Page 86 of Fallen Heirs

Elliot Sabre’s magical know-how was second to none. Except, maybe, my father’s. They were pretty much even in that respect. The fact that Elliot hadn’t been able to determine the answers we needed within a few hours, it extending to days instead, didn’t bode well at all.

While that had me anxious, so did the fact that Talon wasn’t doing well with the separation of our foursome.

With my father’s intense training regimen with Alena, we were only able to talk to her briefly at the end of each day. He wanted her focused only on perfecting her special ability, and nothing else at current. It also meant that I hadn’t been able to divulge the details of what Talon and I were working on with regard to the new incarnation ofObsidian.

She would absolutely love it and want to jump right into it. It could mean her trying to rush through her training with my father and dangerous mistakes happening as a result. Or it couldhave her more antsy to get back to us than she already was through missing us being with her. So, for now, I’d just told her that I had a surprise that I’d reveal to her once her task in the DFR was complete.

The good news was that my father had really taken to her.

He’d even told me that he’d revealed the closely-guarded secret of his magical regeneration ability to her. Hetrustedher. And it was clear with the updates he’d been giving me on her progress that he’d also come to respect and admire her.

Saryan Hart didn’t usually take to people so easily, especially not outsiders.

But just like had been the case for me, Alena had defied his expectations. It was a testament to how special she was that she’d managed to turn an extremely volatile situation wherein I’d actually stood against my father for the first time ever, to something positive.

I lounged back on the bed, my head propped up against the pillows, sterile white just like the sheets. I was in one of the few bedrooms within the central quarters of the operational center, all modest and just providing the basics. A small desk with a wooden chair sat beside a pine dresser opposite the bed, plain beige curtains hanging down over the adjacent window that looked out over the courtyard, and a small ensuite bathroom.

Training had ended for the night,Obsidianfree to relax for a few hours before we woke up at the crack of dawn and did it all over again.

For my part, I was brushing up on some battle strategies and troop formations via a manual that Marlowe had gifted me. All of it I’d already been trained on during my childhood under the tutelage of my father, but it had been a while, so I’d insisted on reviewing it. I couldn’t afford any deficiencies, especially not in myself as their leader, being responsible for so many lives, all of them trusting in me.

I was just finishing up another section when a knock sounded at my door.

“Come on in,” I called out.

A moment later, the door opened and Talon appeared at the threshold, wearing nothing but what passed for sleepwear with him—a pair of tight vibrant-orange trunks. “Hey.”

“Everything okay?”

He shook his head, melancholy all over him. “I need you.”

“I know, baby bird.” I patted the bed. “Come here.”

He walked in and closed the door behind him, then made his way over to me.

As he did, I closed the manual and tossed it down on the nightstand, then shifted my weight on the bed.

His eyes were all over me, taking in my shirtless state and wandering over my Fae markings, his gaze then dipping to my leather pants none too subtly.

He climbed onto the bed and nuzzled against me right away, burying his face in my shoulder as I held him to me.

“Everything will be okay. We’ll all be together again soon,” I soothed, stroking his hair.

“It’s not just that, which is bad enough, it’s… this is essentially war, Ore.” He lifted his head to look at me. “What if things go wrong, what if we… lose each other?”

So that was what had been at the heart of his mournful mood lately. He’d given it all during our training exercises, showing off what he was now capable of with the great grasp on his control that he was now able to achieve these days making all the difference, but whenever there was a break in all the activity, when he had a moment to breathe, he’d become quiet and withdrawn.

I wasn’t surprised that this worry had been behind it. It always came back to his abandonment issues in the end. It was doubtful that it was ever something that would fully goaway because of how it had come about—losing his parents in such a brutal and untimely way—but there were ways to at least mitigate it. Like him coming to me now to discuss it, like us talking it out. Sometimes he just needed to hear my words of reassurance. Other times, especially during extreme circumstances like those we were facing currently, no words from me were enough and all I could do was try to soothe him.

With the way he was right now, it would require a bit of both.

“We’re a match for Constantine and his acolytes, Talon. We know what we’re up against and we’re preparing in kind.”

“It’s still no guarantee.”

“You’re right, it’s not. But we’re mitigating the risk by doing what we’re doing here, with Alena training too, with Xavier and Elliot working to figure out Constantine’s other angle. We’ve also all stood against him and lived to tell the tale. In fact, the last few times we’ve gone up against him,he’sfailed.” I stroked his cheek. “And let’s face it, the four of us are very difficult to kill also. Even for that psychopath.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “That’s true. We are hard to kill. Tough motherfuckers, aren’t we?”

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