We walked home, just us. The rest decided to help Mother and ensure the whole family would attend the tavern dinner.
"Well, that was a hit."
He set me down in front of the house. "Sure was. I bet they only stayed to drink some more."
Inside, the children were playing with dolls and picking their favorite sweets. Some were wearing gold necklaces and bracelets far too big for their little wrists.
Eleanor and Cata were sharing some wine and trying on jewelry. "What?" Eli addressed my accusing stare. "Blame your daughter. She wanted to show them."
Anna wore more gold than this village had ever seen, along with a nicely woven tiara and that creepy mask Zephyr brought for me. I'd found the mask interesting at first because Carlos swore it was something special, but other than keeping the wind away, it did nothing but mess with my eyesight. We'd decided to use it as decoration, but Anna got to it first.
"That's fine. She looks happy." Zephyr didn't mind, as usual, and just enjoyed watching his daughter have fun.
"You certainly are a great father, Lord," Cata smiled shyly.
"Please, call me Zephyr, I insist. And thank you."
Cata likely had some experience with bad fathers; that was my guess, seeing the look in her eyes when she looked at her own daughter.
"If you don't mind me asking, how are you related to Ceron? I don't see the resemblance," I asked.
She shook her head. "My husband, Olivia, and I joined them three years ago. We lived in a town called Metla down southeast, one of the closest cities to the Karta border. It has a Divine Beast, Metla the Water Queen of the Sea."
Zephyr immediately perked up. "Your former city, Metla, didn't it have a Blessed to deal with it?"
Her smile was sad, thinking back. "Yes, they did, but not even Ehlite's blessing seemed enough, and after some people died a terrible death, the feudal Lord finally decided to abandon the city and evacuate its people. That was the reason we left."
Well, at least he took his people to safety.
"This abandoned city, Metla—where did its people end up?" Zephyr asked.
"Scattered to the winds. Some who had important skills—blacksmiths, healers, and such—went to the capital. Lord Chambers was a Lord in name only. He himself had to leave his own lands."
Insatel was vast. I never could have believed just how big until Zephyr took me up to the sky. The Sen River cuts through all the kingdoms, ending up in the sea around the continent. Things like this had happened years ago, yet the news never reached here.
"We met the Troupe in Malai some time after that. My husband is handy with a sword, so we were welcomed. Then he joined the war effort six months ago, sent on reconnaissance. He's been MIA ever since then."
Six months ago. Her husband might have been one of those idiots like Alexander. He just didn't have a trusted brother to stop him. But ultimately, like all, he just wanted a better life for his family. Her story was sadly mirrored by so many. In our last visit to Malai, more and more missing posters went up—not for war efforts, but people just gone without a trace. Nice lives, happy families, yet just gone.
"What is your husband's name, dear Cata?"
"Eric Brennan. Wherever he is now..." She still believed him alive, even after months of absence.
"Thank you for telling us. It must have been hard." Zephyr tapped her hand and took a look at our own daughter playing with Olivia and Ciren. "I'll ask the Lord of the city to look into it in a few days."
"Y-you know him, Lord Mai?"
Oh, I guess nobody told them?
"Zephyr here has a Blessing. Also, Carlos from the hall, and the ladies with the white and blue hair? Them as well."
She looked at me like I was barking at her.
"My family and I have quite a few abilities under our belt, like Veila Monroe's," Zephyr explained with a proud smile.
"Th-thank you. Any help is appreciated. I did my best, but no answers were given other than that he was missing." She grasped at the hope Zephyr offered.
"Don't worry about it. If they know something, I'll get it out of them."
"Dad!!"
He was startled by the sudden scream. "Yes, Princess?"
She had sneaked closer and was smart enough to take off the gold and pack it up. "Can you show them? They don't believe me."
I looked at the kids, too busy with toys and sweets to pay attention. He—well, it was obvious what she meant.
He took both kids and Cata outside. Eleanor purposely stayed with me.
"So, tell me. Why did you freak out when it turned out that Marcus guy sent them?"
I told her everything fast, not knowing how long they would be out there.
"Okay. So, what I'm hearing here is that Marcus is a Blessed. He mentioned his name in a conversation you didn't understand, and he paid in gold for this lot to end up here..." Her facial expression didn't really change throughout my story. "...For me, that doesn't sound all that alarming."
"But—"
"Lylly, I remember your wedding. He was in love with Zephyr, so he paid for his entertainment. We'll probably never see him again, and if we do, what can he possibly do that he didn't do that night?"
Her words annoyed me, not because she didn't believe me, but because hearing a level-headed person make light of my worries was an annoying thing. Her words had some merit, but Zephyr and the others arrived, and that was the end of it for now.
"...phyr, you can touch the sky whenever you feel like it! We thought Veila's blessing was a miracle. I can't believe what we just witnessed."
Cata and the children loved his power, like everyone.
I couldn't stop thinking about what Eli just said: 'We'll probably never see him again, and if we do, what can he possibly do?'
I'd rather we never found out. The man made my skin crawl.