Sumi sighed. Family was such a pain in the ass. A lifetime of hurt feelings and misunderstandings. Of two very different accounts of the same event that could result in all-out war between siblings and parents, even years later.
Still, it was something she craved with every part of herself. She’d always been envious of her friends who had families they could visit. Siblings and parents they got along with. She just couldn’t imagine such a thing.
Trying not to think about it, she started the fire, and when Thia returned, she showed the girl how to make the antitoxin.
As soon as it was finished, she returned to the cave to find the last thing she would have ever thought possible.
Dancer was awake. And nestled up against his chest, in his arms like a little puppy, was Darice. With his chin resting on top of his nephew’s head, Dancer was lacing one of his leather bracers onto the boy’s arm.
She froze as their low voices reached her.
“So what was my da like as a brother?”
“He was fine, Darice.”
“Just fine? Matarra says that he was the most honorable of all. That he always took care of his brothers and watched over you.”
Dancer snorted. “She wasn’t the one getting her head dunked into toilets by him.”
Darice turned to look up at Dancer. “What? Why would he do that?”
Dancer sighed heavily as he checked the laces to make sure they weren’t too tight on Darice’s arm. “Your father had a temper, Dare. And I seemed to ignite it often. Sometimes by doing nothing more than breathing in the same room with him.”
“Really?”
“Really. Fain has always said that I’m a particularly vexing and talented… hemorrhoid.”
Sumi bit back a laugh at his editing of what she was sure his brother actually called him.
“Mostly,” he continued, “because I had two older brothers who took turns bossing me every minute of every day. And because I don’t like being told what to do, I always had an issue with them thinking they were my parents.” Dancer touched the tip of Darice’s nose. “And like you, I’m quite vocal when I don’t like something.”
“Is that why you never want to spend time with me? Why you never come to any of my games when I ask you to?”
Sumi’s throat tightened at the pain in Darice’s voice as he asked that question.
His jaw slack, Dancer lifted his head to stare down at his nephew. “I never miss your games, Dare.”
Curling his lip, Darice started to rise, but Dancer held him in place. “You’re a liar! Let go of me!”
With a fierce grimace, Dancer refused. He forced Darice back and held him with one arm while he turned on the small PD on his wrist. He swiped the screen with his finger. “See for yourself. I was even there at your last match when you scored the winning goal in overtime.”
Darice went perfectly still as he saw what must be a photo of him during the game. His lips trembling, he used his index finger to skim through the pictures on Dancer’s module. “I don’t understand. If you were there, why have you never come to see me after the games?”
“Because I’m not your father and I’ve never been in the Andarion military. Your mother said it would shame you for your friends and their fathers to see me there. So I always go when you play and then leave afterward before any of them see me.”
Sumi choked at the pain in his voice.
His brow furrowed, Darice continued to flick through the photos. “You were at my graduation?”
“I’ve always been there for you, Dare. And I always will be. Any time you need me, all you have to do is call.”
Tears glistened in Darice’s eyes as he tried to digest what Dancer showed and told him, against the lies his mother must have filled him with. “Why don’t you ever take me for weekends?”
“Whenever I go to pick you up, you’re always busy with school, games, practice, and your friends. Your mother says that it’s better for your growth that you stay with her, especially given the shame and embarrassment I would bring to you should any of them see me with you. It’s why I’ve only been allowed to train you for Endurance climbing every few months or so.”
Darice swallowed hard as he clutched at his uncle’s arm that held the module that catalogued how much Dancer loved him. “You don’t shame or embarrass me, Dancer.”
“That’s not what you’ve said in the past. I thought I was doing what you wanted… what was best for you, by leaving you with your mother and staying in the background.”
His gaze troubled and fretting, Darice fell silent as he turned off the module then laid his head on Dancer’s biceps.
Sumi moved forward, expecting Darice to say something snotty to her. Or jump up indignantly from Dancer’s arms. Instead, he merely watched her approach them from where he lay cradled.
“How are you feeling?”
Dancer licked his lips. “Wrung out. You?”
“I’m fine.” She knelt beside them and felt his forehead with the back of her hand. “Your fever’s not as bad.” Then she handed him the small cup. “It’s more of the antidote.”
He wrinkled his nose at the smell, but said nothing before he dutifully drank it. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.” She took the cup back then smiled at Darice. “I’m making more salad for your dinner.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, he twisted his face into an expression of supreme disgust. “I don’t like eating plants.”
She widened her smile. “And that’s why I made it for you.”
Dancer laughed. “Now you know what it’s like to have a sibling, Dare. They all treat you that way. The minute they know you don’t like something, they’re honor bound to torture you with it. For eternity.”
“Then I’m glad I’m currently an only child.” He closed his eyes again and sighed contentedly.
Dancer caught her hand before she moved away. “What can I do for you?”
Sumi hesitated, wondering if he even realized how he phrased things. He never thought of himself first. Rather, he put everyone’s needs above his own. “Rest. Get better for me.”
“I feel useless lying here. I should be —”
“You should be resting,” she repeated firmly. Then she dropped her gaze to Darice. “Plus, I think he needs some uninterrupted guy time.”
Only then did Dancer nod. “If you need anything, let me know.”
“Fair enough.” Sumi brushed a stray piece of hair back from Darice’s cheek before she stood and left them alone.
As she reached the opening, she heard Darice’s faint voice. “Are all humans like her, Dancer?”
“How do you mean?”
“Kind and gentle. Caring.”
“Sadly, no. Especially not to Andarions. She’s very different from most of her kind.”
“Ah… Is that why you like her?”
“No. It’s why I treasure her. Now, shush and give me peace from your questions for a while.”
Those words made her heart swell with an inexplicable joy. Dancer treasured her. Was it even possible?
“Are you okay?”
She looked up at Thia’s question as she neared the fire. “Fine. Why?”
Thia shrugged. “You have a strange, weepy look on your face.”
She set the cup down and checked their dinner. “Do I?”
“Yeah, you kind of look like I do whenever I get a new boyfriend.”
Sumi arched her brow at that offhand comment. “How many boyfriends have you had?”
“A ton. I cycle through them faster than socks.”
“Really?”
Thia nodded as she fed Illyse. “Not entirely my fault. First, they get pissy that I don’t sleep with them within fifteen minutes of meeting them. Then when they find out why, i.e., my father, the psycho-killer let’s-gut-people-for-fun, really is an assassin and bigger than most shuttles, and has not one, but five major armies at his command, they hit the door screaming.”