Bach in the back.
“ He’s an insane manipulator. He made Oleander, my daughter, so twisted, she tried to kill Wisteria.”
“ Bach.” Lluc grinned. “Exposing your daughter to Felip was a risk, but he saved my life. When I got to Franklin, Wisteria’s father poisoned me and within hours, I was locked down. Felip got me out.”
“ Felip cares about himself. He resents us because we are full-blooded Family and he is part human. Me…he hates most of all for reasons I will never understand.”
“ Soon, that will not matter anymore.”
“ The Family has always detested humans. Father had me stabbed, because I would not give Wisteria—a human—up. You were there, so what has changed?”
“ Mother will explain it to you.” Lluc patted Bach’s shoulders. “First, let me take care of you. How do you feel?”
Closing his eyes and clenching his fists, Bach sprinted a few steps and leapt into the air , landing on one of the courtyard’s walls and then onto a tower overlooking a forest. “I feel great.”
“ Amazing huh?” Lluc landed beside him.
“ I’ve fully regenerated.” As a member of the Family, Bach possessed the ability to heal himself from most ailments and injuries through a deep sleep called regeneration. “How long did I sleep?”
“ An hour and not only are you fully regenerated, you’re almost forty percent stronger.”
“ How is that possible? I would need at least a half a day to regenerate myself back to full strength. Did you give me something?” He examined his brother closely. “You’re different somehow.”
Lluc ’s black hair shone and his shana, the black spots on his neck, were blacker than Bach ever thought possible. The shana provided an indication of the health of a Famila, and his brother looked in the best shape of his life. However, it was Lluc’s eyes that troubled him. Instead of being green as every healthy Famila man’s eyes were, his pupils were yellow.
“ I have changed in more ways than you can imagine. Mother showed me a form of regeneration called the perfection. It greatly increased my strength and agility.” Lluc beamed. “She started using the perfection on you, while you were sleeping, but it has not been completed yet.”
“ That’s why I feel so incredible. “ From the higher ground, he got a bird’s eye view of the entire courtyard and a wild forest behind them. There were no people, plants or animals, simply the grey stone. “Where are we?”
“ The Forrest of Mirrin in Jarthan. We used to come here with Mother before she disappeared.”
“ You’re right.” Bach remembered, Mirrin castle was used by the Lord or Lady of Jarthan for their meditations, studies and or any negotiations they needed to do with bickering Sens. When his mother had been the Lady of Jarthan, she’d forbidden civilians from going to Mirrin, but told no one why. Over time, people stopped going entirely. “Is Nular here?”
Nular was the human woman his brother fell in love with and with whom he’d run away.
“ Who?” Lluc asked as they headed to one of the ancient doors.
“ Your Thayn.”
Lluc paused, cocking his head to the side. “This way.” Ignoring Bach’s question, he bounded of the tower.
Following him, Bach descended through the air , landing inches behind his brother.
Lluc marched forward into the castle and led Bach through a dark passageway.
Bach grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. “Are you telling me you don’t remember Nular, your pregnant human wife?”
“ She is safe now. The Family will not be able to reach her.”
The dark corridor brightened up, lit by candles. Standing at the end, they saw the tall regal woman—his mother, Lady Coia of the Third Pillar. Dressed in her white grown with a blue stripe down the center, her long dark hair swept across the ground as she moved forward. The last time he’d seen her, her skin looked pale almost pure white, but now she glowed with a healthy tan her cheeks a rosy red. Like Lluc,