The Beastkeeper's Redemption

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Four  
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Kaede knew that they wouldn't need to wait much longer for Izzy's sister's appearance. The wards he had erected about the small perimeter of the property were indication enough that Cassie was nearby, but the discreet fae being he had assigned as further protection over her person while she was away from the townhouse had issued a bolt of warning that he registered through the air currents quicker than anything else.

It came with the territory of his own particular skillset- the invisible manipulation of wind, air, and the subtle currents and fluctuations that made up every anomaly. When he was allowed to utilize the full spectrum of his magic, that is, it was particularly useful.

But his attention was mostly diverted, concern wrenching his soul, by Izzy, who stood with ramrod stiffness by the small, dark entrance foyer of her townhouse.

Waiting.

Her arms were folded under her breasts, the robe she wore hugging every voluptuous curve with appeal while her hair cascaded down her back in languid, burgundy curls. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, her brows furrowed with tension that he felt rolling from her and permeating the air with bitterness and uneasy currents.

"Do you know what happened?" she asked, turning her head to the side to glance at him. "Do you know what harm has befallen her?"

"I do not," he admitted regretfully, coming to stand behind her and wrapping an around her waist, drawing her back against his chest. There was no resistance from her and pride swelled within him that he was the one able to provide her support and comfort, that she was permitting herself to rely on him for just that. "My abilities allow me small glimpses and suspicions, but exact truths and details are more difficult to ascertain at this distance, and with limitations placed on what I can actually achieve within the city..."

Her eyes glimmered, her lashes crested her cheeks in delicate fans when she blinked. "I am sorry. The restrictions." She huffed an agitated breath, turning her attention once more to the door. "You are putting much at risk by helping me."

"Not too much," he assured her. "It would not be detectable by any Other hound or allies to the guards."

Her hand emerged from where she had it tucked against her body to squeeze his forearm, affection in the gesture. "Thank you."

They did not have to wait much longer before Cassie crept into the house. It became clear that she had hoped to creep in silently, Agatha on her heels and berating her with whispered words of warnings and conjecture, because she froze on the threshold when her bulging eyes landed on her older sister in his arms.

A small indrawn breath of shock was heard before Agatha shut the door with an emphasis that held a note of finality to her clipped words, "Well, if anybody needs me, I'll be in the larder with a dram while the two of you sort out this mess." She waddled off, casting one more stern look at Cassie, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Her exit Kaede hardly registered, his attention wholly consumed by the tear-streaked face of Cassie Hawkins before him. The eyes, her demeanour, had lost all of the precocious tenacity of before, lacking the outright condemnation she had flayed her sister with earlier. Now, they were bereft, tinged with a deep-set fear that wreaked havoc on his temper, flaying open his skin until it burned with how that terror churned the currents surrounding her.

And then his eyes found the reddened side of her cheek that seemed to glow even in the darkness of the room, drawing his attention like a beacon, and then a more prominent tell made the blood in his veins ignite.

A bloodied lip, broken open on one side to reveal a jagged and swollen welt.

Izzy lurched forward with an audible, inarticulate sound of dismay, her hands encompassing the sides of Cassie's face as her fingers shook. She surveyed the injuries while her sister endured the tender, cautious examination with trembling fear, perhaps believing that dire repercussions were coming her way. "What happened?" Izzy hissed, her voice a furious, tremulous whisper. "Who did this to you?"