Page 6 of Upon Shattered Bonds

A high-pitched scoff sounded. “Come on. Please?”

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Callie is here, huh?” When Jace’s cheeks began to pink, Zeke chuckled. “Alright, alright, but I won’t go easy on you this time.”

“No powers.”

“Cross my heart, hope to recoil.”

After five minutes of rolling with the younger Raeth, Zeke tapped out with a surprisingly well-preformed guillotine choke. The boy was just on the verge of knowing that Zeke was bluffing to build his confidence, but Jace was old enough that he wanted to prove himself.

One handshake and back slap later, Zeke returned to Kaien’s side, happily discovering that the other man had begun offering a few coaching tips to a sparring pair of younger children on the mats before them.

After a quick tutorial on a wrist lock, Zeke commented, “You’d be good at this.”

“At what?”

“Training the kids.” He cast him a sidelong glance, evaluating the other Raeth, before saying, “If you ever need to get away for a bit, you’re welcome to come teach a few classes.”

“That’s quite an offer,” Kaien said, his lips faintly curving. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my sister is your mate.”

Zeke shrugged. “I’ve extended the same offer to Sagan and Gideon.”

“They were here?”

“They come when they can make it—and we have someone able to ‘port them here,” he explained. “Both of them have a few kids in their clans that enjoy the classes when we teach them. There are very few outlets that are safe for children of immortals. Here, they don’t have to watch what they say about their parents. They can just be kids.

Zeke continued, asking, “Does your clan have younglings you’d like to enroll? Is that why you came?”

“No, actually.” Kaien straightened and looked him in the eye. “I wanted to extend a formal invitation, Zeke.”

“To what?”

“To my wedding.”

Zeke’s mind temporarily stopped working. “Your wedding.”

Kaien nodded.

“I’m fairly certain Nina wouldn’t appreciate me attending,” Zeke replied, “especially when it’s meant to be a joyous occasion.”

“My sister is lonely, Zeke. She’s moved back home—which is a miracle in and of itself. She’s among the clan for the first time in a century. But I can still sense the loneliness she feels.”

Turning to look into Zeke’s eyes, he asked, “I’m sure you’d know nothing about that, would you, Zeke?”

The comment hit him where it hurt. No matter how many times he invited his clansmen over for weekly game nights or hosted dinners, there was no denying it. Regardless of Kaien’s intentions, he let the remark—however true it may be—slide. He was wise enough to acknowledge when a cause was lost.

All hope for a bond between him and Nina had been crushed by his own actions. The bitter confrontations between him and Nina in the present always mingled with regret from centuries ago.

When he remained silent, Kaien sighed. “Anyway, I wanted to extend the invite. I’d like you there, for the Peace Accords if nothing else.”

Zeke nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

“Do that.”

Without a single word of goodbye, Kaien teleported away.

Almost immediately, Tzuriel sauntered over, his customary grin in place. His cousin was the same height—six and a half feet tall—and sported dark hair like Zeke, but Tzuriel’s eyes were cornflower blue.

“What did Kaien want?”

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