The instant Sly opened his eyes he saw the family doctor's face but instead of relief he felt nothing but pain.
Why couldn't he sit up?
The last thing Sly remembered was him jumping onto his sister, Ayana's casket.
While Ayana's casket was being lowered into the earth at the end of the funeral service.
Turning to the servants Lord Ducan ordered, "Get that boy off the coffin!"
The rigid and ominous atmosphere of the funeral was shattered by the booming voice of the commander.
"No," cried Sly.
The little boy's eyes were red and tearful as Sly rebelliously challenged his father with all his strength.
Not an ounce of sympathy.
No loving embrace or words of comfort were exchanged between father and son.
Lord Duncan just tightened his grip on Sly's wrists; his father was exerting so much pressure that Sly winced from the pain, feeling his bones could snap at any moment.
Everyone respectfully moved out of the way as the decorated commander used his large rough military hands to aggressively yank the small child off his sister's coffin.
Lord Duncan wanted to shout and swear obscenely at the boy but with family and invited guests present at the funeral the commander had to maintain some level of decorum.
Instead Lord Duncan closed his mouth and swallowed his foul words.
In a bid to control his anger directed at Sly, and maintain his dignity at the funeral.
Lord Duncan put on a fake smile and his words were swallowed bitterly as now was not the time for them to be said.
Overshadowed by his fathers stern oppressive countenance, Sly was distressed.
He no longer had his sister to use as a buffer between them and Sly instinctively started cowering in fear.
There was no more pretense of a loving father.
Just a selfish and exploitative commander doing his duty to keep the family bloodline pure and free from taint.
Hurt by the sudden burst of his father's antagonism and hatred towards him, Sly was stunned for a few seconds.
When Lord Duncan heard his eldest and only illegitimate daughter passed away he felt nothing.
Just a mild annoyance that Ayana's death was causing a disturbance in the normally quiet and peaceful household.
Sly couldn't help but wonder where things went wrong and why he felt so disconnected from reality.
Then before Sly could process his emotions he was forcefully pulled off the casket by his own father and handed over to the waiting servants.
While Sly was being dragged away nothing could prepare him for the sight of the dirt hitting the casket and that's when Sly fainted.
While Sly was unconscious his mind continuously replayed the final moments with his sister.
"Big Sis, don't leave me. How do I live without you?"
The young boy deliberately tried to keep a brave face for his older sister in her final moments but he couldn't hide the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.
Ayana Foxx saw the distress on her younger brother's face.
Deliberately ignoring the pain she felt Ayana moved to wipe the tears gently from his face.
Her breathing was labored as she made several attempts before her feeble soft fingers caressed him lightly.
Recently the siblings lost their mother and maternal grandparents, the only relatives that claimed them curiously passed away from natural causes one after the other.
Leaving the pair devastated and heartbroken by the loss.
Before they could even mourn properly they were sent to live with a father who was cold and indifferent to them, always busy and barely acknowledged their presence.
His sister was the most precious existence in his short miserable life and now Ayana was only seconds away from dying.
Sly absolutely hated that he could do nothing to postpone or stop her death and it grieved him.
Tears fell uncontrollably.
A series of loud pain racking coughs from Ayana eclipsed the sobs that escaped Sly's swollen lips.
"Sly…I swear to you that before I take my last breath …I made sure to have our father promise that he would send you far away to a boarding school."
"Don't talk like that Ayana, this is just temporary. You'll recover and be good as new after you get some rest."
By now Sly was curled up beside Ayana on the bed and for the last time Ayana gently stroked his soft dark curls feeling remorseful.
For Ayana was reluctant to go, wishing that she could have done more for Sly before her time was up.
"Ayana!"
Sly wailed when her warm palm stopped moving then fell limply on the bed.
Slowly Sly's mind slipped in and out of consciousness.
Before he could fully come to his senses he heard Lord Duncan's terse voice in the background ordering, "don't waste any medicine on him, just knock him out."
Sly felt his body tense as his father looked down on him with a hateful expression that he no longer bothered to hide behind cold eyes.
"Lord Duncan, it is better for him to remain conscious while I perform the transplant surgery. Do you not care about the well being of your son?" asked Dr. Jennings.
Lord Duncan shook his head. "That useless thing is just a spare. After serving its purpose it doesn't really matter to me whether the illegitimate bastard lives or dies. I only claim one son, my true heir, Victor."
It was only after his sister died that Sly Foxx realized that he should have never been born.
His only value to his father's side of the family was the spirit bone that lay dormant in his body.
In this world the spirit bone was the most highly prized source of power and unfortunately for Lord Duncan his heir apparent was born without a spirit bone.
Sly's destiny was to be ignored by everyone and be regarded only as a spirit bone donor for the true young heir, Victor Duncan.
As the surgery progressed Sly's body began to spasm and shake violently.