The Return of the Gods (Children of the Sun Book 1)

Chapter 15

He barely heard Kara hiss at him to go back. Kaleth knew she hated when she had questions and no answers, but she'd have to wait until after he was done with his father. Thankfully, it wasn't that far to the man's study. At least Kaleth assumed that was where his father would be since that was the room he had always spent most of his time in. Kaleth doubted that had changed—he was a workaholic which was a trait they unfortunately shared.

"K-Kaleth? Is that you?"

Kaleth quickly turned his head to where the shocked voice and the sound of breaking glass had come from and froze when he saw who it was. His half-sister was standing there, staring at him, shattered remains of a glass with what looked like whiskey on the floor next to her. Despite not seeing her for so long, he could recognize his sister immediately. The hazel eyes and freckles were still the same. Kaleth didn't get a chance to say anything before Edras pulled him into a hug.

"Oh my gods, I thought you were dead!"

"Well, I'm not," Kaleth replied after a few seconds, having no clue what else to say but didn't return the hug. He hadn't seen his sister in two decades, and the last time they had spoken it had ended rather badly. Kaleth had thought Edras wouldn't care where he was, or what he was doing, much less that she would miss him. But it certainly seemed she had.

She finally let go and gave Kaleth an alarmed look. "You aren't here to kill Father, are you?" Kaleth frowned and then remembered he had a sniper rifle with him. He should probably hide that somewhere before talking to Ramien.

"No," Kaleth replied and while Edras looked relieved, she still seemed a bit wary. Not that Kaleth was surprised by this. If their roles were reversed, and Edras showed up here with a gun, Kaleth would be suspicious as well, to say the least.

"Okay, good," she said, nodding, obviously ready to stop talking about this topic. "Well, it's great to see you again. And who's this? Have you found yourself a boyfriend? A bit young, but who am I to judge? My husband is eight years younger than me."

Kaleth looked at Mel who was watching Edras with interest, and he felt the urge to laugh. Mel might look young, but he was much, much older than Kaleth. He had to wonder about Edras' husband, though. When had she gotten married?

"This is Mel. He's a friend," Kaleth said, giving Edras a pointed look to underline it. "I must say, I find it surprising you've decided to settle down. I remember you being very much against even the idea."

"I changed my mind, I guess. I've changed a lot since, um, since you left." Edras looked at her brother apologetically and grimaced.

Kaleth narrowed his eyes. Was she feeling guilty about what she had told Kaleth all those years ago? It seemed Edras was full of surprises. This also meant that she could remember the same things as he did, which made him feel better.

Kaleth hadn't come here to mend his broken relationship with his sister, but he found he wasn't opposed to the idea. He hadn't tried before, mostly because he had thought that Edras wanted nothing to do with him, and to be honest, he had been bitter about what had happened between them for a few good years, too.

"I'm so sorry about your mother," Mel said all of a sudden, looking at Edras with about the most sympathy Kaleth had ever seen a person express. Edras gaped at Mel in shock.

"Has something happened to Feria?" Kaleth asked. The question was quite unnecessary judging by Edras' expression, but she nodded in reply, anyway.

"She...she died," continued Edras, letting out a sad sigh. "During the attack yesterday. That's why I'm here—I wanted to check up on Father, to see how he was dealing with it."