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Father’s eyes narrowed in anger, and a chill ran down my spine. Father never lost his temper easily, and to see him thus was quite a worry.

Chapter Four.

Father saw me looking and smiled with great difficulty. “No, no, my anger is not aimed at you,” he cried, coming to take me by the shoulders.

Father was not a demonstrative man, and this small show astounded me. Mother moved and stood by Inka’s shoulder, sensing that we needed a little time to talk to each other. My parents had always approved of Inka and our relationship and treated her as if she was another daughter.

“Jacques, my foolish, impetuous son. Never should I have allowed you to go ahead with this stupid plan. Ah, what’ve they done to you both? My poor sacrificial angel. Never fear, we will get our revenge.”

“No. Forget what happened. Just show me your love, Father. That is all I need. Allow me to hold on, to know you are here for us,” I whispered.

Father sighed and grabbed me as if he was drowning, and I was his last lifeline.

Again, I started to cry.

This taciturn man had, as I’ve said, had never been physically affectionate towards his children. Father found emotions hard to show, but here he was holding me and… yes, crying. Crying! Iwould’ve sworn that Father didn’t know what tears were. Father sobbed now, though, making this the most painful moment.

Julia, my eldest sister, led Father away, and then I was face to face with my twin brother, Taran.

Taran and I had never been close, and indeed, there had been an intense rivalry between us. We were also very jealous of one another. We were one person split into two. I took risks and treated life as a joke, really. Taran was serious had a good sense of humour, but he was the responsible one. We were always trying to score points of each other. In all honesty, I expected nothing but recriminations from Taran.

“Father has been like this since the news broke,” Taran explained, nodding his head toward my parents. “The Core’s actions irrevocably damaged that part Father had locked away.”

“And you blame me,” I replied in a clipped tone of voice.

“Yes, brother dear, this is your fault. But everyone thinks Father is an improved man. Father needed breaking. He has never shown any emotion since his sister died. And the tragic event happened before we were born. Father now shows how much he loves and needs us. This is the only good thing to come out of thisGreatExperiment.”

Unsure, I nodded, still uncertain of Taran’s mood, then he smiled and held me in a powerful hug.

Shocked?Indeed, I was, but my arms rose to hug him back.

Taran released me, so I joined Inka on the floor with Mihal.

Mihal was confused but recognised his papa. He put out his little chubby arms for a cuddle, which I gladly gave him. Finally, we all sat on the cushions, Mihal firmly encased in his mother’s grip. Inka was glowing with contentedness.

Father coughed and cleared his throat. We looked at him.

“Is what Marel said true? Can nothing honestly be done?” he asked.

Inka and I nodded.

“Marel will be working to find some reversal, but he thinks it is impossible,” I replied.

Father nodded agreement. “You can’t reverse death. Jacques, I don’t pretend to understand properly, but I’ve grasped the basics. The relatives were notified the day after the disaster. Luckily, we’ve had a while to get used to the circumstances. You, however, have just been informed, and this must seem devastating. This family supports you completely. Inka and you remain our children, and that won’t ever change.” Father coughed to clear a lump in his throat.

Mother continued, “Obviously, we have given a great deal of thought as to what’s happened and to the future. Jacques, Inka, you will need help with certain things. One of the most obvious is Mihal. We would be honoured if you would let us keep Mihal here. Mihal can, of course, go to your parents, but we love him dearly and brought up five children. No offence intended, Inka, but your family wishes for a quiet life. Quite likely, they won’t want a noisy, boisterous child running about.”

“Well,” Inka dragged the word out.

“Look, my parents can watch Mihal for seven days and yours the next. That is fair. If your parents do not want to do that, mine will help raise Mihal,” I said, appealing to Inka’s better judgment.

I guessed Inka was thinking that her parents had only had her, and that Mihal might be compensation, but something made me cautious.

“Yes, Jacques, that’s reasonable,” Inka replied with a smile.

“Have you thought about what to do?” Father questioned, having regained his composure.

“What to do?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders.