COF 4: The Abject Throne

6 | Eldan (II)

2412 Iclis 14, Reshpe

"Explain," Xanthy crossed her arms, leaning back into her chair. Branches creaked underneath her.

Eldan folded his hands on the table. His blue-gray eyes never strayed from Xanthy's face. "What do you want to know?"

Xanthy bit her lip. What did she want to know? It's not like she spent the whole morning of her second day in Dwanzeig thinking about that. Worry and something other than the dinner she ate last night churned in her gut. After a gruelling night with Nyxis trying to haul June off the brink of Pidmena's embrace, Xanthy wasn't in the mood for riddles, especially if it came from the man claiming to be her father.

Eldan had found her after breakfast when all she wanted was to get back to the room to sleep some more. Then, he stuffed her in this isolated room, sat her in a rickety stool made of branches, and spent a whole minute staring at her.

So Xanthy humored the man. It's a good way to keep things off her mind at least for a little while. She narrowed her eyes at this man with light brown hair and a charming smile. "A lot of things, actually," she answered Eldan's question by inclining her head to one side. "Are you really who you say you are?"

Eldan exhaled, leaned forward, lifted his folded hands, and rested his chin on them—all in one smooth motion as if he's been doing it his entire life. The twinkle in his eyes never faded. "Which is?" he smiled, showing off white rows of teeth.

"Come on," Xanthy waved a hand in the air before slapping her forearm still draped over her chest."You know what. That person. That you're my f..."

Her voice frayed in her throat. Why was she struggling to get that word out of her system? Airene's words slammed back into Xanthy's mind. Your father is in Dwanzeig. Xanthy licked her lips. Airene would never lie to her, would she? This was too much of a coincidence if so.

Eldan's smile widened as if sensing Xanthy's thoughts. "Airene told me that my daughter has been looking for me," he perked up. Xanthy's eyes widened. "So I had to come and see for myself that it really is you."

Xanthy pointed at him. "You and Airene..."

"Know each other? Are we keeping in touch? Yes," Eldan finished for her with a nod. He shrugged. "She's a friend."

"So she wasn't lying?"

"Why would she?" Eldan raised an eyebrow.

Xanthy shook her head. "How did you even know I was thinking of Airene?" she gave a skeptical chuckle.

Eldan jerked his chin at her. "Your movements suggest hesitation while your voice and tone suggest doubt," he ran his fingers against the branches on the table as if dusting something off it. "Doubt and hesitation always lead to reevaluation of their recent experiences to find a logical explanation for a present situation they are in. Factor that with the knowledge of people who know my location whom you might have come across and who are trusted enough to recognize your connection to me. The last time I heard of your location was in Cardina. Alkara is not a far trek from that. It's only a matter of guessing after a sufficient amount of evidence that you have, indeed, met Airene."