Chapter 18

AURORA

“Now that I know, it makes sense why they’d give Rin a hard time. He’s his son, even if our father Jekia treats him as his own.”

“You and Rin must have known his father pretty well before he passed away, right?” I asked.

“Kind of. Sage was around a lot during those first five years. Let’s just say things were a bit complicated for him and us. But yes, I do remember him,” Rayne admitted.

“What was he like?” I asked, curious.

Rayne gave me a playful smile. “You’re really curious, aren’t you?”

“I can’t help it! I hardly know anything about your fathers!” I defended myself.

“I know, I know,” Rayne said, giving in. “I can’t tell you much about Rin’s. Only what I was told and what I remember. I do know his name was Sage, and he was one of the few nine-tail foxes left in the Veil. He was also one of the oldest. I remember him being a striking creature, just like my father. Rin reminds me a lot of him, even though Sage was silver and had nine tails. Rin has his eyes though.”

“Do foxes have a certain number of tails when they’re born?” I asked.

“No. They gain them as they age. I think it’s a new tail for every thousand years of life up to nine thousand. Usually, they turn silver at that point too, although I’ve heard that Sage was born that way. He was the only one they’ve ever known to be, and many believe that it was a sign he was destined for greatness,” Rayne explained.

“It sounds like it if it was that rare and only supposed to happen when they’re that old,” I agreed. “So what about your father? Did he and Sage know each other for a long time before you two were born?”

Rayne nodded. “They did. They were close friends since they were young, as far as I know. Sage also supported my father in becoming the ruler of these lands and continued to support him from the shadows afterward. While I can’t speak for either of them about what happened with our mother, I don’t think it ever really caused any rifts between them, and Mom has always defended things from that time too. I think her biggest issue with Sage was that he wasn’t around enough after we were born for Rin.”

“I think you’ve said enough.”

I tensed up when I heard Rin’s voice, but Rayne didn’t seem surprised or worried as he turned to look at our left. Rin was coming out of the forest, and even though he wasn’t acting angry, it was clear that he was very annoyed.

Rayne didn’t move as Rin approached us.

“That was quick. I guess you had a look at that splinter and figured things out pretty quickly,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say I figured much out, but that’s not the point. When the hell did you find this place? I’m not dumb enough to believe you just stumbled onto it now with how friendly you’re being with Aurora,” Rin responded sharply.

“Calm down, will you?” Rayne stood up to face him. “I stumbled onto it a few weeks ago and happened to find her outside, and you know I’m not rude enough to not say anything, especially when I realized she had your scent on her. Seriously, Rin, do you really think we wouldn’t find out you chose a beta anyway? Emelio probably already knows about it and just hasn’t said anything out of respect for you and her.”

“Emilio? You mean the Mage that works with your father?” I asked as I stood up.

“Ah, I see you told her about Emelio too,” Rayne noted.

“I’ve told her what I thought she needed to know, especially considering what Emelio can do. But back to the point, why are you here? Are you trying to drag us back now that you know about her?” Rin interrupted.

“I’m not doing anything like that,” Rayne huffed, now looking annoyed too. “If you wanted to be out here with her, then that’s your business, as is choosing a beta for yourself. What I’m worried about is what’s starting to happen. We both know that splinters aren’t easy to deal with, so for something to kill one, it had to be very powerful, and it had to do it without anything else noticing. The same thing has recently happened in Jumal too.”

This caught Rin’s attention. “What happened in Jumal?”

“Same thing as with that splinter. One of the ogres that guards the west forest was found dead two days ago, with no one hearing a thing even though it was so close to the village. Hamish called on our father to investigate and I went with him. The whole thing was incredibly strange. It was like something had split a hole through the middle of that ogre’s head, but there was no sign of anything else being around or any kind of struggle. It was like it just stood there and let itself be killed,” Rayne explained.

“Shit. That’s just like what I saw with that splinter, except its entire head had been split,” Rin muttered.

“So you think the same thing might’ve killed them both,” I guessed.

“It’s extremely possible,” Rayne agreed before looking back at Rin. “But like I said, it’s worried our father a lot, and he’s getting concerned about you not being around. While I’d normally say that you’re good at taking care of yourself, this could end up being very dangerous for Aurora if it’s something after our family.”

“I understand your concern, but I’ve got things under control here. I’d never let anything harm Aurora. You’re the only one who can breach my defenses because you’re my brother. She’s wearing my ring, so there’s no need for worry,” Rin tried to reassure him.

Rayne wasn’t buying it. “Rin, don’t be so hardheaded. You need to do what’s best for her,” he urged.

“I am doing what’s best, so quit trying to twist things. I’m taking good care of Aurora. There’s no need to whisk her away to our home. I can handle whatever life throws at us,” Rin shot back.

“You shouldn’t act so tough when you don’t know what you’re up against,” Rayne cautioned.

“I’ll do what I think is right, end of story.”

“Rin…,” I began.

“It’s okay,” Rayne cut in. “He can make his own decisions for now.”

Rin scowled at him. “You think I’ll be forced to retreat, don’t you?” he guessed.

“It’s hard to say, but don’t fool yourself into thinking it can’t happen, or that you can prevent everything. Even our father had to learn that lesson the hard way,” Rayne reminded him.

I watched as he turned and started to walk away. Rin called out to him before he reached the forest, causing him to pause.

“Don’t you dare tell our parents where I am or about Aurora.”

“That’s not my place right now, but I won’t stand by and let you do something that could get her killed. She’s too precious to be lost to something that could be avoided,” Rayne replied before disappearing into the trees.

His words left a lump in my throat and my heart skipped a beat. I was taken aback. I never thought he’d call me precious, and it sounded like he meant it.

Rin huffed, crossing his arms and looking away. But his words were revealing, stirring up the worry that was gnawing at the back of my mind.

“Say whatever you want. You know damn well who she belongs to.”