"T-Thoma? Siraye? Is that… Is that really you?" he shakily asked in his familiar baritone. He'd lost a lot of weight since I last saw him, making him look much younger and like the former self my mother must have fallen in love with all those years ago.
"Hello, Kayne. Yes, it's us," she replied, causing my father, whose name I'd long-since forgotten, to shake not out of fear, but joy. "Gods above! I-I thought I'd never see you again," he said, darting forward and trying to give me a hug, which I backed away from, tilting my head downward as if preparing for an attack.
"O-Oh, I'm terribly sorry. It's just been so long since…" he trailed off, noticing Kalia's slight shift in her stance. "Since what?" I asked coldly, trying my best not to cut this man's head off. "S-Since I lost you," he said, his tone shifting into dejection. "You lost us the night you brought me to that old bastard," I spoke in my mother's stead.
"Thoma, wait. Kayne, we only came to grab something I left here that will be useful to us," she said, pushing her hand across my chest as she stepped forward, which caused his large, blue eyes to widen.
They were as clear as the sky above me, and I couldn't seem to sense anything strange about him, either. I don't sense anything wrong with him. Do you? Mom asked. No, I don't, but I still don't trust him, I replied coldly.
"Siraye, Thoma. I hope you find what you're looking for, but before that, I-I can explain everything, please. Step inside. Your, uh, friends are welcome, too," he said, taking a step back to open the door a little more for us to enter. The scent of the house was identical to what I remembered as the mahogany and cedarwood scent wafted into my nostrils. "Nice place," I heard Athar mutter sarcastically, getting a strange glance from Kayne as he passed.
He gestured for the others to take their seats on the long couch in the middle of the living room as he fetched something from the kitchen. I looked around to see if anything had changed, but it felt like nothing had. The painting he had was still on the wall, though he was unrecognizable from that time. I scoffed as I stared at it, but when Ysevel cleared her throat to let me know he was coming back, I simply stepped aside and let him pass so he could serve them some dried meat and wine.
"I'm sorry that I don't have much else right now. I wasn't expecting any visitors," he said with a humility I hadn't expected. "This is fine, Kayne. Thank you," Ysevel said cordially, suggesting I take the single seat beside my mother. "Well, I suppose I should start talking about what I promised I would, shouldn't I?" he chuckled nervously, drinking a glass of water as opposed to wine.
"First, let me preface this with an apology," he began, fiddling with his hands. "Siraye, I-I know that you may never forgive me for what I did, and Thoma, I-I hope you know that I don't expect you to, either, but you've grown into a fine young man," he said shakily.
There was a gentle tug on my connection with Ysevel, telling me that I needed to be cordial if I was going to get any information out of him. "Thank you," I said dryly, tearing into a piece of meat without breaking eye contact.
"I-In any case, I want you all to know that I didn't do what I did with a clear conscience," he began. "Bullshit," I immediately spat. "Let him finish," my mother snarled.
"I-I'd met with the man once before, though I didn't think much of him at the time. He seemed a bit odd, sure, and his eyes seemed to glow much like Siraye's, but I figured he must have been a retired Synner then," he started nervously, fiddling with his hands more intensely this time.
"A few years before you were born, Thoma, was the first time I'd seen him since then, a-and he took a particular interest in the pendant your mother gave me. Not thinking much of it at the time, I handed it to him so he could see its beautiful details more closely. I didn't know it then, but he did something to it that took hold of me slowly, but surely," he continued, prompting Athar, of all people, to shift forward in his seat.
"You see, he disappeared again after that, and since that meeting, I didn't feel like I was fully in control of myself. I gained weight, drank and ate more than my fill, and by the time you were about four, he showed up again," he continued, lowering his head as if piecing it all together.
"He watched as you played in the forest for a few moments, before telling me there was something wrong with you, something not even you could fix," he nodded toward my mom, causing her eyes to widen. "Is that what he said?" she asked, but only got a nod in response.
"He said that I had to bring you to him so he could fix it, but didn't give me many details, other than I was to bring you when she wasn't around," he noted cautiously. "What led you to believe this man?" Kalia asked bluntly, catching him off-guard with the raspiness of her voice.
"I-I don't know how to explain it, but I was compelled to, in a way," he shook his head. "He also noticed that Siraye and I had grown distant, and offered to change his appearance permanently in addition to whatever he was going to do," he continued.
"For some reason, my anger toward Siraye reached a point of no return, and I accepted his offer, saying that I couldn't bear to look at him because he reminded me of her too much. Foolish, I know, but I now understand that I wasn't myself," he said, causing me to flinch and click my tongue.
"So everything that happened was because you were somehow under this person's influence? Awfully convenient excuse for an ambulatory piece of shit, don't you think?" I asked flatly, getting a look of embarrassment from Kayne as I got up from my seat and walked over to him.
"Listen to me, Dad," I emphasized the word with poignant sarcasm. "I only have one question for you, and if you don't answer it truthfully, I'll know," I said, momentarily flaring my eyes with Ethereal mana. "Thoma, what are you doing?" Mom asked cautiously. I need an answer to something I heard that night, but he hasn't mentioned anything about it yet, I sent her, while maintaining my glare.
"After my core was sealed, you walked in and saw me lying on the floor and bleeding from my nose and mouth. Instead of coming to help me, you started a conversation with him. I couldn't hear much, but I specifically recall him telling you something that you seemed relieved to hear. What was it?" I asked, getting a mix of emotions through the connection I had to the others.
There was a flash of fear in his eyes, as if whatever answer he was going to give me wasn't rehearsed like the rest of his explanation. After he searched my eyes for any hint of mercy and finding none, he gave a relenting sigh. "He said that he would continue to protect me from you, and that if you ever did come back, all I needed to do was break this to let him know you had," he presented a thin, unsuspecting wax disk that emitted a faint hint of mana from an octagonal pattern on it.
"Why didn't you, then?" I asked, quickly shifting my attention from the wax back to him. "Because whether you like it or not, you're still my son," he said firmly, which only made me scowl at his use of the term. "So is Bernar, but I don't see you trying to rekindle any sort of relationship with him," I snarled, frustratedly, prompting him to avert his gaze for little more than a heartbeat.
"Is that all, then?" I asked coldly. "No, it was also due to the letter I found on your pillow the night you were taken from me," he said, producing a worn-out page that looked like it had been read repeatedly.
I felt my Mom's emotions flare for a moment, as if she knew exactly what that was. "Here, take it. I've read it more times than I can count over the years, so I've already memorized it entirely," he slowly and cautiously moved it toward me. Hesitantly releasing my fourth stage, I took the letter and began to read it.
My dearest Thoma. You're probably wondering why I've had to leave you alone with him so often. I've been searching for an answer as to why he treats you and your brother the way he does, but I haven't found an answer yet. Please know that Mom is looking for one, and I hope to find it soon. Someone is coming to pick you up and bring you to a new home, and if you ever come back to this place, please try to forgive him. I know it won't be easy. It might be one of the most difficult things you've ever done, but I know you can do it. Never doubt how much I'll miss or love you, and know that when you're ready to find me, I'll show up to greet you with open arms. I love you, Thoma, I read silently, forcing myself to take a brief pause.
I didn't know how to feel about the letter, since I'd spent decades letting the thought of this moment burn in the back of my mind. I'd always wondered what it would be like to see him again, but never really thought I'd be in this position anytime soon. Regardless, I had a choice: Either succumb to my hatred of him or do as my mother asked.