28. Rain

Chapter 28

Rain

Tempest and Char had gone ahead to the meeting room, ready to help with anything the Gloombringer's servants needed to start the morning meeting, and I was just about to head downstairs myself, dressed and ready for another day.

Mother had checked in again and was mostly pleased with the arrangements I was making. She'd been annoyed with the silly footnote about school transcripts, but that was just like her. It was the hill she'd choose to die on rather than make a functional deal that saved the world.

I understood that some things couldn't be compromised, but really, school records were not one of those things.

When I came out of the north wing hallway, though, I reached the stairs at the same time as Aubrey, who'd so affected Adair a few days ago. He was dressed the same as when he'd arrived, down to the pack slung over his shoulder, and he looked...hells, he looked angry. Like he was ready to pick a fight with the next person who glanced at him sidelong.

"Sorry," I said as we arrived at the top of the stairs at the same time, waving to the ornate staircase. "Please, you go ahead."

That seemed to take the wind out of his sails. "No, it's me. I'm sorry. I'm just..." He looked at me, considering. "You don't have a car, do you? Could you maybe take me to a bus station or something? I can't...I can't do this. I can't be here. That man is going to bring down everyone around him, and I can't be a part of that."

That man, I assumed, was Oberon. It was a fitting description of the man. I turned my wrist to check my watch. We had at least an hour before the meeting was planned to convene for the day, so I plucked my phone from my pocket and texted Tempest.

Going to take the car and drive someone to a bus station. I'll be back as soon as I can.

I didn't wait for a response, though she immediately sent back a quick " WTF? " before I managed to close the message screen. Which was fair, really. It was a strange situation.

"I'd love to drive you to a bus station," I agreed, tucking my phone back in my pocket, even as it continued to buzz with messages from Tempest. "Bus, you're sure? Not an airport or...I don't know, car rental? Do they do that here in Gloombringer lands?"

He ducked his head and smiled, more of the anger in his eyes draining away. "They do, but who's got money for renting cars? Or airplane tickets? Plus I...I don't really know where I'm headed. Just away from here."

"Fair enough. Why pay a premium for ‘away' when you can take a bus?" I waved my free hand toward the door and followed along after him. When he was just in front of me, heading down the castle's front steps, I asked the all-important question. "Want to talk about it? "

And apparently, Aubrey Sagara did.

Aubrey Sagara, the next Gloombringer, a man who had no interest in bringing gloom to the world.

It seemed to me, as he explained about how Oberon had insulted his mother and everything she'd taught him, that this was what the Duskbringer family was supposed to be. All heart, feelings and empathy coming before anything else. Aubrey loved his mother so much that he couldn't stand anyone insulting her.

I understood.

Well, I didn't, but in a way I did. My mother was...not for everyone. She was cold and calculating, and to Ivy Dawnchaser, apparently cruel. The thing was, I didn't doubt she'd been unkind to Ivy. She was that sometimes.

My mother was no saint, and more importantly in this situation, my mother was alive. What kind of callous ass did Oberon have to be, to have insulted the man's mother, particularly when she'd died so recently?

Perhaps I didn't truly understand the way Aubrey felt about his mother, but even if I didn't think of my mother like Aubrey did his, any Moonstriker worth that name knew that there was no wisdom in such a course of action. My mother had taught me that, imperfect and unsaintly as she was.

"So I just can't," he finally wound down as we reached a major highway, and I flipped the turn indicator that would take us toward the closest bus station. It wasn't too far away, so I might even make it back in time to start the meeting with the others on time.

If not, Oberon and Huxley would just have to be angry with me. Even with all the progress we'd made the day before, I found that I didn't much care. They were both bastards, worse people than I could be if I tried.

Part of me didn't even want to follow through and make peace with them. I would, because it was for Mount Slate. For the whole Summerlands. Not for them.

"I understand," I told him, nodding. "I don't think I could live with Oberon either. He's been very little but rude since I arrived, and I...I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I can't empathize, since I have no idea who my father is, but if it were Oberon, I can tell you that I'd never agree to be his heir."

He slumped back into the car seat and turned to look at me. "Really? You're not just saying that?"

I smiled, giving him a glance, then turning back to the road. "You haven't met many Moonstrikers before, have you? I am not just saying that. I don't think I've ever ‘just said' anything in my life. Mother always says if a thing isn't true, it isn't worth saying."

"Can't say I've ever actually met a Moonstriker before," he agreed. "But I do appreciate it, Rain. I felt like maybe I was losing it, walking away from all that money and power. But...that's my mom. I can't live like that. Have you seen the way he treats Aunt Titania?"

I winced, because I had indeed seen some of the way he treated his sister, both in person and in memories. "Unfortunately, yes. But money and power aren't everything."

He sighed, and it sounded more exhausted than I'd ever been in my life. "They are something, though. Not sure how far I can get a bus to before I'll have to stop and look for a job."

I pointed to the glove box. "Open that up for me? There's an emergency kit in there. It's got a phone and some money."

