Page 42 of Claimed By Brothers

“Umok was still waiting for reinforcements to arrive yesterday. According to the whispers I picked up on, they were more than a few days away, and he doesn’t have enough men by his side to mount a campaign against us. Not tonight,” I say. “No, there’s something else going on.”

“I don’t like this, Binzen.”

“Neither do I.”

And neither do the rest of our men, judging by the concern etched deeply across their faces.

Finally, we make it to the bottom of the steps leading up to town, but there’s too much agitation even on the other side of the river. Men and boys shouting. Torches rushing along the water’s edge. Whistling. I keep hearing Valen’s name being called out, and it makes my stomach churn. As if possessed by a lightning strike, I bolt up the stairs and reach the town center in the blink of an eye, my tail flailing incessantly behind me.

“What’s happening?” I ask the people as they rush to greet me with pale faces and wide eyes.

“Valen is missing,” one of them says.

“What do you mean he’s missing? Where’s Amber?” I snarl but don’t wait for their answer to finish rolling off their tongues. I see her already, kneeling outside our house and crying her heart out.

I run over while my men scatter behind me. Simy knows what he has to do. I don’t have to tell him. My son’s safety is paramount. A thousand thoughts crash into me at once as I reach Amber. She looks up at me, her blue eyes glazed with tears, her lips quivering, and her hair a ruby-colored mess. Shuddering, she struggles to get up and fails miserably, falling back with a whimper.

“Oh, God, Binzen… I’m so sorry.”

“Amber, what happened?” I ask, kneeling beside her.

This sight compels me to take her in my arms. I can’t stand to see my woman crying like this; it’s ripping me apart on the inside, but the urgency of finding my son amps me up, and I’m unable to focus at the same time. I hold her close and tight, waiting for her sobs to subside and for her ragged breathing to return to a semblance of normalcy.

“Amber, talk to me. What happened?” I insist and clasp her chin to get her to look at me.

“Someone… oh, God, someone took Valen.”

The words hit me like hammers from every side as the bigger picture comes into focus. I already have an answer in regard to the culprit, and I may only have myself to blame. My blood runs cold as I grab Amber by the shoulders, unable to stop myself from gripping too tightly.

“Look at me,” I snap.

She does, and the pain in her eyes, the agony in her voice, breaks me all over again. “I was down by the river with the girls.”

“What were you doing down there?” I ask.

“Just talking, Binzen, I swear. We were talking. Valen was asleep in his cot. There were plenty of people around. It wasn’t even the first time I let him take his nap alone.”

“How long were you gone?”

“I don’t know. Not that long.”

I shake her, the anger getting the better of me, but I cannot control these impulses. The horror of this new reality has shattered me to the core, and I don’t know how to fix this. I’m angry and helpless, and my woman is utterly destroyed by guilt and grief. I feel her emotions flowing through me as though they were my own, and I know she can feel mine, too.

“How long is not that long?” I growl, the agitation swelling around us.

No one is standing still. Not a single soul out here has stopped searching for Valen, and I’m worried he’s long gone by now. Amber swallows back tears as she tries to remember. “Maybe an hour. Less than an hour. Half an hour, I think.” But the tears burst forth furiously, streaking down her reddened cheeks. “Oh, Binzen, it’s my fault. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“We’ll find him,” I mutter and let go of her.

She feels rejected. I can’t help her right now. My guilt is consuming me like wildfire, and I cannot hold myself back. I may have caused this, and I can’t bring myself to comfort Amber because she should’ve been more careful. Dammit, I should’ve seen it coming. I should’ve known it wouldn’t go down as easily as I had hoped.

“Binzen!” Simy comes running with a piece of wood in his hand. It’s a message tablet. “Someone threw this across the river just now,” he says. “We saw Sky Tribe colors on him. He ran away. Kai sent people after him, but I don’t think they’ll catch him.”

“What is that?” Amber asks, staring at the wood now resting in my trembling hands.

I read the words carved into it a hundred times over. The meaning slashes my very soul wide open, every nerve ending in my body flaring with dread as the consequences of my actions come to light. I can see it on Simy’s face. He would say, “I told you so,” if he didn’t respect me. I would certainly deserve it.

“What does it say?” Amber insists.

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