Page 18 of Fallen Heirs

5

~Talon~

I looked up from the table where all my papers and pens were sprawled all over, and eyed Ore as he sat reading in an armchair a few feet away. “What do you think of the name Safe Haven?”

“Ithinkthat has nothing to do with your assignment for yourFoundations of Spell Castingclass,” he answered without tearing his eyes away from his book.

It was a heavy volume all about the history ofExemplar.

I didn’t know why he was reading it, he’d already passed the class at the Academy that was centered around it, one of Professor Wilhelm’s specialties. The guy who’d tried to help X and had then ended up saving his life. I’d actually run into him at Abigail’s memorial when I’d been looking for X. He’d seemed a little salty at being replaced as the guy trying to help X by first Orpheus and now that special Healer Elliot had set him up with. Fortunately, he'd had a lot to take his focus with all the shit happening throughout the supernatural world right now and him being a member ofExemplar.

“For my supernatural orphanage.”

He looked up then, giving me his full attention.

He always liked it when I talked about my future plans.

“That could work. MaybeHaven Housetoo.”

“Ooh, I like that,” I said, hurriedly writing it down on the list I’d been making at the back of my notepad.

“Abigail’s memorial, Alena losing her mom, it’s had you thinking about losing your own parents, hasn’t it, baby bird?” he asked gently.

I nodded. “I was trying not to let it, but the memorial really brought it home to me. I didn’t bring it up sooner because I’ve been processing it.”

“I’m really glad there’s been processing.”

“Yeah, unlike before, right? Just all that rage and repression I had going on.”

He smiled out at me. “You’ve come a long way.”

“So have you.”

“Me?” he asked, sitting forward on the chair. “How so?”

“Well, I mean, beforehand you would’ve been razing the damn world to hunt down that fucker who hurt Alena and your father, who fucked with X. But here you are taking the calm and careful route, wanting to followExemplarrather than working against them.”

He frowned. “I wouldn’t say I’m following them.”

I held up my hand. “Ore, I meant it as a positive thing. You’ve calmed since everything that went down. It made you change your previous way of doing things. And I’ve gotta say, it’s taking away a shit-ton of my worry when it comes to you putting yourself in danger.” I smiled. “I never thought the day would come.”

“Huh,” he murmured, staring off into space for a moment, before returning to his read.

“Brushing up on yourExemplarknow-how before you head in there to become one of them?” I asked.

“Looking back over past battles, the strategies they used and the outcomes of each.”

“Making sure their approach can mesh well with yours? It will now you’ve calmed down. Like I said, thank fuck for that.”

He merely nodded, but frowned down at his book.

I settled back into what I was doing and we fell into one of our comfortable silences for a while.

It wasn’t long before my concentration was interrupted by the thing that had been nagging at me lately with all the talk of death and all the loss lately.

I looked out at Ore again and asked, “What do you think would have happened if I’d been there the night my parents were set upon by Constantine?”

His head shot up.

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