Page 96 of Castor

“Little brother,” he said when spotting me. “How are you feeling?”

“I want to talk to Castor.”

Tatsuya’s expression hardened before he smiled at Yuma. “Pardon us, my love. I need to speak with my brother in private.”

Two of his other wives stepped forward and linked arms with Yuma, speaking quietly as they left the garden. Tatsuya watched after them, love shining through his eyes, before moving his stare to me.

“Why do you want to speak with him?”

“Because he doesn’t know I’m alive for one. And two… I don’t want him to think I abandoned him.”

“Why not? Wouldn’t a clean break be better than a messy goodbye?”

“I don’t have to marry Warrin until December. Until then, I’m free to make my own decisions, right? I want to go home.”

“Youarehome.” He walked over to a Japanese blue oak tree and stared at the colorful fish in the pond beside it. “If you return to Echo Bay and see him, you won’t leave again.”

He was right. If I saw Castor again, I doubted anyone or anything could pry me from his side.

“Then at least let me talk to him.”

“Will that really make you feel better?” Tatsuya asked.

“No. I don’t think anything will. But…” I closed my eyes as a gentle breeze caressed my skin. “I need to hear his voice again, Tatsuya. At least one more time. Please.”

“Very well. I’ll see what I can do.”

An hour later, I was standing on the balcony outside my bedroom, staring out over the island. So many years of my life had been spent on that same balcony. Staring at the same trees and same sea in the distance. And just like those other times, I wished I was somewhere else.

Steps sounded behind me, but I didn’t bother turning around.

“Here,” Tatsuya said, handing me a phone. It looked brand-new. “You were always horrible at memorizing things, so I took the liberty of getting your Nephilim’s number for you. It’s plugged into your contacts.”

“Thanks.” I took the phone. “How did you get his number?”

“I called Sirena.”

My heartache was momentarily forgotten as I remembered my brother’s history with the female Nephilim. “She told me you visited her in the past to arrange a marriage.”

“I did.” Tatsuya rested his hands on the railing. “With our father dead and our people being slaughtered by the other dragon clans, I was desperate. I knew how powerful the Nephilim were, so I made a proposal of marriage, one which she declined.”

“You never told me.”

“I didn’t see a reason to.”

“Is that why you hate Nephilim?”

His blue eyes shifted to me. “I don’t hate them, Kyo. Sirena denied the marriage proposal, but she did help me. She helped mediate communication between me and the earth clan. One of the Nephilim in her group was from Ireland. Because of her, a ceasefire was put into place. I married my fourth wife, Maebh, not long after.”

The earth clan originated from Ireland, and out of the five dragon clans, they were known to be more sensible, less likely to lash out in anger. But just because they preferred peace to violence didn’t mean they were weak. Their warriors were strong.

“So why didn’t you want to help the Nephilim when I asked you?”

“Because my debt was to Sirena, not to the warriors you’re so fond of. Things are different now. When the son of Lucifer strikes, the water clan will help defeat him.” He patted the top of my head, just like he used to do when I was little. I used to snarl at him when he did it because it made me feel like a child, but I let him do it then without a fuss. It comforted me. “Call your Nephilim.”

Tatsuya left me alone on the balcony.

Releasing a shaky breath, I clicked on the contacts icon on the phone. Since it was new, there were only two names listed: Tatsuya’s and Castor’s. My thumb hovered over the latter… and then I called him.