by JF Jenkins
"I'm not having it anymore," Darien said. "And I am making things up to her. We have a date planned."
"Oh, you have a date planned." Brian nodded though there was only sarcasm in his voice.
Darien's eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Just spend more time with her than just a date every so often."
"I do!"
Tony popped his head in. "Hey. I didn't know we were having a party." He smiled genuinely which was a nice sight to see.
"We might as well make it one," Lance said. "Let me get Asher, Noah, and Christian here too."
With a sigh and a shake of his head, Darien went to put another pot of water on the stove. "I'll get some more tea made."
He couldn't remember the last time all of the brothers had been in the same room together that didn't involve a family event of some kind. Darien liked it. Being with his brothers helped him feel small again, and not like a Great Dragon Lord, something he needed for his own sanity. Like a calm before the storm.
Chapter Forty-Six
The Inero
Hand in hand, Jason and Gwen walked to the hill where Oliver lived with his family. Jason was nervous. If this man could so easily figure him out, what about the other dragons who lived on the island? He didn't want to be easy to read in case the news got back to his father. Not like Lynx cared much since he had yet to try and check up on his son. Which made Jason scoff since he was supposed to be one of the favorites, but it only further proved he'd only been appeased because of his brother.
He knocked on the door, giving Gwen's hand a squeeze while they waited.
"Relax," she whispered.
"Trying to," he whispered back.
A young boy of around ten opened the door and stared up at the two. Jason gave him a small wave which caused the boy to run away. He scowled, and Gwen started to laugh.
"What's funny?" He frowned.
Her laughter subsided into a sigh. "I forgot how adorable kids are."
He raised an eyebrow. Most of his encounters with kids hadn't been what he would consider adorable, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually interacted with one for more than a few minutes. It'd been at least a number of years before he'd interacted with one, period. Oliver came down the hall wearing a big smile on his face. He waved for the two of them to come in.
"That's my youngest Luke. He's a little shy with strangers. Besides, he's supposed to be doing his homework," Oliver said and led them into the house. Jason took in the simple and homey decor.
Family portraits hung on the walls along with a number of baby pictures. It reminded him of the house he and Gwen had been trying to make for themselves back in the city. She had tried so hard to create a similar atmosphere for them. Granted, they didn't have any personal pictures to put on the walls, but she found landscapes and other paintings to hang up in their place. Now that he could see what she was trying to do, he wanted to start taking more pictures of them to put up. Oliver's place felt like a home, which was nothing like the castle.
They were taken to the dining room which had a couple of candles lit and a huge feast sitting on it. A roast chicken surrounded by red potatoes and onions was the centerpiece; fresh bread and a fruit salad rounded out the meal. There was a vegetable tray, as well as one with various types of cheeses on it.
"Drinks?" Oliver asked, making a sitting motion with his hands. Both Jason and Gwen took a seat.
"I'm fine with water, thank you," Gwen said. "Do you have a little lemon? If that isn't asking for too much, I mean."
"Not at all. One thing I love about living out here on the island is the fruit is plentiful and fresh. I don't know how much of it you've had, but try the mangoes. They're phenomenal. And what about you Jason?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.
He eyed Oliver curiously. "Water is fine for me as well."
Oliver shrugged and left them for the kitchen.
"Why are you so edgy?" Gwen asked quietly.
"I'm trying to understand why he invited us here," he said quietly and wished they could communicate telepathically because he didn't want to have this conversation out loud.
She put a hand on his leg. "This isn't the city. People don't do things with an agenda all of the time in small towns like here. Perhaps he genuinely wants to make a friend. It would be nice for you to have a new mentor of sorts, an older figure you can rely on who knows and understands who you are."
"I know, I was thinking that would be nice, but it doesn't seem so simple." He sighed.
"Sometimes it is though." She kissed his cheek. "Relax."
A few minutes passed of complete silence, and then Oliver returned with the water glasses. He set them down for his guests and then sat down across from the couple. "Sorry that took so long. The boys all needed help with their homework. They're home schooled, so I kind of play teacher twenty-four seven."
"Is there not a school nearby here?" Jason asked curiously. He couldn't imagine doing all of his children's education himself.
"There is but I don't approve of the curriculum that the Great Lord has forced upon the country. Sorry, I don't know if it's wise of me to say so, but sometimes I can't help it. The man is a dictator, and I assumed that since you ran away from the city you agreed."
Jason was amazed at the man's boldness. He'd never heard anyone speak ill of his father before. "He is, and I do." His answer surprised him even more.
"I can tell, just a vibe I get. You're not like a lot of the other dragons that have come here. Most don't necessarily like the city or the Great Lord as well, but when we were talking earlier I sensed a great deal of disdain." Oliver poured himself a glass of wine and stood when a woman entered the room. He helped her into a chair and then started to serve. The woman was in her mid to late thirties with long dark hair and chocolate brown eyes. While Jason couldn't recognize Oliver, he knew he'd seen her before.
"This is my wife Caylen, I should add. My first and only."
