The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(42)
Cora stared at him for a long moment and then her eyes grew glassy once more. “Neph.” She spoke his name with such reverence that Neph felt even worse for the way he had treated her.
He rose from his chair slowly and walked toward her feeling more awkward than he had in ages. “I remember you and how you loved us, and I’m so sorry for what happened. Had I known, I would have killed Ren myself. You have no idea how much Zyi and I missed you.” He said quietly as he hugged her lightly. He couldn’t think of anyone else he had hugged in the last decade beyond Jala, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Her arms wrapped around his chest tightly and she returned the hug with far more enthusiasm than he had expected.
“That was well done.” Fortune said with approval clear in his voice.
Neph looked up slowly and met Fortune’s eyes and the faint smile that had been on his face faded. “You however I have no apology for. I respect you as an Aspect, and I am grateful for the information you have shared today, but it in no way erases the fact that had you been more responsible I would be hugging my mother not her spirit. I won’t assume I know what truly happened between the two of you, but from the facts I see it comes down to this. You bedded a married woman and she died because of it. We have a long way to go before we are on good terms and even further before I will consider you my father.”
“Spoken like a true Delvay.” Fortune said with approval still lacing his words. “It’s good to have a goal in life. I suppose mine will be to make proper amends to you and your sister, though I dare say Zyi will be much easier to find forgiveness with.” He added with a faint chuckle as he held his hand out to Cora. She unlaced her arms from Neph’s chest with faint tears still tracing down her face and moved to his side silently. The sadness was gone from her eyes, replaced with a look of such vast relief that Neph almost smiled again himself.
“Thank you Neph.” Cora spoke quietly and smiled at him. It was something he hadn’t thought to ever see again. It was the smile she reserved for only her children, an expression that was so filled with devotion and love that words were not needed. She wrapped her arms tighter around Fortune and rested her head against his shoulder with a look of contentment on her face.
“Forgiveness is such a powerful thing. It is the essence of love in so many ways.” Fortune said softly and cradled Cora close to him. “I am far from perfect Neph. What little I told you of my life should have proven that for you. I did make a mistake, but you and I aren’t seeing the same one. You believe my love for your mother was wrong, I believe letting RenDelvayon live was. We may never see eye to eye on the matter, and if that is the case so be it. I was irresponsible, and I do regret what happened because of it more than you will ever know. Learn from my mistakes and prove you are more responsible and rational than I am Neph.” Fortune said quietly as the two of them faded from the room.
“That shouldn’t be hard.” Neph muttered as he gazed down at the sacks once more and let out a heavy sigh. There was far too much for him to think about, but his mind kept circling back to the same thing…Rivasa. The idea of letting Caleb and Shade go into Rivasa without him still wasn’t sitting well in his mind, but he would force himself to give it more thought. Frowning Neph glanced up at the ceiling and glared. “You didn’t tell me how to use someone as a conduit you ass.” He grumbled. The knowledge was likely in one of his books and there was a chance that he would find it before Caleb arrived. He didn’t have the patience to even start the search with his mind as scattered as it was currently though.
His gaze moved from the bags on the table to the painting of his mother on the wall and he slowly crossed the room. He hesitated a long moment before lifting the painting from the wall. The stone beneath was smooth, but after running his fingers over the wall he found the grooves of a hidden compartment. It took him several more minutes to find the release mechanism. With a faint rumble a small piece of the wall slid back revealing a narrow shelf, and Neph stared in silence at the heavy metal urn within. “When I see Sovaesh next I’m going to thank him for killing you Ren.” Neph muttered and hoped by some twist of the fates that RenDelvayon’s spirit was still tethered enough to these rooms that he could somehow hear the words. “My only regret about your death is that Sovaesh had the honor of killing you. That gift should have been mine.” Neph added softly as he lifted the urn from its hiding place and stared down at his mother’s ashes. She deserved a better burial than what Ren had given her, and it was something he could do while still thinking on the other matters that he had to consider. Tucking the urn carefully under his arm he started for the door and then hesitated. His gaze returned to the urn and he slowly turned back to the table. Carefully he sat the urn down and slid back into his chair once more. It needed to be done, but it could wait for Zyi. Cora had been taken from both of them, and it was only fitting that they both had the chance to pay their respects.
Chapter 6
The Darklands
Whispers rose from every corner of the throne room like a swarm of angry bees. It was quite possibly the most irritating sound he had ever endured Finn decided as he stared at the creatures he had summoned. Every one of them served him in some fashion, from the demons to the lowliest spirits. Most were watching him as he sat silent on this throne, but he saw several glancing curiously toward Exodus who was seated primly at a table beside a shroud covered body. The more attentive of his servants had long since stopped caring about Exodus however and were gazing upwards. It was unusual to not hear the steady swoosh of wings from above, but the air was silent tonight. They were no doubt wondering where Kaverax was. Yasny was with them in the throne room, but there was no sign of her mate and Finn knew it had quite a few of them troubled. The dragons above the citadel were as much a part of the Darklands as the Divine of Death. They had been here since the beginning, and now one was gone.