Chapter 238 – Reconnecting

Chapter 238 – Reconnecting

 

“I’m good. You don’t have to worry.” Kai flexed his biceps in the hope they would stop probing him. He had been stuffed with food till his stomach was ready to burst. Used to burnt beasts and bitter roots, his mom’s cooking tasted heavenly down to the last bite.

Despite repeated reassurances that he was perfectly healthy, his family wasn’t willing to relent. Once Alana was certain he wouldn’t starve, she sat beside him and took his hand hostage. She intently watched his every move, determined to make up for the years of lost contact in a single day.

Ele wasn’t any better. After squeezing his ribs, she hovered over him, poking his body as if he were a fish on auction. “You have another scar here.” His sister ran a cold finger from his neck to his upper back.

“Please stop. It’s just a scratch.” Kai jerked away and buttoned his shirt up. If he let this continue, they might ask him to strip next. “I don’t even remember how I got that one.”

He had received two claw marks, one talon and an ice blade between his shoulder blades. The advancement to Yellow had healed most of his scars, while the deepest wounds turned into thin pale lines criss-crossing his tanned skin. Without a proper mirror, he wasn’t even sure how many he had.

Thank Yatei, they don’t know how I looked before.

Jagged wounds and torn flesh weren’t a pretty sight. In the Sanctuary, he couldn’t afford to splurge on his healing concoctions for vanity. And he received far fewer scars once he had advanced his grade.

“He looks alright to me, hon’. Let him breathe a little, he’s not going to disappear.” Moui marked the sentence with a look that said you better not. The hunter stood like a sentinel by the window, stealing glances outside. He didn’t trust the Republic would let him go easily.

I’m not sure whether the truth is better or not…

Countless brushes with death dressed in an abundant dose of desperation and fear. The petty squabbles of the military and politicians now seemed so insignificant. Kai couldn’t bring himself to care. He wouldn’t go around shouting his name from the rooftops, but he wasn’t going to hide under a rock either. If any fucker thought they could take advantage of him, they were welcome to try.

“He’s clearly been neglecting himself.” Alana shook her head. “When was the last time you ate a decent meal?”

“Hmm, Flynn cooked me dinner in Higharbor.”

“Those were some leftovers I threw together.” His friend watched him from the farthest chair in the kitchen, amused at his plight. “Hardly a proper meal.”

Kien sat on his lap with a sulk and puffed cheeks. The toddler was less than enthusiastic about a new big brother who soaked up all the attention.

Great. I managed to ruin my first impression.

How hard could it be to win over a two-year-old? The bag of sweets they bought in Higharbor should do the job, or he could enchant some toy.

He can’t be harder than Kea… He’ll probably forget by tonight. That’s how children work, right?

Looking at the crowded kitchen, someone was still missing. “Mom, where is Kea? Is she not coming?” Despite their rocky relationship, Kai had expected her to hurry over—even just to punch his face.

Mom said the situation with her was complicated… Does Kea hate me?

His family exchanged a conversation through glances, everybody was in on it, but nobody talked.

“What is it?”

“You don’t know?” Kien squeaked, eyes sparkling at the knowledge he held. “My sister is on the mainland. She went to fight monsters. And she’s gonna tell me everything when she comes back!”

“She did what?” Kai searched their faces, hoping his brother had misunderstood something. No one spoke up, even Flynn stared at his feet with a guilty look.

Kien looked at their silent reactions with a frown. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, sweetheart. You’re right.” Alana smiled with a hint of sadness. “Keandra left a few months ago to travel the mainland. The archipelago was too small for her…”

Dammit.

“How could—” Kai bit his tongue. Once his sister made up her mind, no one could stop her. Going to the continent had always been his grand plan. Perhaps if he had shut up about it, his sister might not have gotten the idea.

The mainland was a dangerous and messy place. While his own track record was rather questionable, Kea was even more impulsive than him. His mind shuddered at everything that might go wrong.

In truth, her choice wasn’t that surprising. She was never going to settle for a quiet life, though he wished he could have been there for her.

May Kahali watch over her.

“Kea matured a lot after you left.” Ele tried to lighten the mood. “She knows how to look after herself, and she’s traveling with a group of islanders.”

Kai couldn’t tell if she was saying that just to make him feel better. He had grown quite a bit himself, though the circumstances were quite different. “Do you have a way to contact her?”

“We do,” Alana said with a sigh. “But letters take a long time to arrive, and it’s hard to respond if she isn’t staying in the same place. We mostly receive her letters now and then, usually once a month.”

“Why don’t you tell us more about you? Where were you?” Moui left his guard post by the window since no enforcers tried to leap through. He stood beside Alana, and she leaned against him.

“Dear.” His mom held his uncle’s hand over her shoulder. “Kai only just came back.”

Oh, boy. Here we go.

“It’s fine. You deserve to know what happened.” He had only been delaying the inevitable. The reunion had gone as well as he could hope—except for Kea’s absence. Now it was time for the stressful portion. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

Flynn took his cue to ruffle Kien‘s hair. “Why don’t we go play outside? You can finish your sculpture.”

“But I wanna listen to the story.”

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“It’s just boring adult stuff, trust me. I can tell you a better one.”

The toddler bit his lip, looking between them. “You promise?”

Flynn offered to shake his pinky. “On my honor. I’m a much better storyteller than your brother.” He winked before leaving the kitchen.

With the innocent ears protected, Kai quickly inspected the room. There was a difference between not cowering before the Republic and being foolish. Those greedy assholes wouldn’t let the bone go if they got a whiff of it.

The walls on the outer streets were enchanted to muffle sounds; the appliances in the house also had a smattering of runes. A couple cooling and heating enchantments, pumps for water piping, an array to condense mana, and one to remove smells in the bathroom. Nothing suspicious. Kai decided to close the door to be meticulous.

“Is something wrong?” Moui asked with a note of alarm.

“Just checking the house.” While Kai wanted to be truthful, he didn’t want to share information that would endanger them. “The Republic wants to keep what happens at the Veeryd sites a secret. I can tell you, but you must not discuss it outside this house.”

“Of course, little brother. We’re not fools.” Ele smiled while Alana slammed her hand on the table. “I knew it was them. What did they do to you?”

Where do I start?

“Do you know of the beast attacks that spiked a few years ago?” Kai painted the situation he had found himself in two years prior with broad strokes. The need for a translator of the Vastaire glyphs, the spatial anomalies, and the infighting between the military and political wings. “We found a hidden realm connected to the ruins spread throughout the archipelago.”

Soft gasps circled the table.

“You’re not kidding?” Ele leaned on the table toward him. “You mean there is a whole realm separated from reality here, in our archipelago? Just like in the tales?”

“More or less.” Kai scratched his head. The reality of the Sanctuary was far grimmer than those legends depicted, there were no flying castles or waterfalls of gold.

Hmm, I might as well…

With a theatrical swirl of his hand, Kai summoned a long cerulean horn that shimmered like a sapphire. Since he was already this deep, he might as well provide proof. And why not play into their fantasies?

“How did you do that?” Moui blinked, slowly reaching to touch the horn. “Did this belong to a yellow beast?”

“I’ve got a spatial item, and yes. Though the drake was already half dead when I found it.” He had more impressive items stashed in his spatial closet, but those didn’t sparkle quite as much.

“You mean you landed the finishing blow? By yourself?” Ele stared at him with wide eyes. She didn’t have as many qualms, grabbing the trophy with a look of reverence. “Is this Water attuned…?”

“Yeah—”

“You mean you were trapped in this realm for two years?” Alana pulled him into a hug. “Oh, sweetheart. That must have been so scary.”