[Legacy of a Martyr #2] Liberation from the Masquerades (A Key Keepers novel)

Episode 85

I found myself in a soft bed. I was immediately confused by this. Last I remembered, I was in Taradita with T and Marshall. But when I looked over, I saw Eni sleeping beside me. T was sleeping in a sleeping bag.

T perked up and looked at me. "Thank Kayleigh! You're awake, Ali!"

T's shout jolted Eni awake. He rolled over and looked at me. My little brother had tears in his eyes. "Ain!"

Eni had started crying.

"Hey, buddy."

Kayleigh, I sounded awful again... I didn't think my throat was sore, but it sure sounded like it.

I switched to using telepathy with my siblings.

'Where are we?' I asked.

'We're at home,' T replied. 'We're in our room right now.' She put a hand on my shoulder. 'Stay in bed, alright? You need to rest.'

I blinked a few times. 'What happened anyway? Weren't we supposed to go scouting?'

'We were but you started feeling bad once we got there, so we had to come home,' T replied.

My flames pooled in my cheeks. 'Where is Marshall?'

'I can go get a him if you want.' T squeezed my hand. 'You shouldn't be pushing yourself right now.'

I looked into T's eyes. 'Sorry for ruining our scouting trip...'

T gave me a look. 'Why are you apologizing? It's not like this is your fault.'

Of course, I knew that, but I couldn't help feeling bad. They didn't care, but they shouldn't have had to bring me home the way they did.

"I'll go look for him." Eni got up. "I need to stretch my legs."

He probably did... Considering how he'd been whenever T or I weren't feeling well, he'd probably spent a lot of time beside me while I was evolving.

T stroked the top of my head. "Don't worry about our brother. I'll make sure he's taken care of."

I smiled. I knew she would. She complained about their circumstances when things got rough, but she never complained about having to care for our little brother. It always seemed to bring her joy.

My big sister scurried after our little brother.

There was a knock at the door. Marshall peered in before he came in. "Hey. You're awake?"

"Yeah." Flames pooled in my cheeks. "Sorry if I worried you guys."

"Don't apologize." He met my gaze. "None of this was your fault. All you did was care for your little brother when he was sick. I'm sure I would have done the same for Becca if she needed me to."

If my time traveling with him and Lie was any indication, I was sure he'd do that.

"I still should have paid more heed to Noelle's warning."

I wanted to put my hand over my throat. I still sounded like I had a sore threat even though it wasn't noticeably aching.

"If you don't want to talk, you don't have to." He looked at my window. "I've known you long enough to know that you're still really weak right now even if you say otherwise."

He probably did since I'd known him for two years.

"It's not fun to feel like this."

"I'd imagine it's not." He grimaced. "It was awful waiting for my wrist to heal after our first battle."

That was never fun... That was how I felt after my accident...

"You want something to eat?" he asked.

"I'm good."

Marshall furrowed his eyebrows. "If you're sure..."

He then left my room. If I had to guess, he wanted to talk to his sister or mine.

Soon after that, Mama came in with a green bowl.

"Good to see that you're awake, Lany."

"Hey, Mama."

She set the bowl on my nightstand, so she could pull up my desk chair beside my bed.

"You're not hungry yet, are you?"

I shook my head. "Not really. Know I probably need it, though."

"Can I help you with this then?" Her eyes were soft. "I'm sure you don't want to get food in your bed."

I nodded. It wasn't like I needed to show off for Mama. She'd taken care of me like this since I was born after all.

She gave me the soup. It was so good. I forgot that I hadn't eaten in several hours, probably days.

"Feel better, Lany?"

I nodded. I'd forgotten how much of a difference food made.

I was trying, but I couldn't keep my gaze fixed on Mama anymore. It was probably because I was tired to some extent, but I still felt bad.

"You'd like to read something, wouldn't you?"

"Don't think I can, though." I slumped down in my bed. "I probably wouldn't make it through a couple of paragraphs before I fall asleep... Didn't the last couple of times right after I evolved."

Mama stroked my hair. "Well, I could help you with that." She set the bowl on my nightstand again. "Is there anything special you want me to read?"

There wasn't. It'd been a while since I'd looked at my light reading shelf. I didn't remember what I had there anymore. I really just wanted to read at this point.

Mama thumbed through the books before she picked something with a red cover. It looked like one of the older books I had, because it had visible wear on it.

"Let's find out what I picked." She laughed. "I'm not entirely sure what I picked, either."

It'd be an adventure. How I was feeling wouldn't affect it, so I was looking forward to that.

Mama had gotten through what I thought was half a page when Eni came back into my room. I wouldn't have been surprised if the sound of Mama reading attracted his attention.

He laid down on T's side of the bed and cuddled up next to me. He probably wanted to hear the story too. He did tend to like fantasies.

Anyway, Mama picked up where she left off after my brother settled in.

She continued to read until I fell asleep, but I wasn't sure how long that took. I didn't remember this story well and I couldn't see the pages to make an educated guess.

***

Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!