A Call for Brighter Days: Aeriel Trilogy #2
Chapter 22

Hiya squealed as Ashwin threw her into the air, catching her moments before she could crash headfirst into the sofa. Sri clambered onto Ashwin’s shoulder, ready to be juggled along with his friend.

Soon, it was his turn to be catapulted. Streaking through the air, Sri shrieked with a mixture of delight and terror that made Hiya giggle. Patiently awaiting her turn, she dangled from Ashwin’s neck, her cheeks red with exertion and delight.

“This isn’t safe,” Simani muttered, as she supervised playtime from the kitchen. “What if he drops them? What if he loses his own balance? They could get hurt.”

Ruban sighed. “Do you really think I’d allow it, if there was the shadow of a chance that he might harm her?”

“I don’t know. You’ve been doing all sorts of things I’d never have thought you capable of.”

He rolled his eyes. “They’ve been doing this for more than a year now, Hiya and him. Never so much as a scratch on her. She’s more likely to get injured playing with her friends at school than with him.”

“Well, in my opinion, it’s a fantastic way to develop balance and flexibility.” Vikram smiled, clearing the table of leftover food. “After all, how many kids can claim to have a real Aeriel for a fitness coach?”

“And this is exactly why I told you not to tell him about it,” Ruban groaned, draining the sink. “An in-house Aeriel fanboy is the last thing we need right now. The only way this could get worse is if Dawad found out about him.”

“I’m not going to keep secrets from my husband for you, Ruban. It’s bad enough what you’re already making me do. Consorting with Aeriels, keeping the IAW in the dark–”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, did I? What would you have me do? Put him in sif-laced shackles and drag him to headquarters? You saw what he can do. He could level this building before we got within twenty feet of him.”

Simani caught his eye, her gaze steady. “But he won’t, will he?”

“And you expect me to take advantage of that?”

“It’d hardly be the first thing you’ve taken undue advantage of, in recent memory. All those months, lying to me day in and day out. Every time I asked you–” She shook her head, as if to dislodge the memory of it. “I thought we trusted each other, Ruban.”

“And we do.” He turned away from the clogged sink, folding a dishtowel in a vain attempt to calm his thundering heart. “At least, I still do. I’d understand if you didn’t feel comfortable working with me anymore. I could apply for a reassignment–”

Simani strode forward, grabbing him by the collar. “Why did you lie to me, goddammit? Was it him?” She glanced through the kitchen door at the Aeriel, who was busy catapulting the kids around the sitting room. “Did Ashwin – Shwaan – whoever or whatever he is…did he force you to do it? Did he threaten you?”

From across the room, Vikram chuckled. “You think Ruban Kinoh would get bullied by an Aeriel?”

“I didn’t think he’d be playing house with one either,” she snapped, letting go of his collar. “So what do I know?”

“No, it wasn’t anything like that.” Ruban stepped away from her under the pretext of helping Vikram clear the table. “It’s just – he killed his mother to save me…”

She froze. “What?”

“Ashwin’s mother?” Vikram frowned. “You mean – oh! You mean Tauheen. Shwaan, of course. Prince Shwaan. Tauheen’s feather-born son. How could I–”

“Wait. When you say he killed his mother…” Simani gaped at him. “You mean Ashwin’s the one who killed Tauheen back at the Kinoh House?”

Ruban closed his eyes, his fingers digging into the wooden backrest of a chair. “It’s a long story, but yes. He killed Tauheen. Risked his own life to do it. And I wouldn’t be alive right now if he hadn’t. So you see why I couldn’t just throw him into a sif-lined cell at my earliest convenience–”

“But why?” she asked, flabbergasted. “Why would he? Why would an Aeriel kill its own kind–”

“She wasn’t–” he sighed. “Like I said, it’s a long story. But suffice it to say that he had as much reason to despise Tauheen as we did. And after it was all over – after she was dead – he was supposed to leave. Wander the earth for a bit, then go back to Vaan. But then the mafia started recruiting the Exiles and attacking his sister’s scouts in residential areas–”

“The Exiles?” Simani interrupted.

“His sister?” Repeated Vikram.

Someone shrieked, and the kids shot through the doorway into the kitchen.

Ruban grabbed Hiya by the shoulder before she could crash into the refrigerator. “What’s the matter?”

“My clip!” Hiya wailed, her eyes wet and voice wobbly. “It fell out of my pocket and I didn’t–”

“It’s alright, darling.” Vikram crouched in front of her, his voice soft. “We’ll get you a new one. There’s no need to cry about it.”

“No! You can’t! It’s not–” She looked beseechingly at Ruban. “It’s the only one. And I can’t find it.”

