Page 13 of All That Has Flown Beyond
“Sorry. Plenty of liquids. I’ll buy one of those metal thermos things so I don’t get plastic cancer.”
“Good. And you need to get plenty of sleep.”
“You know I’m in college, right?”
“I don’t care if you’re on the moon. A steady circadian rhythm is vital for good health.”
“Okay, Mother. Five a day, twenty-four seven water consumption, and ten hours of sleep.”
“Kaiyo…” Adeline looked at him sternly. Kaiyo grinned before stepping closer to hug her.
“Sorry, Mom. I’ll take care of myself. Promise.”
“Don’t make me come down there.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
It felt good to be in her arms. The familiar smell of home, how his taller frame had to hunch over a little to wrap around her, the strength in her thin, wiry arms.
He let the mask slip for a moment, let the crust fall away. Let himself feel the hurt.
**********
Kaiyo leaned against the car, feeling the unwelcoming buzz of the wards around him. They were in dire need of recasting. Kaiyo could feel where he’d be able to poke holes through the fabric of them, but it wouldn’t serve his purpose to muscle his way into the core of Garrow land.
He waited. The winter night was cold, the revenant of his breath showing its phantom face in intervals. Kaiyo had turned off the car completely, leaving the dark unblemished. It was just stars and moonlight and the inked forest around him.
The figure coagulated in parts. The blurred shape, the limbs, the flat, black eyes. For a second, the darkness allowed a wishful lie and his heart raced ahead, but it had misjudged. It wasn’t Ahmik.
“Emil,” Kaiyo greeted.
“Kaiyo.”
“I was hoping to speak to Ahmik.”
“He’s busy.” The voice was flat and ungiving.
Kaiyo gritted his teeth against the acidic taste of anger rising from his stomach. Emil had joined the pack in the past two years. He had enchanted Thea and insinuated himself into the ranks. Kaiyo had been born into the land they were on. It was his legacy. Yet Emil stood on one side of the wards, and Kaiyo stood on the other.
“I can wait. And, I brought Christmas presents,” Kaiyo said, nudging the bag by his foot. He knew the attempt at bribery was pathetic, but he’d try anything to find a way in again.
“Kaiyo…” Emil shook his head. “Ahmik isn’t going to come out. He’s busy.”
Kaiyo straightened. “Why? Is there something wrong?”
“No. But he’s Kephale, and he doesn’t have time for this.”
Kaiyo pressed his lips together tightly. His crossed arms pressed against him like they wanted to fold him in half.
“Kaiyo, you need to move on, okay? This isn’t going to happen. Just…live your life. Move on.”
“Move on,” Kaiyo repeated with a lemon stuck in his throat. “Just, move on. Well, why didn’t I try that?” he spat out. Emil looked at him steadily.
“Have you, though? Or are you caught hoping for something that’s not going to happen?” Emil responded quietly.
Kaiyo clutched at himself, staring into the shadows where Emil’s eyes should be.
“I can’t. I—”
