JACE
Jace waited on the passage leading to Marta’s room.
He had been there for fifteen minutes, leaning against the wall and his hands crossed over his chest.
He had somewhere important to be that morning, but it could wait. Seeing Marta was more important.
Finally, she appeared from her room, making a phone call.
“No. He’s not to be given more than two mm.” She spoke into the phone. But that was before
she saw Jace.
She came to an abrupt halt, her eyes glistening with shock. Jace pushed away from the wall but kept his hands across his chest. He looked horribly intimidating this way.
Marta swallowed hard. Time seemed to stretch.
“I’ll call you back,” her voice was softer this time as she spoke into the phone before ending
the call.
“Hi, Marta,” Jace tipped his head toward her. “How have you been?”
He could clearly see her throat bob.
“Tell me,” he went closer. “Did you choose Karen just because it was pretty? Or you really didn’t want me to know who you were?”
Finally, she regained her footing. Her mean face was back. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
She tried to move away, but Jace stepped into her way. “Uh–Uh. You don’t get to do this, Marta. We’re having this conversation.”
“We have nothing to talk about!” She rasped. “Do I need to report you to the Alpha for harassment? Why won’t you leave me alone? I am not Karen. I sure as hell have never seen you before.”
She glared at him, from head to heel, then walked past him.
“You know why I’m so concerned, don’t you?” Jace turned in her direction, but she didn’t stop walking. “I’m concerned because when we met, you were supposed to be pregnant. But you and I know you weren’t.”
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Now, she stopped.
He walked up to her this time, standing in front of her again. “So, if you’re so sure we haven’t met before, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t mind performing a test on those kids. Especially when I bring it up to Jaris.”
Her mask took a little tumble. Her fear was evident now. She could pass out at any moment if Jace didn’t stop talking.
Her frightened eyes darted around the passage, making sure there was no one around.
When she spoke again, her voice was shaky and a whisper. “What do you want from me?”
“You?” Jace scoffed, staring down at her. “I didn’t even know you were here until last night, Marta. I don’t ‘want‘ anything from you. I just want you to confirm I’m not lying. Do you remember me or not?”
Her eyes glistened, like she could shed a tear any minute. She looked around the passage, took a deep breath, and hissed. “Fine. I know. You. So what?”
Hm. Jace chuckled. She was still trying to be feisty even when the odds were not in her favor.
“Good. Then, you should remember that I’m aware you were never pregnant when you should be. How’re the kids yours?”
She fisted her hands beside her. “You’re delusional if you think I’d be lying to the Alpha all these years. He’s the father of my kids. I gave birth a month before we met.”
“Are you kidding me? We met in June, and the kids‘ birthday is coming up in July. How do the two relate?”
“T–There’s a reason we fixed their birthday next month. They were born prematurely, so we kept them in an incubator and decided to make July their official birth month since it was the very moment they were meant to be delivered.”
“Really? So, you expect he to believe you were sleeping around when you’d just given birth a month ago or less? It doesn’t make any sense!”
“Well, it’s my life and I’m telling you to mind your business!”
The atmosphere was taut with tension. Marta’s chest heaved anxiously. She looked like she could strangle Jace to death with her bare hands if she could.
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Like I said, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind performing a test on the kids. You know, I’m also curious and want to be sure.”
This time, it was his turn to walk away. Marta hesitated for a beat before she ran after him.
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“What do you want from me!?” She yelled in frustration. “What makes you think you can just come in here and ruin everything I’ve worked years for?”
Jace met her gaze. “Ooh. Careful, Marta. You sound like you’re about to get caught for something.”
She held his gaze with defiance. “My life is not perfect. But I’ve been working so hard to make sure I’m in a better place. I won’t let you ruin me, Jace. If I have to die, I’ll take you with me. You have my word.”
As much as her eyes were stained with red and glistened with unshed tears, they also glinted with fury.
She walked out on him.
LYRIC
Sitting in my car, I watched Marta leave the house and knew she was done talking with Jace. Or maybe arguing.
