Free Web NovelChapter 314: He remained mute
Norx reached out, his fingers hovering over the map of the oasis. With a flick of his wrist, he could simply pull the moisture away from the oasis, and then it would dry up like the desert surrounding it, and it would be over, but...
He clenched his fist. He couldn’t do that to Alias’s creation. It was all... so beautiful. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Alias, I do not want you to be swayed by these fragile bugs. I will show you how fragile they truly are. I will show you that when a human is pressed, the love they claim to have is nothing but a frantic effort to save their own skin."
He reached into the void, pulling forth a strand of dark, chaotic energy. He wanted to break the spirit. He wanted Alias to see the ugliness of humans to the core.
"I will put his heart on a scale, Alias," Norx murmured, a thin, cruel smile touching his lips. "And we shall see which side weighs more."
The next morning, Alias woke up, his body feeling a strange, lingering sensation from the previous night.
There was a dull ache in his hips and a heaviness in his limbs that made him feel more connected to the earth than ever before.
He stayed still for a moment, not because he had nothing to do, but because his rear hurt quite a bit and he was listening to the deep breathing of Theo beside him.
For a heartbeat, it felt like the fairy tale was back. But then, the memory of the boy in the living room flooded in, and he shut his eyes.
I’ll just take it that there’s an additional family member. Alias thought. I’ll treat him the way I would treat any other child. But... I might treat him more specially because he is Theo’s child.
Theo’s blood...
Realizing men could not give birth, and that he would’ve never been able to give Theo the happiness of becoming a parent, the existence of the child was somewhat like a relief.
Though right now, Theo did not like the child, and there was only coldness in his gaze, he believed that warmth would creep in for the child in no time.
He would act as the rod that connected them both.
Alias slipped out of bed, dressing quietly, and walked into the main room where he found the boy already awake.
The child was sitting on his mat, knees tucked to his chest, staring at the front door with a hollow, wide-eyed gaze. He didn’t move when Alias entered. He didn’t even blink.
Alias knelt beside him. He didn’t try to touch him—he knew the child was wary of the ’coldness’ he sensed in this place. Instead, Alias simply sat with him in the silence.
"You are safe here," Alias whispered, his voice soft. "The water is fresh, and the fruit is sweet. No one will hurt you here."
The boy’s gaze shifted, landing on Alias’s silver hair. He reached out a small, trembling hand, hovering inches away from a shimmering strand, before drawing back quickly as if afraid he’d be burned.
He remained mute, his lips pressed into a thin, white line.
Alias gave a small smile.
"It’s fine. Take your time," he said, and the boy’s blue eyes shimmered with a look of disbelief.
All this felt like a dream to him. All this felt like his imagination.
His mother had told him he was unwanted and a nuisance. That even his father hated him and would kill him on sight. She hit him, she scolded him, she locked him up, and when she was fed up, she had ’given him away’ to some strange men.
He was scared, and he escaped. Then, he fainted and found himself here, staring at a man he knew from instinct was his father.
"Papa," the words he had wanted to say to his father. And as soon as those words came out, the coldness in Theo’s eyes made him shrink as he remembered his mother’s words. freewёbnoνel.com
Would he hit him? Would he scold him and lock him up? Would he throw him away?
He was scared. So scared.
But then he saw the silver-haired man. He was warm, like the light, but not as harsh as the sun. He felt safe, he felt warm.
And he hid behind this warmth. And this warm man was... helping him, feeding him, giving him things his mother never gave him.
He wanted this man to be his papa instead. No, his mama. How about both?
Just as he was thinking of this, Theo emerged from the bedroom.
The peacefulness of his sleep had vanished the moment he lost Alias’ warmth pressing against him.
He looked at the boy, and his shoulders immediately tensed. The shame was a physical shroud around him. He didn’t know how to be a father to a ’mistake.’
"I’ll... I’ll go check the traps," Theo muttered, his voice raspy. He didn’t look at Alias. He didn’t look at the boy. He just grabbed his boots and headed for the door, his movements hurried.
"Theo," Alias called out.
Theo stopped, his hand nearly on the latch.
"The boy needs a name," Alias said. "We cannot keep calling him ’the child’ or ’the mistake.’ If he is to stay, he must have a place in the story."
Theo flinched, his grip tightening on the door. "His name is Kael," he said, the name sounding like a confession. "At least, that’s what was scrawled on the rag he was wrapped in when... when he was found."
Alias wondered if he had found it by accident or if he had intentionally checked, but it didn’t really matter much because he wouldn’t admit it
"Kael," Alias repeated, testing the weight of it and looking at the boy. "Your name is Kael?"
He gave a shy, slow nod.
Theo didn’t stay to hear more. He vanished into the bright glare of the morning, leaving Alias alone with the boy who had his eyes.
