Page 35 of Savage Empire

“Well, yes.” Yordan nods. “Even if Apollo hadn’t stepped in that night, I would have found a way to kill him. Rayna kept me away from him while he was angry, and she only ever admitted to him pushing her around. But he punched her, her eye is still bruised…I would have done anything to make sure he didn’t get away with it.”

The seed of an inevitable sense of kinship has been planted with his confession. Yordan is much like my sons, willing to do anything to protect their sister. It’s a commendable quality to some, but an undeniably natural instinct of our family.

“Well, I’m glad Apollo found you both,” I tell him firmly. “It would be a noble but senseless death, to be murdered for avenging your sister. You won’t have to worry about such a thing now. You have our protection.”

“I want to earn it,” Yordan says immediately. “To be worthy of it.”

“A great answer,” I reply, nodding. “But an unnecessary one. Apollo has already decided that you are worthy of his care. You and your sister don’t need to worry aboutearninganything you’ve already been given.”

“I don’t want to be useless,” Yordan counters. “I can work.”

“You need to finish school before you concern yourself with work,” Apollo tells him, shaking his head.

Eyes going wide, Yordan’s head rears back. “School? You didn’t mention anything about school before…”

“I’m mentioning it now.” He tilts his head. “Education is important. When’s the last time you attended school?”

“I’ve always been in online school. Rayna stopped being able to enroll me when we moved in with Federico. He considered it frivolous. She used to take me to the public library when he was out of town to try and teach me whatever random thing she felt was important that day.”

“We’ll get you a tutor,” Apollo decides, finishing his coffee with one last sip. “There will be no working until you’ve graduated high school.”

Yordan looks like he can’t believe his ears. “Didyouwait until you graduated to work?”

Elio snorts. “None of us did. We’ve beenworkingsincewe could hold and fire a gun.”

Yordan motions at Elio, trying to make his case. “How am I supposed to work if I’m studying math instead of preparing for life after school?”

“Training is not working,” Apollo corrects. “You’ll train as well.”

“Did you talk to Rayna about this?”

Apollo chuckles. “Do you think your sister is going todisagreewith putting you back in school? The woman who would drag you to the library whenever she could to sneak lessons in?”

Yordan hesitates. “She might disagree simply because it’syouridea.”

Elio throws his head back, shaking with laughter. “He’s got you there.”

Apollo scowls at him. “Father, did you know that Elio and Rayna have a secret mutual friend? Interesting, no?”

Elio’s laughter comes to an abrupt halt, and Yordan chokes on his coffee. Apollo watches as the teen sputters, giving him a hard look.

“Care to comment, Yordan?”

“Uhh…can’t wait to start school?”

Apollo grunts, not pushing the topic further.

Something like family settles in my gut, warming it. Apollo is seeming much more like afatherthan a mentor.

Chapter Eleven

Rayna

Ididn’t expect to be so spectacularly bored within only hours of Yordan leaving the apartment. I already made myself breakfast, cleaned the dishes from last night, and eventually changed my clothes.

If I didn’t expect to see Apollo’s smug face again today, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. But a T-shirt and jeans are much more presentable than the skimpy shorts I had on this morning. The last thing I need is for him to get any ideas about my appearance.

The new outfit, though not entirely well-fitted, was comfortable enough to move around in. So, after an hour without another idea of what to spend my time on, I decided to try and be productive. Starting with arranging the kitchen in a more comfortable manner. Plates and bowls didnotbelong in the cabinets next to the stove.