It didn’t take long before Jace joined me in the car, taking the passenger seat.
“She denied it,” he sighed.
That didn’t surprise me. “I told you she would. This is quite heavy. No one would easily admit to something like that.”
“That woman is unbelievable, Lyric! She’s deceiving the Alpha and entire Darkspire with somebody else’s kids! It’s worse than fraud!”
I took a deep breath, staring out the window.
“I’m telling Jaris.”
I snapped my head at Jace. “What? Jace, no!”
“What do you mean ‘no‘?”
“Could you just… calm down a little? I still need to make my findings before I know what to do.
“Excuse me?” He tapped me on the head. “You sound like you made this discovery all by yourself. This is my discovery, Ly. I’m the one who gets to decide what to do.”
“I–I know. But this is going too fast, I think.” I drew a full breath. “Just calm down, okay? I’ll ask some questions today, just to get our facts right. After that, we’ll make our decision.”
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Jade eyed me suspiciously. “Are you worried about the kids?”
I kept my eyes on the steering, knowing he got me.
“You’re worried Jaris might kick them out if he learns the truth.”
I still couldn’t say anything. The idea of Xyla and Xylon being hated by a man they’ve grown to love and recognize as their father was too uncomfortable for me. They wouldn’t be the only ones to get hurt, but Jaris too. I’ve seen how he loves them. This news would break him more than it would the kids.
“Listen to me, Lyric. Those pumpkins are adorable. I wouldn’t want to hurt them either. But you know how much I detest lies. I’m a man, Lyric. I won’t sit back and watch my fellow man raise kids that aren’t his.”
“I know!” My voice was feeble. “Just give me a moment, Jace. Please. Can you?”
He rolled his eyes. “Get to work, Lyric,” he muttered and left the car.
*****
My spirit was crushed by the whole situation.
Reaching TCH, I tried to focus on work.
I had a couple of patients to attend to, and I did so, using my abyssal gloves. Their conditions weren’t too critical. So, it was something my basic knowledge could help with.
Next to the ward of one of the patients I visited, there was a man with a critical condition. I saw him through the window and stopped to watch him.
He was asleep and looked like he’d been there for a long time.
When I asked the nurse with me, she told me had been in that coma for a month. According to her, he was suffering from Lunar Lungs Collapse. They’d been trying all they could to revive him and have given up hope on treating him. Even his own family had stopped visiting.
I felt so bad for him. The man looked old and frail. Being in a coma at this age… I didn’t want to imagine how painful it must be for him.
I left with the nurse. But an hour later, when I was meant to be on break, I returned to the
room.
‘It’ll be fine, Lyric. No one is watching. No one would be able to tell it was you.‘ I assured myself.
I took off my gloves and placed a hand on his neck and one on his forehead. He’d already
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been given the right medications, but the ailment was too strong and was fighting against the drugs.
So, all that needed to be done was to Siphon the sickness away. I wasn’t supposed to do this, but he was an old helpless man.
Closing my eyes, I focused on the ailment and felt heavier. I’d always felt this way whenever I touched sick people. I just never realized it was my body receiving the ailment. Good thing I never get to actually fall sick.
Being a Siphon would’ve been cool if it didn’t have a dangerous side. If my kind wasn’t
haunted.
In a couple of minutes, I was done. I could feel that it was over.
I smiled down at the man. His face was already getting brighter.
“Hope to see you awake soon, sir.” I smiled down at him, my hand tapping his shoulder. I turned away to leave but a hand suddenly grabbed mine. I was startled.
Whipping around, I discovered it was the man. His eyes were open, weakly so. But he was staring at me.
Oh. He’s awake.
I took a deep breath. He didn’t have to give me such a scare.
“Cy…n“, he muttered something I couldn’t hear. He was still
very
“Sir? How’re you feeling, sir?” I asked happily.
He uttered the word again. The third time, it was clearer:
“Si…phon.”
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