances towards the door. “He’s still here. He said he’d wait because he wanted to say hello.”
Cold spreads through me.
He knew I’d come.
The registration is sealed, so he can’t stop the marriage now. He’s found another way in instead, straight through the sick brother Jade would cross half the Reach for. I just didn’t expect him to use Onyx as the door.
Behind me, a chair scrapes across the floor. “Asher.”
Jade doesn’t ask who it is. He takes one step sideways and forward, putting himself between me and the doorway before he can possibly understand what that means. Then he turns, giving me his back as he faces the man standing just outside the room.
Dad is perfectly composed, like he hasn’t spent the afternoon pushing his hands into our lives. His gaze drops to Jade, and that smooth public smile slides into place. “Well.” He looks him over. “And this must be your lovely husband.”
23
JADE
Asher’s father looks enough like him that the resemblance hits immediately. Same black hair, though his is streaked with silver. Same dark eyes, straight nose, and sharply cut brows. Even the mouth is Asher’s, except this one smiles far more easily, and somehow that makes me more uncomfortable than if he hadn’t smiled at all.
“I’m pleased to meet you, sir.” My shoulders tighten as I force myself to hold his gaze.
“Jade Mercer.” He offers me his hand. “Sebastian Clement. Forgive me. I feel I already know you. My son had your file open rather often during the Hunt. Enough that I was obliged to intervene, since he was already promised elsewhere.” His fingers close around mine and linger a fraction longer than they need to. “You were supposed to go home.”
