Mishtali woke in bed. He saw Pt’this, Kar and a young woman he didn’t recognize. They hadn’t seen he was awake yet. He couldn’t hear what they were saying. Then Kar nodded and left. It appeared the two brothers still didn’t get along. They probably never would. He watched Pt’this and the woman a moment before they noticed he was awake. Pt’this’s actions reminded Mishtali of when Pt’this and Mirimar were trying to hide their relationship from him. Mishtali frowned. Did they never become mates or had something happen to his daughter? Then, they saw him. The woman whispered something to Pt’this and left. “Tomin.” Mishtali greeted him. “Master.” Pt’this nodded and stood near the bed. “You deliberately disobeyed me.” “I did. I’m not going to leave someone behind that needs our help.” “You always were stubborn.” “I prefer to think of it as determined.” Mishtali growled. “So hang me from the ceiling.” Pt’this shrugged. Mishtali laughed. “You always enjoyed that.” Pt’this smiled. “It reminded me of one of my human fathers. He used to pick us up upside down.” He brought the chair from the desk over and sat down. “So why is that old goat my granddaughter’s mentor rather than you?” “You never released me from my apprenticeship. An apprentice can’t have an apprentice.” “The Council wouldn’t release you?” “I never asked. I didn’t care if I became a mage.” “What? You used to love magic.” “Things change,” he said sadly. “What happened? Where are my children?” “I don’t know what happened to Thailyn. I haven’t seen him since the war. “Mirimar and I were the last ones out of the roost. Mirimar was still in it when it collapsed. I tried to hold it up, but I failed. One of the pillars impaled her. It didn’t kill her, but she was trapped.” “You couldn’t transport her out?” Pt’this shook his head. “I was in a trance. She could have transported herself out. She chose to use her strength to save me instead. It took her over a week to wake me. She was just above a trance herself by this time. I think she was awake by willpower alone. I did everything I could to bring up my strength, but it wasn’t building fast enough. She was dying.” He closed his eyes in grief. “No one was responding to my calls. I did the only thing I could do. I forced her to change, tearing her out of there. I took her back to Baj-tisk for healing. They worked on her for months, but they couldn’t reverse all the damage that was done, the damage I failed to prevent, the damage I caused. “I loved her so much. It tore me apart what I did to her and what I failed to do. I couldn’t deal with it right after the trance. I decided if my magic couldn’t help her, it was useless. I stopped using it. For five hundred years I didn’t cast one spell.” “With your heart condition, you could do that?” “My heart isn’t bad. Even all that didn’t take me up to a full level one. And, I indulged in my addiction quite frequently.” “Aren’t you addicted to sex?” Pt’this grinned. “Thanks to your daughter and she was quite happy to indulge me.” “So you two did become mates?” The grin faded again. “For five hundred years. She passed away six years ago. I’m sorry. She never fully recovered. Even Thailyn wouldn’t have been able to heal her.” “Do I have any other grandchildren besides Annlonna?” He changed the subject. He had seen the news of her death coming. He wasn’t ready to deal with it. “Not yet. After the accident, Mirimar couldn’t have any. But the woman that was just in here, she’s my wife, and she’s expecting.” “Wife?” Mishtali frowned. “You married her, like a human?” “She is a human.” Pt’this shrugged. “So you took a new mate already?” “Yes. I did. We were married a month ago.” “And she’s pregnant already?” “For just over two weeks. Did you know humans can get pregnant monthly?” “Isn’t that something you should have learned before you became her mate?” “Don’t worry, Dad, I knew.” Mishtali smiled at what Pt’this called him. In the past, Pt’this would call him that when he was acting more like a parent than a mentor. Now, Mishtali realized it was true. He was Pt’this’s father because he’d mated with Mirimar. “You knew, and you still got her pregnant? Did you want a child so quickly?” “Did you know six times in one night is too much for the birth control potion?” His apprentice asked. Mishtali growled. Pt’this grinned again. Then he turned his head aside to indicate he was talking with someone telepathically. “I need to go separate Nim and Kar.” He sighed and hurried off. Separate Nim and Kar? They’d been best friends. Nim had been angry with Kar for accusing Mishtali of being an immortal, but that had been settled, hadn’t it? Or had more happened later? “Grandfather?” Ann entered timidly. He smiled. “Come in, sit down.” He beckoned her in. He was glad to see she didn’t bear the scars he’d observed on her when he communicated with her in the trance. She did so. “How