The Sins of the Father

Chapter Fifteen

Cafos lifted the heavy knocker on the front doors of the manor, then rammed it against the stained wood a few times before stepping back. Behind him, Stephen gave Alexis's hand a squeeze. She squeezed his hand back. Her heart was pounding.

They had crossed through the grounds without issue. As Cafos had suspected, the guards hadn't deemed a valkyrie to be a threat. Alexis wondered if that would ever come back to bite them.

"What's our plan?" Stephen asked quietly as they waited for their knock to be answered.

"I'm going to request an audience with him." Cafos responded. "Say I'm here on Notch's business. Which... I might as well be." Stephen nodded, and they fell silent as footsteps came from within. After a moment, an older woman in neat, pressed clothes opened the door.

"Good morning." She greeted them. "Can I help you?" Cafos hesitated, then opened his mouth to respond.

"I-"

"Tell Lord Giles that his daughter is here to see him." Alexis interrupted loudly. Both boys spun to look at her, and the woman's eyes widened, studying her. Finally, she stepped back out of the doorway.

"Come inside. I'll fetch him." She gestured for them to follow, and the boys exchanged a glance before following her inside.

"Alex, are you sure about this?" Stephen muttered in her ear. Alexis took a deep breath.

"Yes." She whispered back. "I can't face him if he doesn't know."

"We could've waited outside while Cafos talked to him, if you'd wanted."

"Yes, but I trust that boy about as far as I can throw him." She whispered.

"I can hear you." Cafos hissed at them. Alexis just glared at him.

Eventually, the woman led them to a waiting room, where she directed them to make themselves comfortable while she summoned the lord. Alexis sat stiffly down on one of the couches, setting down her bucket and laying her hand timidly on the velvet cushions. She remembered this room, ever so vaguely. This was where her father met guests. She had never been allowed to be in here.

She remembered the older brother she'd had. Connell was a few years older than her, and picked on her, but he would also threaten and scowl at anyone who made her cry, and he would carry her when she got tired and didn't want to run around the grounds anymore. He would've been twelve when she was sent away. Had he approved of it?

Stephen wrapped an arm around her where he sat beside her, squeezing her against his side. She let her head fall against his shoulder. Maybe having Stephen made up for losing her older brother.

"Alexis," Cafos spoke up from a chair across from them. "You said Lord Giles was powerful. Anything in particular we should know about?" Alexis shifted, thinking back.

"Well," She said slowly. She remembered little of her father's abilities on her own, but she did recall hearing what people said about him. "He's exceptionally strong and fast. And he can... I'm not sure, track people somehow, even from long distances."

"Do you think we're in any danger from him?" Stephen asked, addressing Cafos. The valkyrie pressed his lips into a thin line.

"I have no idea how he'll react to having his disowned daughter show up on his doorstep. It's best to prepare for the worst."

The three of them waited in tense silence until the door on the other side of the room opened, and a man walked through.

He was an imposing man, with hair that was short and dark with streaks of gray, and he was dressed in rich, tailored clothes that matched the colors of his banners. His face was aged and there was a scar through one cheek that hadn't been there before, but Alexis still recognized him immediately. And, from the look on his face, he recognized her too.