Daughter of the Hero

Chapter 6; Conner

Malco

Lilian and Cyprus called immediately after they found Conner missing. That was two days ago. They told me that they were going to come back here before they left again to get Conner back. I told them that we would all go together to get him back, but they insisted on going alone. 

I don't know why, other than the fact that Lilian said if we all went, who would be left to protect Illia? It was a fair point, and I couldn't argue with it. 

I was incredibly worried about Conner. My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty when I thought about him and his situation. Gods only know how long Areoes has had him. The poor boy. 

He's only seventeen. 

He shouldn't be with Areos. If he can torture his own daughter, who knows what he's capable of? I never should have sent him on that mission. It was stupid to put a kid in the line of fire like that, but he had insisted. 

Now, he was being tortured. I couldn't bear the thought of it. And it was all my fault. 

Self-loading crawled up my throat, poked at my eyes, and made them tear up. I blinked furiously, not wanting to cry in front of Illia. 

'A man shouldn't cry,' my father always said. 

My father was wrong about a lot of things. 

"Coco, who's Conner?" Illia asked as she played with the dolls we had just bought her. 

I guess she had heard the name thrown around and was wondering who he was. She never had gotten the chance to meet him, and I feared that now, she never would.

"Conner is one of us," I said gently, kneeling beside her. "He was on a mission to help us get information about the heroes." 

"My daddy is a hero. He goes on missions all the time," She said with childlike innocence. 

She didn't know that he was exactly who we were fighting against. And I wouldn't be the one to tell her until she was much, much older. I only hoped we were able to hold onto her that long before Areos came knocking for his favorite punching bag. 

Maybe he wouldn't need one, now that he had Conner. 

Gods damn him. If only I could get my hands on that damned man, I would destroy him. I would turn him into dust beneath my fingers. I would have Cyprus explode every part of his body, one by one. He deserved it for what he had done to his daughter and what he was currently doing to Conner. What a joy it would be to hear his screams. 

If only it were possible. 

But the people would come in waves to our home to get him back. They didn't care what he had done in secret; they loved him. 

And that was the most infuriating part of it all. 

"Is Conner a friend?" Illia asked. 

I smiled. "Yes, he's a very good friend. You're going to like him." 

"Oh," Illia said softly. "Will he play with me?" 

I raised a brow. "I don't know. But if he doesn't, I will." 

She giggled. "You already play with me, silly." 

I laughed. "That's true." 

A sudden knocking came on the door. I went to open it and found Jerard standing there, his face void of all emotion. 

"They're back," He said simply. 

I looked back at Illia. "I'll be right back, sweetheart." 

She nodded, going back to playing with her dolls. 

I closed the door behind me and followed Jerard into the living room where Cyprus and Lilian were sitting on the couch, their faces forlorn. 

"What all did you find?" I asked. Lilian handed me a note she had tucked into her pants pocket. 

I read it quickly, my blood heating with every arrogant, cocky word. Of course he would torture Conner; he was a monster. 

If only the people could see who he truly was. 

We would have to make them see. It was our effort that would eventually pay off. I knew it. I had to believe it, otherwise, I would fall into a pit of self-loathing and despair. 

"What can we do?" I asked the room. I was out of ideas, and I knew I needed to take the lead here, but sometimes it was okay to ask for help. 

Tenko slid into the room silently. He was always silent; sometimes it bordered on creepy. 

"I will go," Lilian said. "I will sneak into the lair, and steal him back. I'm the best at stealth operations, I know I can do this. Let me save Conner." 

With no other options, I nodded. She was right; she was the best at stealth operations. I trusted her to bring him back in one piece. 

"Let me go too," Cyprus said. 

I shook my head. "No." 

"No?" She asked, raising a brow. Her face went sour. "He's my brother." 

"I know. But we need you here. You're perfect for a backup rescue mission in case anything goes wrong with Lilian. You aren't the best person for a stealth operation, which is what this needs to be. I don't want to fight Areos if I can avoid it. You all remember last time?" I knew they did, but they needed the reminder. 

Cyprus's face fell. "Yes." 

"Good, then you know why we can't afford to fight him right now." My voice lowered, "We have a child to think about now. We can't go galavanting off into fights with no care for our own lives." 

She glared at me. "I can." 

"No, you can't. If anything, you're integral to keeping Illia safe. I don't want anything happening to you. To any of you." I looked each of them in the eyes, holding Lilian's gaze the longest. "I trust you to take care of this." 

She nodded. "I'll handle it." 

"Good," I said, turning and pacing around the room. "You'll need a plan. We can work on that tomorrow. For tonight, get some rest." 

"I won't let you down." Lilian turned to Cyprus, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. I won't let anything happen to your brother." 

She frowned but didn't say anything. 

As everyone dispersed, I held Lilian back. 

"You got this?" I asked, looking her in the eyes. 

She nodded. "I do." 

"Good. Bring our boy home." With that, I let her go to bed. 

We had a lot of planning to do tomorrow.