"As it should be," Jason said with a nod. "As for the Great Lord, I guess you could say we have a bit of a history since he is my father and all." He tried to shrug it off as if it were casual even though it felt nothing near so.
"He's the father of many. Most don't care." Oliver pointed out.
"I'm complicated." He felt Gwen's hand squeeze his leg. Was she encouraging him to open up or keep quiet? He glanced at her to try and get a read on her face. She looked up into his eyes, and he saw a soft sadness in them. He was supposed to keep going, so with a sigh, he did so. "Unlike most, I had a relationship with him, sort of. My twin brother is his favorite, and so I was supposed to be through association as well. He however had an easy time letting me go after he finished using me. Like he does most. He broke the heart of my best friend and discarded her like trash, and has manipulated my brother into doing things I don't believe he'd do on his own."
Caylen's eyes went wide, but she said nothing. Oliver looked over at his wife and then at Jason. "Did you say twins?"
"Yes, I know, it's not something common in dragons, and yes, we're identical too." He didn't add the part about being Touched. He'd gotten so used to everyone going crazy over the twin part alone since it wasn't a common thing amongst dragons.
"No, you don't understand," Caylen said with a sniffle and wiped at her eyes before shaking her head. "We should eat."
"Are you—" Oliver began, but then stopped as his wife started to serve everyone at the table. "Yes, food would be good."
Jason raised both of his eyebrows and then shrugged. Gwen did the same. For the most part they ate in silence, only making a few attempts at small talk. He was glad for the good food to stuff his mouth with because it made everything a lot less awkward. Oliver left to start a pot of coffee and get dessert which was a lemon meringue pie. The whole time Caylen stared at Jason with wide, teary eyes.
"Something is going on." Jason averted his eyes to his cup of coffee. Gwen stirred some milk and sugar into her cup. Even though she didn't care for coffee, she was drinki
ng it anyway. She obviously had a problem with putting her host out of the way. Must be a country thing.
Both Oliver and Caylen exchanged a look. She stood from the table, and he stared at Jason.
"We're both kind of in shock here. I should have made the connection earlier when I recognized you from our training session. For whatever reason though, I didn't, not completely. I remember you being Touched, and forgot about the brother part," Oliver said.
"Yeah, but I don't—."
Jason was silenced as Oliver continued. "You're probably going to have a hard time believing this, but my wife, you see, she, well..." Oliver trailed off and watched his wife walk back into the room carrying a medium sized picture. She handed it to Jason face down.
He turned it over and stared, recognizing it instantly. His father had the same picture sitting on his desk. It was of Jason and Matthias, freshly hatched from their eggs and in swaddling blankets. It was actually the only baby picture his father owned.
"And you have this because?" He raised his gaze to look at Caylen. She didn't say anything and handed him a small stack of pictures. The next he looked at was of her holding one of them. He couldn't tell them apart when they were infants. The one after that was of her smiling down at the two of them, another of her and Oliver, each holding a baby. There were at least ten more, and his hands shook as he went through them all. There were some of when the twins were toddlers, playing with Oliver, some of them sleeping, crying, eating.
Setting the pictures down slowly, he swallowed trying to piece everything together. He was in too much shock, however, to get his brain jump-started. Why did they have baby pictures of him and his brother? When he looked up into Caylen's eyes, he recognized his own, and he took in a deep shuddering breath.
"M-mom?" he choked out.
She nodded. "Yes, I'm your mother."
"He told me you died in childbirth." That was the story Lynx had practically shoved down him and his brother's throats ever since he could remember. It wasn't a hard lie to sell since most mothers of twins, and Touched children, didn't survive. Jason had always suspected it wasn't true though because of one memory he had from when he was little. In it a woman smiled at him and read him a story. The details were vague, but it was enough to keep him believing.
"Obviously, I'm still alive," she said softly.
"He said you were one of his wives, but if that were true then why is..." He glanced up at Oliver and the two made eye contact.
Caylen shook her head, "No. I've only known one man."
"Wait." Jason looked at the pictures again. More specifically at Oliver who held him as an infant and not Lynx. He studied his features. Both Caylen and her husband were significantly younger then—seventeen years younger. He started to see bits and pieces of himself in both of them, but he also looked like Lynx too. "Are you trying to tell me that you're my father and not..."
"Something along those lines," Oliver said.
"But I look like him too. We both do, I mean, me and my brother."
"Because Lynx is my older brother," Oliver said calmly.
Jason blinked, mouth hanging open. Gwen took in a sharp breath and squeezed his arm. When he looked over at her, he saw her smiling.
With a shake of his head, Jason stared into his coffee mug. He didn't want to look at anyone. It was starting to creep him out, seeing the couple in front of him and noticing more and more how they reminded him of himself, his brother, and even Lynx in a way. What he wasn't sure of was if his mind was playing tricks on him or not.
"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" he whispered.
