Siren Song (The Fated #1)

14 | Arius

Dearest Brother,

You do not mind, do you? Me, calling you brother? I never thought to ask while we were sailing together. It felt natural. Arius says that if it bothered you, you would have said as much. I'm not so certain. You seemed determined to treat me like any other passenger, but I was not. Therefore, I can imagine you holding your tongue about the subject.

So... yes? No? We've no real ties, but... you are Arius' only living kin.

Speaking of Arius, have you heard from him? It has only been a week since he left, but already I am anxious. I know that I was the one that told him to leave--that it was too dangerous for us to continue meeting--but my heart ignores such logic. Please, please tell me if he keeps in contact. I wish I had the same, optimistic outlook I held when we met, but too much has passed. I cannot sleep without nightmares of what might happen to him. You, as well. And my treasure.

I can't stand the thought of losing you, my second youngest living brother.

It is a strange thought, is it not? The idea that you are younger than me? I had never put much thought into the priestess' blessings until I met Arius. At the time, I adored the fact it gave us more time together, and less time that people might think us an elderly woman and her companion, instead of lovers. My own siblings are too young for me to notice this strangeness.

I don't believe you got the chance to meet Del. With the loss of Abiah and Tavi, he is the eldest of my living brothers. Yet, he's only just past his fifth birthday. I can't imagine a time when he and I might appear the same age.

Although, that might not happen. I found several gray hairs last night. I plucked them out, of course. The people would find it strange, after all, that their priestess is already showing signs of age.

I fear the worst. What if the goddess cursed more than my treasure? Perhaps there was a hidden price to Umae's blessing.

Until next time. Please write to me of every detail, insignificant or otherwise. My heart pains when I think of what I had to leave behind on that ship of yours.

I miss my treasure desperately.

With love,

Gabrielle

Kain stared at the page, his fingers tracing over the unfamiliar name. Arius, his mother's lover. He'd specifically chosen a letter at the bottom of the stack as the second he would read. Her words placed his Uncle Del as five years old, which meant Kain himself couldn't have been more than a few months. If Arius was his mother's lover at the time...

Had he just learned his father's name?

And Artemios, his father by everything except blood... was Artemios his uncle? The letter implied some sort of familial ties between Arius and Artemios, and given his mother's choice of address--dearest brother--he couldn't help but picture it as them being brothers. It was an idea that was somehow both comforting and unsettling. Part of him found nothing but happiness in the idea of being related to the man who raised him, but another part, the bitter brat he always tried to ignore, said that this was news Artemios should've told him himself. What danger was there in naming their relationship?