Lilly found an egg on a hiking trip. Nothing abnormal on that, right? Except the egg was four times bigger than supposedly the biggest egg in the world, the ostrich's egg.
Okay, no biggie... Except that when the egg breaks, something out of your fav...
Since they broke ties with the royal family when they left, I figured they broke into the cabin, and honestly, I didn't care at this point. Caring would only cause me stress.
I would be arriving there after the sun set, and the idea of spending the night out, away from my family, only worsened my mood.
Fuck, things were great, finally. Why did they have to come and ruin it?
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When I arrived at where the cabin was, I let myself drop to the floor not trying to be gentle about it, and my body landing made the ground shake.
It didn't take long for them to come out of the cabin, and I shifted when they stood in front of me. They looked a bit dazed by my sudden arrival, not expecting it.
I fold my arms in front of me, waiting for them to speak and confess why they are here. I expect resistance and defiance, but I don't expect what they did next.
"My king," they said in unison, getting on one knee and bowing, baring their necks to me in a submissive manner.
I am speechless. This was unusual, and an attitude that was nothing like the one they had back at the palace.
Again, I didn't know them anymore. Twenty-five years is plenty of time for a person to change, to reinvent themselves. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect with them.
"Phoenix..." started saying Tarek, and I prepared myself for whatever he was going to say. "We are sorry."
I scowled at them, but I kept quiet.
What were they sorry for? For abandoning Freya and me with our abusive father? Were they sorry for returning when our sister was already dead? Or were they sorry for disrupting my life after so long, when I don't need them anymore?
"We are sorry for everything," continued Leif. "We shouldn't have left you and Freya alone with father. We should have protected you and fought together. We are aware that you don't need to forgive us, but please know we are truly sorry, and very ashamed for abandoning you to your luck..."
"Back then, we only heard about you killing our father. We went back to the palace, thinking we could start fresh, but then you quicked us away and..." confessed Talek, who started rubbing his chest absently, where the scar I left him lays. "We now know it was selfish and entitled of us. Only when we left we heard about Freya and..."
His voice trembled. I look away, gritting my teeth together.
"Why now, uh? After so many years? You had your chance to redeem yourself," I retorted, not really buying their nice act.
"We tried!" yelled Leif standing up abruptly. Tarek tried to shush him but Lief ignored him. "We tried to go to Freya's funeral but you didn't allow us! You kept us away from our sister's funeral!" he growles, his eyes shining with angry tears.
"You abandoned us, I didn't think you deserved to be there," I say, trying to swallow the old emotions they were awakening in me.
"And we are sorry!" he yelled, before calming down. He dropped his head, defeated. "We are sorry. Not being able to say goodbye to Freya was... I guess we realized we fucked up, and after that, we were too scared to try again with you," Leif admitted, raising his head to look at me, and it shocked me when I saw the sincerity in his eyes.
"Then what changed?" I asked, letting my guard down. I wanted to hear them, and honestly, my soul and guilt weren't weighing on me as heavenly as before. My brothers admitting their flat and their apology are giving me the closure I so desperately needed to be completely at peace.
"We heard about your son, and then that you found a mate and are expecting your second child and... We missed having our family with us."
"We have mates, and kids too, and... we would like for them to grow up knowing all their family."
Knowing that I have nephews and nieces was a surprise I wasn't expecting. My brothers were here, looking for forgiveness after twenty-five years away, and suddenly, a picture of many kids running around the palace filled my mind, and my heart clenched.
Fuck, what should I do? I needed Lilly, I needed her to guide me. But I must admit, it felt wrong to deprive Brax of his family.
I sighed, passing a hand through my hair.
"I hear you, brothers, and I... appreciate your apology. But I need to think about all of this. Is too sudden." I replied, looking back at them as their brother, and not as their king.
Tarek and Leif nodded a faint smile on their lips.
"You shall stay here, as long as you don't cause any trouble."
"Of course, thank you, your majesty," Tarek bowed. I looked away, uncomfortable. I wasn't used to my own brothers bowing at me.
I turn to leave, but before I do, I look at them over my shoulder.
"Before I go... Where have you been all this time?"
"We hid in the human realm," answered Leif, and I couldn't stop the amusement from showing on my face. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
I nod at them before shifting and flying back to the palace and to the warmth of my mate.
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