"Let me tell you all about it, and you decide if it sounds like something your father would do," Oliver said with raised eyebrows. Jason nodded at him, and the man continued. "Back when I was young, the process of marriage was similar to how things are done now. There was still the choosing of the Elite, but instead of randomly choosing girls for the sole purpose of breeding, it was offered as a rite of passage to the girls. They could decide whether or not they wanted the honor, and it was proposed to them by the young man who desired to wed her. There was some courting that happened before then you see. I had known Caylen for a year or so before I asked her. Marriages from my time lasted longer. I'm sure you've noticed that in other uncles?"
Jason nodded again, still listening, his eyes glued on the man.
"I had chosen her. At the time, Lynx was around fifteen years into his marriage with Lenora and just named the Great Lord of the Inero, if that says anything about how much older he is than me. Caylen and I were married for a long time before we had you and your brother. A lot longer than most couples waited to have children. To be honest, for a while we thought something was wrong. Soon she was pregnant and those fears faded. Until we learned it was with twins.
"Don't get me wrong, we were happy, but nervous. You know all of the stories about twin dragons. We were preparing ourselves for complications. They never came. Every check-up things cleared out and were normal. Caylen had a fairly easy pregnancy actually. A blessing, because I don't want to think about losing her or either of you. Things were good. It was during this time that Lenora left Lynx which started his bitterness towards women. They had been together for nearly twenty-five years. From what I understand, she did it to get him to pay attention to her. The plan backfired on her, obviously. With this bitterness, he started to become power hungry to compensate, to prove her a fool for daring to hurt him like she had."
That sounded a lot like his father, or was he now only the man who raised him? Though Lynx had barely done that. He and his brother had been passed off to a multitude of stepmothers and mistresses when they were growing up. It was a miracle they came out so levelheaded and grounded.
Oliver gave him a few minutes and took a bite of the pie. He was cool and collected, and it was surprising. Almost like he had been preparing for this day for a long time. "As my brother grew more power hungry, he started with his manipulation games. It had always been a talent of his when he was growing up, too. I watched him many a times persuade our other brothers to do things, and talk his way out of trouble with our parents. They loved him, practically worshiped him. Our father knew Lynx would be his replacement for a long time.
"Growing up we'd never been close. After all, he was just about getting married by the time I was born. He doesn't look that old at all, I know. I think he lies about his age now too. Not sure why, but I'm sure inside of his head he has many good reasons for it. He never took interest in our family, not until you were around two years old. All of a sudden he wanted to visit us, to meet you both. He called you the 'miracle twins'. It was confusing and frustrating because he'd come at a lot of inconvenient times. Always with gifts I should add, lavish ones.
"Then he cut to the chase. After around a full dragon year of playing nice, he decided to let his ulterior motives be known. One day he walked into our home and gave us an ultimatum. We were to give up you boys, or he'd not only kill us all, but also the entire town we lived in. So much drama for two little boys." Oliver's voice got quiet towards the end of his speech and his jaw tightened. He gripped his coffee cup with a much firmer hand.
By then, Caylen was crying. "What were we supposed to do?"
It did sound like something the man he called father would do. Lynx was more than okay with being over-dramatic to make a point. He'd proven that with how the humans out in the country were treated.
"It's because we're Touched," Jason whispered. "That's the only thing he cares about because of some stupid prophecy he's heard. He's power hungry." And crazy.
"I'm sure that is the reason. I knew he'd take good care of you both. I did everything I could to at least see you. When the training session came up, I couldn't resist. However when it was just you, I wasn't sure I believed them when they said you were the Touched and chosen. I was hoping to get a glimpse of you both at the same time, you see."
Jason let out a slow sigh. "This is...nuts. Yet, I believe you. With everything I've seen him
do and the gaps that are filled now in my life where there were holes." He shook his head, knowing how dangerous it was for him to buy the story so easily, but having a hard time resisting the evidence. No wonder Lynx had gotten so mad any time he had asked about his birth mother.
Oliver, his father, smiled. "Needless to say, Lynx wasn't happy about my stunt. He thought I was going to try and take you away from him. As much as I wanted to, I also knew better than to do something so stupid. As a mercy, instead of killing me, he banished me to this island."
"And I coincidentally come this way." Jason shook his head.
"Coincidence or divine appointment. It doesn't matter either way because you're here. That's all I care about."
"Yes." And the reason he believed all of it to be true was because he felt a peace about it inside of his heart. The most difficult task however would be how he was going to tell his brother. Matt would never believe him.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The Oceina
"Hey, wait up," Alex called after Darien.
Darien stopped, curious as to what the guy wanted. They were at the stage where they could make small talk without wanting to kill one another. In fact, Darien almost went so far as to start thinking of him as a friend. Alex was starting to not come after Tai so strongly, so it made things easier. Never in his life would he have imagined befriending normal humans. Tony had made friends when he was in school, and it didn't end well for him. When it came time for them to part ways for good, it was a painful goodbye that left his brother lonely for quite some time. Watching that was enough for Darien to not make a strong effort in making friends of his own.
"Hmm?" Darien waited for Alex to catch up with him in the hallway before continuing on his way to his next class.
"So I wanted to invite you and Tai to dinner with the rest of us," Alex said.