🕯️This chapter contains themes of emotional manipulation and family grief. Reader discretion advised.
Lux
Her silence was as stunned as when I casually told her I was a shifter earlier. She just blinked, then turned to me with a questioning look. I nodded, then she turned to Keir, who gave her a nod as well. With a hand held up asking us to wait, she stood up with her container and just looked out the window, eating and quietly muttering to herself. I could extend my senses to listen to her, but she was already so sensitive I didn't want to set her off again.
-Is this going well? I think it's going better than I expected. Any guesses what has shocked her ? I'm voting on her feeling hurt about Aspen being a psychic.- Keir rambled, as he usually does when worried. I let him vent without comment. My focus stayed on Nyx in case she really tried to run this time. My twin tried to look only mildly concerned, but like Keir, I could feel his worry growing.
-Everything will be okay, Little Healer. Little Wolf is processing. I do not think she will reject you again because of your race. I understand why you did things this way, but she should have had a choice. We just got her back, and we are all having to deal with changes.-
-Keeping something so intrinsic as our racial legacy, which is a core part of our enclave philosophy, away from her will require punishment. I will discuss with the elders, so be ready for whatever is decided.- We held hands like we once did as children, exchanging a sad smile. I have little doubt that Aspen wasn't aware of this oversight with Nyxara.
I'm certain he convinced himself that revealing our races before she was more stable would hinder her healing process. He never prevented anyone from sharing this information with her; he simply never mentioned to us that she hadn't remembered. Only Nimra and I are aware of the profound devastation he endured due to her rejection and fear of him in recent years. Like all of us, he made every effort to make her feel at home with us. However, we failed to perceive things accurately. The growl that escaped my lips caught Keir and Aspen's attention.
I simply shook my head and took a sip of my whiskey. How could we have anticipated the extent of the manipulations? Subtle, almost imperceptible tactics fractured our bond and seeded whispers that weakened us. Looking back over the past two years, it's almost insulting how clouded our minds must have been by illusions. How could we not see the cycle our youngest was fighting?
One moment, she was our beloved Tharym—family—and the next, she was a spiteful gaslighting harpy making us question whether we were unintentionally causing her harm by simply being in her presence. Round and round the cycle went—until she ended it.
For herself and for us. With her death, our bond plus any others she had were severed. Thus, the poison in the Tharym bond was no longer hidden.
It was a confusing situation for the Tharym and kin-branch. We knew she was dead for 5 seconds of incomprehensible pain for us before she was alive again. Korran quickly got us organized. He sent my brothers and me to track Nyxara down. Azrail went to check in on the kin-branch, then get intelligence on if we were under attack. To verify the Tharym's integrity, he and Nimra underwent soul-deep scans.
The results were disturbing and hard to accept. Over time, our Tharym bond had become poisoned. The disharmony we couldn't resolve suddenly made sense. They used Little Wolf to weaken us from within. Little Wolf must have been so scared. Not knowing what was real and what was illusion.
So she started going on trips alone. Experimenting while trying to find a solution to the situation. When we sent our teams out to do a deep dive of Nyxara's movements over these past few years this is what they had uncovered. The truth behind the absences and the manic cycle that was tearing us and her apart.
When she came back, she was once again the person we knew for a week or two before she once again reverted back into the entitled, selfish woman we didn't know. Knowing now that she most likely kept her distance to keep us safe on top of dealing with the side effects of a Hollow-bind …made it necessary for me to go on hunting trips during her two week clinic stay to keep my wrath under control. My glass quietly shattered in my hand.
Keir wordlessly squeezed my shoulder, then got up to make me another drink. Aspen whispered a spell that cleared the glass and blood away. With a new glass in my other hand and my hand already healing on its own, I just let myself breathe through this wrath spell. My brothers understand without being told what has upset me. It's our common itch. The need to balance the scales is weighing on all of us.
Our intelligence specialists tell us the Dillards are the ones who most likely were corrupting our Tharym, but we can't figure out how they did it or why. So while we pretend ignorance we will keep watch because sooner or later we will find out the truth. Whether that truth comes from their living tongues or their dead lips, we will make them pay for crossing the line.
No matter how long it takes, they will pay for their transgressions.
Nyxara
"Aspen, you being a psychic makes sense, especially in your line of work. Notifying me each time when you were going to form a psychic connection with me during my hospital therapy makes sense now." Catching their reflections in the window, I see them look away when they notice my gaze. I internally chuckle at their cuteness. Their earth counterparts were never this adorable in their reactions to me.
Looking out into the surrounding foliage, I watch what looks like fireflies dancing in the night. "I can forgive Aspen for not explicitly telling me he was psychic, but I will require an explanation. Nyx, be honest with yourself. You're having a mini freakout because one of your parents is a demon, and it's not computing. In what way is he a demon? Does he have another form? Does this mean we're all part demon? Am I a demon-witch? I don't think bright-colored skin and horns are my thing." I keep muttering, observing everything outside and eating until my spoon hit the bottom of the bowl. Freakout over. Time to face the table—there better be some kind of dessert around here.
I stomp back over to the table. Let's see how far I can push being a spoiled little sister. I plop down on my cushion, reshaping it to be in a reclining seat position. Wordlessly, I push my glass at Aspen. I stare until he gets up to make me another drink. I push my trash to Keir, who makes it disappear with a sigil. I notice more food at the center of the table. I look at it, then at Lux, then back at the food. Lux hands me a second portion of my order. Aspen returns with my drink, placing it within reach.
I give them each a thankful smile before digging into my food. They all instantly relax, and the atmosphere is lighter. It feels good to be spoiled. I won't play this card too often. Just on occasion. Got to enjoy this while I can. They should be getting significant others soon… unless they already have them? My mind once again stuttered at the possibility.