More from Book Four:

Brig stopped himself, realizing he was thinking out loud. “Orchos, Ay. He’s my Grandpa Leo.”

Aydan fell into stunned silence. “Okaaaaaay….” He could feel her disbelief and concern. The concern irked him. He wasn’t crazy.

“Just think about it for a minute, and then it won’t surprise you. Grandma Opal was never bothered by Rein. She was always eager to help you out. When we left to come here the first time she was so fucking chill. And then when I came back—when Isaac brought me back, changed—she just took it all in stride. Because she knew. She knew, Ay.”

“If that’s true, then why didn’t she try to find him when she got here?”

“I don’t know. She couldn’t leave Rein’s home. Maybe she hoped he’d find her. Or maybe it was enough just to live where she knew he was. I don’t know. But he’s here. Now.”

Aydan sat up, looking around. “Here? In the house?”

“Not here, here. He’s in his home, making plans with Morgan.”

“That’s so weird. That you know Morgan, and Orchos knows Morgan, and Rein knows Morgan. I haven’t even really met the guy.”

“No, what’s weird is that he hasn’t killed me yet. Rein paid him to—a lot, I think—and it’s killing his honor that he hasn’t completed his job.”

“Rein WHAT?”

“Don’t sweat it, Ay. It’s water under the bridge. Besides, wanting to kill me is basically everybody’s knee-jerk reaction to my presence these days. Morgan wanted to kill me. Pressing announced he’s planning on killing me the first chance he gets—“

“Pressing?”

“And Kitzke was all but shouting ‘Kill it with fire!’ when he got home last night and saw me eating supper at his kitchen table.”

“Oh, god, Brig.”

“Just the glamours life of an Abomination.”

“You’re not—“

“I know, I know. Just trying to be funny.”

“It’s not funny.”

“Okay. Point taken, lesson learned.” Drop the subject, please.

“So, if your grandfather is a god, what does that make you?”

“Just Brig. That’s who I’ll always be.”

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olive