Chapter 12 - Taking Things the Wrong Way

— Elaeya —

His phone rang again.

He sighed as he looked at his screen.

“Yeah,” he answered.

‘You want me to leave?’ I mouthed silently at him, pointing at myself then the door.

He shook his head, at the same time I heard an angry woman’s voice on the phone.

“You had to fucking stay, and send me off,” she screamed.

“Ylva,” he interjected.

“I’m not some stupid rookie…” she continued.

“Ylva,” he interjected again, a little louder this time.

“You condescending, misogynistic, bastard.

“YLVA.” She stopped talking this time. “You’re hurt, you needed medical attention.

“I’m not that hurt.

“And what I’m doing doesn’t require me to risk you.

“That’s some male bullsh—.” He didn’t let her finish that thought.

“I would have done the exact same thing if you’d been a man. Stop seeing attacks everywhere. I’ve never stopped you from doing what you wanted because of gender. You need to heal. I want you in top shape as soon as possible.

“Is that because we sleep together?” she asked a little less aggressive, uncertain maybe even.

Kaden gave me a worried look.

“It has nothing to do with that,” he said.

“Really?” she began.

“I’m not your mate Ylva. He’s the one who wanted you to retire from fighting to be a stay-at-home mom. I never cared. It was never about that to begin with. You’ve not been sent back home because I’m patronizing you, but because I want you to be able to keep doing your job.

She was silent for a few seconds. Kaden gave me another side glance.

“And talking about us, I think it has come to an end,” he said.

“Because I stand up to you?” she sneered.

“Because I found my mate.

The silence rang on the line for a little while.

“Is this why you send me back? Not to be in your way?” she asked.

“You got to see a fucking therapist. Why do you keep taking things the wrong way? Were you expecting us to get serious?

“No, no, I’m not. It’s not… How is she?” she obviously changed the subject, her tone softer, gentler.

“I don’t think she trusts me yet,” he said looking at me. “But I’m working on it.

“When will you bring her back?

“I don’t know if I will,” he said frankly. “We’ll see. Just don’t start rumours now.

“Sure,” she said.

“You okay?

“No, I’m fucking pissed.

“If it’s about me…”

“It’s not,” she conceded. “It’s… Later.” She hung up.

He put the phone back in his pocket. I guess it’s common for them to end calls this roughly.

Kaden looked at me. By sitting on his lap we were more or less at eye level.

“Does it bother you?” he asked me.

“What?” I tilted my head sideways.

“My relationship with Ylva,” he answered.

“Do you love her?

“No. Well, yes. I care about her. She’s a friend. But I have no romantic love for her. What happened between us had nothing to do with love.

“Does she think the same?” I asked.

“Yes. We kept this clear from the get-go.

“It doesn’t mean it couldn’t evolve.

“But it didn’t. Ylva is not the type for that. We’re not really compatible with those types of relationships, to begin with.

I nodded.

“So?” he asked. “Does it bother you?

“Should it?” I asked genuinely curious.

He shrugged.

I shrugged.

I yawned uncontrollably. He looked at his watch.

“You barely had any sleep this morning. You should go to bed,” he told me.

I nodded and got up. We walked towards the staircase, until the silence was broken by his ringtone again.

“I swear today is not ending soon enough,” he grumbled angrily as he picked the phone up. “What?” he answered irritated, and gestured at me to go ahead.

I did.

— Kaden —

My father called again.

I sat on a stool by the kitchen island.

“What is it this time?

“Hey, there tiger. Ease off the angst. I’m going to do work you should be doing, so be a little decent about it.

I sighed. “It’s been a long day. I haven’t much slept, I think I need a vacation,” I said dismissively.

“What’s going on?” my father’s voice did a one-eighty and went from seriously annoyed with me, to worried. I guess I haven’t asked for a holiday since … well since my high school graduation I guess. I suppose that could feel off to anyone who knew me.

“It’s not like that,” I said. “It’s just that today could have been a little smoother. What is it about?” I got his attention back to the matters at hand.

“Well, I talked to the Brotherhood, and I’m accompanying a Brother with a few warriors to Nubinero, so that we can deal with this and close this matter once and for all.

“Good,” I said.

Elaeya walked down from the stairs in what looked like a negligee mostly covered by a silk kimono.

I tried not to let my jaw hit the floor and my eyes bulge out like a freaking cartoon. Still, I could appreciate the effort Mariqueen put into getting her clothes, she looked incredible. It took me a few seconds to realize her eyes had changed colour again. They were their moonstone self, or maybe white opals. I’m not an expert in gemstones. She walked to me, picked a couple of files Brandon must have left on the counter, and started flipping through without looking at the pages.

“Son? Kaden?” my father asked. I have the feeling he asked a few more times before that, I just didn’t notice.

“Mmh,” I said distracted.

Elaeya landed her finger on one word on one page and showed it to me.

Not

“I might be gone for just a few hours tomorrow, but with the Brotherhood I can never be sure,” my father told me.

Meanwhile, Elaeya flipped through seemingly random pages and random places, showing me three more words.

What - It - Seems

Wait! She was telling me something.

“Hold on,” I told my father.

She flipped again, faster this time.

Assailants - Are - Victims - Don’t - Attack - Careful - Father

Her eyes blinked a few times rapidly, and they returned to their natural pink.

“Okay,” I told my father. “I’m not sure of this information,” I said looking at Elaeya. She didn’t interrupt me or tried to convince me further. She went to the cabinet, found glasses on the first try, and pour herself a glass of water that she drank. “I think something might appear as not what it is. That there might be some sort of attack where the apparent assailants are actual victims. You should not attack but be careful.

“Where is this coming from?” he asked me.

“A very vague source. I don’t know how legitimate it is, but just be vigilant and keep an eye out for any weirdness,” I told him.

“Sure,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?

“I’m fine. I just need some rest.

“You sound like you need more than rest.

“I need time,” I admitted.

“For what?

“I found my mate,” I told him. “Her father gave me three days starting early this morning, or late last night, depending on your perspective, to convince her to come with me.

Silence. I checked to be sure the line wasn’t dead. It wasn’t.

“It’s just a bit hard to do when my phone keeps ringing every fifteen minutes,” I admitted.

“It won’t,” my father said. “I’m calling Brandon to reroute all your calls. I’ll deal with Nubinero, and the Brotherhood, and the artifacts, and I’ll take charge of the pack while you’re away. Take all the time you need.

“Thanks. Can you please not tell mom and the girls? I don’t know if it’ll work out yet. I don’t…”

“… Want a welcoming party for two thousand people planned out?” he finished my thoughts.

“Something like that,” I admitted.

“Don’t worry. It can wait until we know for sure.

“Thanks.

“Rest, do what you need to, we can talk in three days, or whenever you’re ready.

“Right, ‘night.

“‘Night son.

I put my phone back in my pocket. Elaeya came to me with a glass of water. I was parched actually, and I swallowed the whole thing in one go.

Her eyes went down to my left leg. It was shaking fast, and from the tension in my muscles, probably had been since I sat down.

“I’m restless,” I explained. “I don’t sleep well as of late. It gets worse when I’m about to go to bed.

She simply extended her hand to me in response. I instinctively took it. She guided me up the stair, closing the lights on the way. On the upper floor, she guided me through the open door of her bedroom, and inside her room.

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