Water Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Thirty-Three - Tai

The story was difficult for Darien to retell, but he somehow struggled through the whole thing without losing it. Every so often he choked up, but he didn't crack. His ability to keep himself together in the moment impressed Tai, because she would have been an absolute mess. The more he spoke, the more the reality of the situation seemed to sit in with the rest of the family. When the story started, they'd all been poised, leaning forward and listening. As he neared the end, all of them were either in tears, or holding onto themselves or a loved one.

Tai gave Darien's hand a reassuring squeeze, wanting him to remember she was still there. She promised she'd stay, and she meant it.

"I don't understand why," Tommy whispered at last. "Why would the Inero want to kill Dad? He didn't do anything!"

Darien sighed, and a rush of thoughts entered into Tai's mind. Most of them didn't make sense, but the basic element she understood. Their father stumbled upon something, and Darien caught glimpses of it at the council. He didn't seem to fully understand it all himself. Guilt tugged at Tai as she realized how much of an unnecessary distraction she'd been. Suffering through the transition hadn't been her fault, but all of the other dramatics were. Maybe if Darien had a clear head...

"Don't even go there," he said. "No one could have stopped this."

She felt her cheeks grow warm. Once again, she was being a distraction to him.

After a moment, Darien said. "I think Dad was about to do something, and they wanted to stop him. Or they're trying to weaken us. Either way, I don't trust any of them. Dad was the first, but I don't think he'll be the last."

"Awful," Brian said quietly. "No wonder you were still glowing when we picked you up."

"Glowing?" Tommy asked.

Brian, Asher, and Lance all exchanged a look, and then Brian continued. "Yeah, I'm guessing it was left over magic from your...outpouring. Can't say I've ever seen it before, but you're Touched, and a lot of what you do is different. Evan saw your spell from his bedroom window, by the way. He'll be happy to know he's not crazy."

A chuckle escaped Darien's lips, and it was a welcome sound despite everything. "Kind of worried about that, but what's done is done. I didn't mean to. It's like my magic just took over and...boom?"

"We'll talk it over with the rest of the family in the city. Stuff has happened before and we could cover it up. Thankfully, no one else was nearby when it happened," Brian said.

Lance nodded. "The important thing is you're okay. That spell probably saved your life."

"Yeah, I'm sure it scared them off," Darien mumbled. It sure scared me.

A thought Tai was fairly sure she wasn't supposed to hear, but had anyway.

"What's going to happen now? Who's in charge after Dad? I mean, he's been our leader for so long and..." Lance shook his head. "You do realize one of us is going to be named as his replacement, right? Our bloodline was chosen to be in charge of the nation. That's how it works. I'm not sure any of us are ready for that kind of a job."

"Pretty sure it'll say in his will," Asher said.

"What if he never got around to it? We're all so—"

Oh God... Darien's tone grew dark.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked, not ignoring that comment.

"I just realized something."

"Care to elaborate?" But he never got the chance to.

"Darien?" Connor asked, at least Tai thought that was his name. "Are you listening?"

With a glance over at her, Darien nodded. "I just got lost for a moment. Hard to focus right now."

"We're almost done," Lance said. "Anyway, Connor, ask again."

Rolling his eyes, Connor repeated what both Darien and Tai had missed. "Did you recognize who any of the Inero were? Their voices? Their markings? Their smell? Anything?"

Darien exhaled slowly. "They were young. I remember they sounded like they might be close to my age, or at least one of them." I'd know it if I heard it again. "Um, t-they were in charge. Young but lots of authority, and I couldn't see any markings outside of...m-maybe the royal sigil? You know, the white tattoo they put on their bodies? Pretty sure t-they were Royal Guard members. He wasn't just killed by a random militia or underground terrorist group. And they had other markings that I think were their rankings, but I don't know what they mean. I might be able to identify them if I saw them again."

Growling, Brian ran a hand through his dark hair. "I can't believe this is happening. They aren't going to get away with this. I don't care what it takes, even if I go to Inero myself and—"

Lance, ever the voice of reason, said, "One thing at a time. I think we're done for now. Get some rest Darien. We'll make the phone calls and let you know when Arthur and the others want to interview you. Because you know they'll want to as well."

"Yeah." Unfortunately. I don't want to talk about it again.

Tai took the initiative to stand. "I can sit with you when you do. If you want, I mean."

"Yeah?"

She frowned, stung that he sounded so surprised. But could she blame him? For the whole week they'd been together she'd fought with him about everything. All she promised was to stay through the summer and try. "It's what friends do for each other," was the only rationalization she could give.

Darien rose to his feet and stepped into the hallway. He waited for her there. "This being friends thing...I like it."

She did too.