are you feeling?” “The elf says I’ll live.” “I don’t want what a healer reads. I’m asking what would your mate feel.” “My mate? My mate won’t feel anything anymore. They killed me. That broke the bond.” “So you bond with her again.” She shrugged. “How will I find her?” “We have connections. Everyone’s willing to go hunting for her.” The thought seemed insurmountable. Torthoc was a big place, and she could be anywhere if she were still alive. It had been decades since he’d been to Torthoc and been able to feel her. “We’ll find a way.” She assured him. He shook his head. “I can’t fly. Nor’than clipped my wings.” “Not all the way. Shunati thinks there’s a possibility he can fix them.” “Thailyn couldn’t heal them. Is Shunati’s stronger than Thailyn?” “He’s just a little under Thailyn from what I understand. But the head army healer used to be partners with the most clever of healers. They developed a lot of patchwork. Maybe he and Shun can come up with something together. Or, maybe they can find the old partner, and he can do something. He was a strong healer too.” “I’m free. I suppose I should be grateful for that.” “Give it time to sink in. A lot happened last night.” “Last night? It’s only been one night?” “It has.” “How’s your chosen, Andy?” “He’s resting. He’s fine now. And, he’s my husband.” “Husband? You got married too? He’s human. I suppose it would be right.” “I’m half human myself. Besides, it’s the law.” “The law?” “The royal family has to get married before they can take a mate.” “Royal family? Child, what are you talking about? Where are your parents?” “In the kitchen. Oh, wait. You mean Darina and Thailyn. Sorry, my adoptive parents are in the kitchen. Darina died when I was born. I don’t know where Thailyn is.” “He didn’t tell you where he was going?” “I’ve never met him. I didn’t even know he was my father until a few months ago.” Mishtali frowned. How could she not know? “Darina was friends with Queen Tylan before she became queen. She came for a visit once while she was pregnant, but she wouldn’t tell Tylan who the father was. She was killed by an immortal. They were able to save me, but they couldn’t save her. “Darina and Thailyn had never been married so there was no record of my father. They searched but couldn’t find who he was. So King Emeton and Queen Tylan adopted me. “Kar’s son, Kithmar, was my first pledge. He set out to find who my father was and found him but never told me who. Thailyn wouldn’t come to the palace but gave Kith a book of letters he wrote to me that answered most of my questions. Unfortunately, Kith was killed, and before I could get the book myself, I ended up here. “There was no sign of me for two years. Everyone thought I was dead. Thailyn left Menthanla, but he didn’t say where he was going.” “Why didn’t he take responsibility for you?” “I don’t know. That’s one question the book didn’t answer. All he said was he thought Uncle Pt’this would be mad at him. I also got the feeling he was afraid of the Council, but they won’t tell me anything.” “So, now you’re part of the royal family? And why is Tomin at the palace? The four kingdoms don’t all rule from there now, do they?” “The four kingdoms don’t rule together at all now. They split after the war. Uncle Pt’this is the High Council’s ambassador and is my father’s advisor.” “What’s going on between Kar and Nim?” “Nim’s trying to kill Kar for a comment he made about Jo. Uncle Pt’this’s talking to them.” “They used to be best friends.” “That was five hundred years ago. After the war, Uncle Pt’this was damaged emotionally because he was in a trance so long. Kar not only ignored it, but he also left Baj-tisk entirely. No one saw him for over three hundred years. No one heard from him. Then, he brought his son, Kithmar, back but he left him on the path rather than bringing him to Baj-tisk. Kithmar got lost and almost died. “When they returned a few months ago to find him, they were using an enhanced community call, and it put me into a protection trance. “Nim is not happy with Kar, nor are any of us. Some of it we realize was a misunderstanding. Kar and Tor had fire death when they brought Kithmar. It was why they brought him. They didn’t think they’d survive. Not wanting to infect Baj-tisk is why they didn’t come to the city. “And he had miscast the enhancement spell, so I was the only one to hear it. He panicked. “But things are going to take time. You can’t pick your family, only how you react to them.” “That’s very true. I used to tell Thailyn and Mirimar that. They didn’t get along with my mother.” “Excuse me, Ann?” Joanne came in. “Andy’s on the phone with his folks, and they want to talk with you.” “I’ll be back.” Ann smiled and hurried to follow Jo. Mishtali’s smile faded when she left. He closed his eyes. So much time had passed. So much had changed. He survived Nor’than. He could survive this.