[Featured in @mythandlegend's Myths from Around the World reading list; Featured in @lowfantasy's The World Among Us reading list; Featured in @asianfantasy's Summer 2022 - Cultivation Month Catalog; First and Second Round Qualifier for ONC 2022; Lo...
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"Well, shall we get going?" Aarush prompts again.
Janine's eyes circulate from Mael to him, puzzled by the situation unfolding before her.
"Where are you two going?" Janine finally asks.
"A hangout of sorts, isn't it, Mael?" Aarush's sly gaze slides upon him.
"Is that where you were going Mael, when you were running like crazy?" Janine questions sarcastically.
She knows something is up, Mael realises.
The man on Aarush's right chuckles and the sound is eerily familiar.
"I suppose he was a bit too excited," the man says, joining in on the sarcasm, as he pulls off his hood and face mask.
"Mr. Davis!" Janine exclaims, surprise filling up her voice. "I didn't know you were here too. Is Mrs. Davis with you?"
The other person behind Aarush gives a slight twitch but doesn't give any sign of being Milena Davis.
"No, Milena is at home. We're here to take Mael to the...hangout," Archard explains. "Come along, son." He holds out a gloved hand reminding Mael inadvertently of a childhood memory.
The memory causes a hot flush of anger inside him. It registers now that everything before today had been a lie.
Mael ignores the hand and looks once more at Janine. Her head tilts at a side, the nonplussed look of a confused person eclipsing her face. The insane urge to hug her fills Mael up but he satisfies himself with a quick wave and follows the hurried steps of his strange escort.
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All is quiet as they pull out of the driveway and onto the road. The silence that has settled between the Davis' is suffocating and tense. It settles on Mael's chest like a boulder but he can't bring himself to break it. Instead, he contents his heart by staring out of the window.
Aarush eventually breaks the augmenting tension by answering a call, his voice a low, respectful whisper. He disconnects the call with an "understood, father" propelling Mael to wonder if this is the benefactor behind all this.
