Abaddon's Mark

Chapter Forty-Two

They returned to the estate as one group, only for Naena and Theon to immediately go off to Theon's place. Graydon hardly had time to say good morning to Naena.

Because his father sent an uncle to escort them. No one questioned his presence, but Graydon knew if anyone pressed, his uncle would claim Kaulu was reviewing formal charges. At which point, Kaulu would obligingly file formal charges.

His father was cockblocking him, and it wasn't even necessary.

Marsh Manor was a twenty-minute walk from Graywood Manor. One was a two-bedroom, rumoured workrooms located below ground, with an eat-in kitchen, a large living room that could double as a library and a small study that faced south.

The other was the Pan home.

Graydon had no idea how many rooms his home had. It had two kitchens, the big main one and the smaller, older one in the original part of the building. There were three dining rooms. The one for the lord dinners, large enough for the lords to gather but rarely used for more than one guest, the formal one for gatherings, and the family dining room where they took most meals. There was also a small dining area out back, facing the north, where his father preferred to take morning tea.

Graydon had begun taking his morning reading to that dining area after his grandfather died. He had thought it was expected of him to be available for service and training. Still, he had learned to enjoy those silent hours he spent with his various books that slowly devolved into reading the specialized artboard books. Comics, his father called them, only mentioning them once to ask if Graydon had read the Bard stories and mentioning he enjoyed those growing up.

His plan had been to sneak out. The heir room was on the second floor on the opposite side of the master bedroom. Lord on one side of the family, heir on the other. The trouble was that both Graydon and his father had spells to alert them when the other left their room in the middle of the night. Near as Graydon could tell, this was something they came to naturally. These were not spells woven into the estate because only the original heirloom spells could stay in the estate between generations.

But he was confident he could sneak out, considering he did it often.

Except, as they arrived, a snowstorm came in. The next morning the mages were finished moving the snow off the walkways and down the drive. Snow meant no morning reading out back. He was agitated. Graydon had decided to move quickly, directly after breakfast, but he only made it as far as the dining room door before his mother dragged him to Qual's workroom and had the healer fix the bruising and broken skin from his bare bones fight with Andle.

His mother had a right to override his father when it came to the pretty Pan looks. There were consequences for doing deeper healings instead of letting the body heal naturally. Prices that needed to be paid.

Andle looked fine, but the repeated injuries had left him with lifelong vulnerabilities. If Kaulu had taken him out of the field long enough to recover, he would have carried scars but no lasting damage.

"Yay," he said sarcastically as Qual stepped away. "No consequences for my actions. Again."

His mother's mouth fell open as she frowned at him. He saw the surprise and horror playing over his features, as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Did you just give me lip?" she asked.

"Don't give your mother lip," his father said as he strode out from between two racks of scrolls, a book in his hands.

He had expected a conversation with his father the night before, but no words were exchanged. He had waited for it to happen, tension thrumming through his very being. The closest to words was when his father told the children it was time for bed, then looked up and gave Graydon an expectant look, looping him into the same group as his younger siblings.