Otherworldly Redemption [Book 7]

12

The air was thick with the unresolved tension.

It was almost as if we had never left that dining room. We were all seated in the same seats, Jelani's mother looked a little worse for the wear, tired eyes and a bit of subtle bruising but she was also there, glaring across the table as us. Asha was sitting there, glancing over at me every once in a while as if we held a mutual secret. Which we did, her offer was still bouncing around in my head.

Although I didn't want to work for her I knew that she may have been my only option if I needed to escape this so called mate bond. If she helped me escape before I became a god again in this place then there was a slight possibility that I would be able to escape the mate bond; if needed.

"Where is my slave?" Jalani's father questioned breaking the tense silence at the table. Everyone looked up at him, Marin and Jelani glanced at each other briefly before looking back at the angry man sitting at the other end of the table.

"She has become one of my wards." Jelani calmly replied and I had to admit that I was just as shocked as the rest of the table, except for Marin it would seem. Why would he keep her here? She didn't need any rehabilitation, not to mention this place was filled with people a lot more dangerous than her.

"Why would you do that?" He jumped up, slamming his hands on the table, infuriated.

"Considering she was misbehaving as terribly as you said she was I decided that she needed help. And as you know I am able to detain any slave that I feel needs it." Jelani answered with a smug smirk and I had to hide my own smirk knowing that he was being sarcastic.

"That's un-"

"That is our agreement, set up by the council." Jelani interrupted his father once more without even looking up at him. I suppose everything that had been happening between us was a bit more of an issue than his father at this point because he wasn't even concerned with the man who had scared him only just yesterday. 

"Fine. Keep the girl, when will we be seeing Jali?" 

There was that name again. Whoever this person was they were incredibly important to be at the center of all of this. Everything was about seeing Jali and even Asha had mentioned his name earlier in our conversation.

"You may see him today. He has been doing better but I don't see him being released any time soon." Jelani expounded.

"Why not?" His mother's shrill voice schreeched, outraged. "He has been here long enough!"

"He has been here on his own accord. He is able to leave whenever he chooses as long as he is reformed. He refuses to change, therefore he refuses to leave." Jelani sighed as if this hadn't been the first time he had this conversation with them.

"He cannot leave if you continue to hold him to such high standards! You're not even giving him a chance to improve himself." Asha whined.

"I'm not understanding why you of all people are advocating for him." Jelani looked up at his sister, eyes filled with hurt. She looked taken back for a second before she turned her head away from him in defeat.  Her eyes were sad but she refused to take back what she said. Clearly there was something that happened between the three but that would be a story for another time.

"She advocates for him for the same reason that you should. That is your brother and to see him locked up for so long is a disgrace to our family and especially to you. Do you know how it seems when one of our sons is locked away for more than a decade?" His mother questioned and I couldn't help but actually look to her for that one.

A decade?

Had Jelani really locked up his brother for that long? 

"Like I said, he has to be willing to help himself. Appearance doesn't matter when it comes to cases like him. You should be less worried about what it looks like and more worried with what he actually is." Jelani answered back.