Ashwin stepped into the kitchen, his expression bemused. “Alright, you said it’d be in here.” He cocked his head at Hiya. “Where do you think it might’ve gotten to?”

“I think…” she sniffled, pointing at the double-door refrigerator. “I think it’s under there.”

Vikram rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Well, it’s going to be a hell of a task, moving that. Are you sure we can’t find you another hairclip just like it, sweetie? Or ten. I’ll take you to the mall after school tomorrow, if you want.”

Simani nodded encouragingly. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll find one you like just as much as the old one.”

Getting on all fours to peek under the fridge, Ruban groaned. “No she won’t.”

“Is it in there?” Hiya blurted, wide-eyed.

“Something is.” Ruban leapt to his feet. “Something that’s glowing ethereally in the dark.” He glared at Ashwin, even as Hiya squealed, dropping to the floor to check for herself. “And this is why I tell you not to spoil her. You’ve got her chasing after Aeriel feathers in a house full of Hunters. If it’d been anyone but Simani in here–”

“Chasing after what?” Simani demanded.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Ashwin rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t have let her run into the kitchen, if it’d been anyone else. I’m not as much of an imbecile as you’d like to believe, Ruban.” With a huff, he plucked the fridge off the floor, revealing a patch of dust, some cobwebs, and a single, glowing feather attached to a plastic fastener.

Hiya dove forward, the refrigerator balanced on Ashwin’s hand, inches above her head. “There you go,” Ashwin said, as Simani sucked in a sharp breath and Vikram pulled her quickly out from under the fridge. “Now, don’t bother the grownups anymore. And be careful with that. You heard Ruban, didn’t you? He’ll have my head if another living being ever sets eyes on that clip.”

Uneven teeth bared in a wide grin, Hiya nodded absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the shimmery hairclip in her hand.

Looking over her shoulder, Sri gasped. “That’s fantastic! I’d never seen one for real, before.” He reached out, running a finger carefully over the edges of the feather. “Would it really burn like they show on TV?”

“Much better,” Hiya grinned, skipping out of the kitchen with Sri in tow.

Ashwin turned to leave with the children. Reaching out, Ruban grabbed the scruff of his tunic and pulled him back inside. “Now that you’re here, you might as well unclog the sink. I didn’t want to traumatize Simani and Vik too much in one day, but I can’t imagine it’d be any more of a shock than watching you hoist the fridge.”

“If I thought you had any money to spare, I’d drag you to labor court.” He trudged over to the sink, pulled out the stopper, and quickly disassembled the gasket. “Babysitter-cum-chef-cum-plumber is a very niche skillset, I’m told. And if my sister knew how I was spending my time on earth, I’d be banished faster than the worst of the Exiles.”

“Who are the Exiles?” Simani demanded, her eyes narrowed. “Both you and Ruban keep talking about these Exiles–”

“And when you say your sister will find out, do you mean Safaa?” Vikram interjected. “I suppose she’ll be the queen, now that Tauheen’s dead.”

Ashwin shrugged, tinkering with the gasket. “Safaa’s been the queen of Vaan ever since the retreat. Although, I suppose, now that my mother’s dead, she’s officially the queen of the Exiles as well. Not that they’d ever recognize her as such, of course.”

Simani glared at him. “And who are they?”

“The Aeriels left behind on earth, after the retreat. The ones who supported Tauheen during the Rebellion.”

“There were Aeriels that didn’t support Tauheen?”

“Yes. Most of them.” He sighed, putting the dismantled sink back together. “That’s what the Exiles are so pissed off about. Or, at least, the ones that’re still loyal to Tauheen.”

“And do they know? That you killed her?” Hands braced on the countertop, Vikram leaned closer to Ashwin, his tone conspiratorial. “Don’t they have laws against matricide in Vaan?”

Ashwin laughed. “I don’t know. I haven’t checked. But considering that I killed my mother under my sister’s orders – who also happens to be the current queen and my boss – I’m not sure how that law would apply to me, if it exists.”

After a full minute of silence, Simani murmured, “You have one fucked up family.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

The next two hours passed pleasantly, Vikram bombarding Ashwin with a plethora of questions about the climate of Vaan, pre-and-post-Rebellion Aeriel architecture, extradimensional firebirds, and more.

Ashwin indulged him readily enough, though Ruban sensed that he was editing some of his answers – perhaps talking around his sister’s secrets (or his own).

He waited for the bitterness to rise at the back of his throat, but it never did. He might never get used to evasive Aeriels and their myriad secrets. But Ashwin had risked everything – in revealing his identity to another Hunter – to save Simani. There’d be time to pry the secrets of Vaan from him later. For now, this was enough.

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