Page 9 of Resurrection

Sei would heal. Maybe he’d even spend a few hours napping in the arboretum to help the bruising fade faster. The space, which was a firm connection to his element, could heal just about anything. The memory of being shot in the head and landing on the ground of that very same arboretum flashed through his mind. He shoved it away, unwilling to deal with bad memories and unresolved emotions after such a terrible day.

Sakura had called back right afterward to promise dinner would be ready. Not that she cooked. She didn’t have the patience. Though she’d help her brothers, and even if Sei was just eating a frozen pizza warmed in the oven, it was plenty of work off his plate to end his long day. His kids being old enough to do basic house stuff like clean and cook was both a perk and a bane. Sometimes dinner got burned or thrown in the trash. Clothes turned pink in washers, or groceries were left out too long. It was part of learning how to be independent people, so Sei didn’t let it get to him too much.

The mothering he got from his own kids, however, was not something he enjoyed at all.

It was Jamie’s fault. His brother treated him like a kid still, so his own kids had adopted the concern. That somehow, Sei didn’t know how to feed himself and keep from going nuts thanks to all the magic he contained, while still keeping the world in balance. It was annoying to say the least.

When he walked in the door, Ki was scowling.

“What?” Sei asked. Ki’s red hair looked a mess, standing up like he’d been pulling on it. Mizuki was Sei’s worrier. And far too observant for a fourteen-year-old. All of them in their teens now, Sei had waited for the terrible teens to arrive. And they sort of had. Only not with boys who refused to shower or leave their room, or girls who kept secrets in diaries, but with them hovering over him. They also had a really bad habit of talking back to him. Karma, Sei’s mother informed him. Though he thought she’d always deserved his attitude, whereas he didn’t think he’d garnered the same level from his own kids.

“You got hurt at work again.”

“Bruised mostly. Already been to medical. I’m fine. I need food and a shower.” The smell of the frat house lingered. That unwashed, stale pizza and beer smell which made Sei a bit nauseous despite his overwhelming hunger.

“Four cracked ribs and a possible fractured wrist,” Forest said from behind Sei, making him let out a long groan. The kids didn’t need to know that.

Ki’s eyes widened as he took in the golem. Forest actually didn’t look like a golem anymore. He’d taken the form of some long dead person he’d found a picture of in one of the books sitting in the waiting room. But Sei knew his kid saw right through the guise. The shift was good. Bonding to Sei had restored the strength of its glamour so it no longer seemed to be coming apart. Even Sei had to peer at the golem from under his lashes, letting the edges trail across his sight before he could see the weird ripple of magic that indicated it was not what it seemed. Ki had always been a bit more in tune to his magic. He also hadn’t spent his childhood trying to hide it. None of Sei’s kids had. Which meant they all controlled and understood magic like it was the air they breathed. Some days, that wasn’t a good thing.

“What is that?” Ki demanded. He looked around frantically. “The wards aren’t reacting.”

“It’s a golem. And tied to me. No, they wouldn’t react.”

“Dad…”

“It’s fine,” Sei promised. “He’s safe with me.”

“Does Uncle Jamie know?”

“Yes, actually, he does. I called him from the office, which is why your sister said she’d make me food. Is there anything edible? I’m starving.”

“And smelly,” Kaine said as he came up beside his brother. Kaine was… fae. Sometimes Sei would find the human in him, the part that was tied to the human world, but he was fae all the way around. It meant that at ten-years-old he mirrored the twins in growth both physically and mentally. Not because he had to, as Sei suspected his fae form was much older—since crossing the veil did funny things to time—but because he didn’t want to be different than his siblings.

“Sorry to offend your olfactory senses,” Sei said dryly as he made his way toward the stairs. “I plan to shower first, then find food. Frat stink is something all of you should strive to avoid.”

“Jamie made homemade chicken katsu for you. A broccoli slaw salad to go with it,” Ki said.

Thank the Earth Goddess for Jamie. Sei’s stomach grumbled at the thought of crispy panko fried, miso marinated chicken, and the spicy slaw. He almost turned around and went to the kitchen instead. But he stunk, and he had a golem to keep track of.

“Forest, come,” Sei commanded, insisting it follow him up the stairs. He didn’t want to leave it alone around his kids, just in case. The bond seemed solid, but he hadn’t been able to trace it to its source. And he hadn’t severed the original tie because he needed to find its creator.

They made it all the way to the door to Sei’s room before another voice stopped them.

“Sei,” Jamie called. If he hadn’t made a dinner Sei was dying to eat, Sei would have screamed. Cursed. Called him names. All the stuff he had wanted to scream the moment after getting caught in that trap but had convinced himself to hold in. A Rou was poise and polish, power and prestige. Sei fucking hated being a Rou. If he had been able to save his kids from the tie to it, he would have changed their names in a heartbeat. But even when Jamie annoyed Sei, he loved his brother and tried not to give him his foul temper if Sei could help it.

But he needed a shower and food. Stat.

Slowly Sei turned Jamie’s way, his whole body throbbing in agony that he was certain a hot shower would soothe. Jamie stood there, his long hair pulled back and arms folded across his chest, shoulders wide and strong. Jamie was a big guy that would make anyone hesitate to get snippy. The lanky blond at his side never seemed intimidated. Guess that was why they’d been married almost a decade.

“You look like shit,” Kelly said.

“Smell like it too,” Jamie wrinkled his nose. “Sad if even I can smell it.” He sniffed. “Frat boy sheik?”

“Ha ha,” Sei waved at them. “Do you know how many empty pizza boxes and beer cans are in most dorms? I shudder to think of the roaches and rat feces I am probably covered in. Go away. I need a shower and food.”

“I’ve got golem duty,” Kelly volunteered, walking up to Forest and staring at him. “Eerie how lifelike it looks.”

“I need to look you over,” Jamie demanded.