Chapter 134 134
Daevir's POV
One year later.
Small feet pound across the courtyard stones.
“Drathen,” I call, watching the blur of dark hair streak past me.
He is too fast for his age. Too strong. Power coils in him like a storm that has not yet learned restraint.
He laughs when I chase him.
He always laughs.
Ares moves differently.
Slower.
Measured.
He stands near the fountain, small hands outstretched, fingers brushing the air as though it speaks to him.
“Ares,” I say more softly.
His head tilts slightly at the sound of my voice.
Though his eyes do not see…
He always knows where I am.
He steps forward carefully, bare feet finding the stone paths by memory. One hand trails along the low wall, the other reaching outward.
I kneel before him.
He touches my face.
Small fingers map my jaw. My beard. The scar along my brow.
His lips curve faintly.
“Baba,” he says.
“Yes,” I murmur.
Behind us, Drathen skids to a halt.
“I faster!” he declares proudly.
“Yes,” I say, glancing at him. “You are.”
Drathen’s energy is wild. He moves like a spark in dry grass.
Ares is different.
He feels the world.
Listens to the shift of air. The scrape of stone. The rhythm of breath.
He can tell his brother’s steps from mine.
He can tell who stands behind him by the vibration of their weight alone.
“Catch,” Drathen shouts suddenly, shoving Ares lightly.
Ares stumbles but steadies.
Drathen laughs.
I open my mouth to correct him…
But Ares moves first.
He turns toward the sound with startling precision and lunges.
Drathen does not expect it.
Ares grips his tunic and pivots his small body with surprising strength.
They tumble to the ground.
For a heartbeat, it looks like any child’s scuffle.
Then Ares shifts.
He listens.
Drathen tries to scramble away…
But Ares anticipates it.
His hand catches his brother’s wrist.
He twists.
Drathen falls flat onto his back.
Ares climbs atop him, hands firm against his shoulders.
Drathen struggles.
Ares adjusts.
“I win,” Ares says calmly.
Drathen’s lip trembles.
Then he cries.
Loud and Sharp.
The sound slices through the courtyard.
“Ares,” I say firmly, kneeling beside them.
His head turns toward my voice immediately.
“Release him!”
Ares obeys at once, lifting his hands and sitting back.
Drathen rolls away, still wailing.
I gather him first, checking quickly for harm.
No blood.Thank the god
But before I can speak…
Catherine stands at the edge of the courtyard. I knew she was always around Drathen, but I didn't expect her to be here.
“You little worm!” she snaps sharply. Her expression is tight, her eyes fixed on Ares.
Drathen’s cries intensify when she strides forward.
She does not look at me.
She looks only at Ares.
“Wretched child!” she mutters under her breath.
My jaw tightens.
“He did nothing wrong,” I say evenly.
“He humiliated him,” she shoots back.
“They are children.”
She bends and snatches Drathen from my arms.
He buries his face against her shoulder, still sobbing.
Her glare lands on Ares.
Ares turns his head slightly.
He cannot see her…but he feels her anger.
His small face crumples.
He reaches toward the sound of his brother being carried away.
“Drey…then?” he calls softly.
Catherine turns without answering him.
She walks away, robes sweeping behind her.
Drathen’s cries fade down the corridor.
Ares’s lower lip trembles.
Then he begins to cry. His voice was small, confused sounds.
I kneel and gather him into my arms.
He clings to me immediately, fingers tangling in my tunic.
“Baba,” he whispers, as if reassuring himself.
“I’m here,” I murmur, holding him close.
His head rests against my chest.
I stroke his hair slowly.
“You did well,” I tell him quietly. “But you must be gentle.”
He nods faintly.
His breathing begins to steady.
Ares might be blind, but his senses, his instincts, they were sharp, unyielding, almost frighteningly so.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the Shaman’s words. About finding his mother, uniting him with her, unlocking the power of the full moon.
My heart clenched.
How could I even begin to do that? I didn’t know who she was. I’d found him floating in the river. And now here I was, the weight of responsibility pressing down on me heavier than ever.
My son, my little boy, had been struck by a curse I could barely comprehend.
Anger coiled in me, hot and sharp. I thought of Amarien, of the one who had caused this pain, the one who had eluded me for so long.
She didn't deny it was her when I confronted her. Yet looking into her eyes made my heart ache.
I wanted to punish her, to make her feel even a fraction of the helplessness I had felt. She had taken so much from me, and now she had taken my son’s sight.
But tonight. I will set things right once and for all.
I had intel on a shrine deep in the Southern wilderness. Amarien had built it, a sanctuary for herself. She believes herself untouchable there, but she was wrong.
While I busy myself with finding a solution to Ares blinding, I will not hold back on vengeance. On the woman who made him like this.
Tonight will be the end of it all. Amarien would feel what it was like to be powerless, to watch someone you care for suffer and not be able to stop it.