"I can't?—"

"You really can. Remember all the money you're giving up? I've got that much, at least. Would you have given me money, were our situations reversed?"

He paused at that, stymied, as so many people were, by sheer logic. "I suppose I would," he finally admitted. "But I don't like to take things I haven't earned."

"Then do something for me in exchange."

"What?" He sounded more curious than suspicious, and I was grateful that I'd made at least that good an impression—he didn't think I was going to ask something ridiculous of him.

"Take the phone in the bag, too, and keep in touch. My number is programmed in, just under Rain. Almost all my siblings, Mother, and Uncle Cove too, but I suppose you don't know them. Still, I'll tell them about you. And if you're in trouble, or you need something, or you're in Moonstriker lands, call." I pulled to a stop in a turn lane and looked over at him. "I mean it. You might not be willing to live with Oberon, and I think that's both reasonable and even admirable. But that doesn't change that you're someone important to the future of the Summerlands, Aubrey. He didn't tell me what, but Adair saw something in you, and he knows these things. I want you to have help if you need it."

He clearly wanted to protest, but in the end, he took the phone and slipped it into his pocket. He stared at the money, just an ordinary stack of twenties, straight from the bank, still in their wrapper. It wasn't even that much, considering how much it cost to live these days .

As I pulled into a space in the bus depot, he was trying to tug a few twenties from the end of the thing without disrupting the damned band. I shook my head and closed my hand over his and all the money. "Take it. It's not even enough to cover a week in a hotel, Aubrey. I know it looks like a lot, but it goes fast."

He frowned, but he didn't argue with me.

"You really think I'm gonna be somebody important, don't you?" He glanced around, as though he needed to see if anyone else was listening to us. "I'm not, Rain. I'm nobody. I don't even"—he paused, his cheeks pinking and suddenly not even able to look me in the eye"—I don't even have a stone. Not so much as a plain old diamond."

I squeezed my hand over his again, leaning down to meet his eye. "You don't need to be somebody important to be worthy of people caring about you. And not having a stone yet doesn't mean anything. Just that you haven't found the right one yet. Believe me, it'll happen, and when it does, it'll be like you've been struck by lightning. And then probably, your stone will never shut up."

He gave a tiny smile, shaking his head. "That sounds nice. It's been awfully quiet since Mom died."

"Well then why don't you see about touring a few museums? Lots of stones on display, just waiting for the right person. Never know which one will find you."

He gave me a dubious look, like he was the only person ever to reach the age of twenty without bonding a stone. "Most family heads bond a stone in their twenties or thirties, you know. Even if we already have one as children, we have to bond the family stone later. Resonating after twenty isn't so strange."

That actually seemed to make him stop and think. "Will Aunt Titania be okay, being the next Gloombringer? She's nothing like him. I'm such a jerk for leaving her there, I can't?—"

"Hey, I don't think she's going to hold it against you. Honestly, I get the feeling she doesn't much want to be there either. Gloombringer Castle is kind of awful. Mostly because of Oberon. The food is amazing, the staff are lovely, Titania is fun...it's just, he's the guy in charge."

Funny, how I was thinking of Adair as separate from the Gloombringer, when he hadn't even agreed to anything. But he had to come away with me. Didn't he?

Aubrey nodded, taking a deep breath and looking away. "Could you tell her?—"

"How about I get her phone number and text it to you? You can tell her yourself. She's your family now. You don't want to lose touch. Do you?"

His smile was bemused, but genuine. "No, I guess not."

"Excellent. Then I'll tell you how to contact Titania, and you'll keep in touch. Right?"

"Right," he agreed. "Thank you for this. For everything. I mean it. I'll pay you back someday."

"Pay me back by surviving and being happy. Your family was supposed to be the heart of the Summerlands, you know. Gloom came later, and it wasn't what they were supposed to be good at. They were called the Duskbringer, and they all had sapphires. All their stones focused on empathy and emotion, and everything that makes humans human instead of computers. You don't have to ever be the Gloombringer, not even if you take Oberon's place someday."

He listened to me intently, and for the first time in a while, I felt like the mass of random facts I'd learned about the four families might be doing something useful.

"I'm gonna learn more about that," he finally whispered. "That sounds...really good. Mom had a sapphire that told her how people felt."

"There you go. Study up on it, maybe. Call me if you need money or a place to stay. Moonstriker Tower has the best library in the world."

Without another word, he slipped out of the car and headed for the building, and I watched him go only for a moment before backing out of the parking spot and turning toward the castle.

"Phone, call Frost," I said aloud, and over the car's sound system, it did so. Before he could even start worrying or asking questions, given the time I was calling, I opened up with, "Hey Frost, I need you to do me a favor. I just gave my emergency phone to a guy I want to keep tabs on. He's a good guy, but in a bad place, and I'm worried about him. Also worried he might dump the phone. Could you check things out?"

"Of course, Rain," he answered instantly, and I knew that if it was within the Moonstriker family's power to see to it, Aubrey Sagara was going to be just fine.