Chapter Twelve

Asia had taken to eating her lunch in the park across from their office building this particular morning. One of her superiors had taken it upon himself to make a sexual advancement on her and with everything happening outside of work, she fled the building entirely. When she finally shook the nausea from her body, she grabbed some of the pretzels at an outdoor stand and a water bottle. Her black heels clacked along the sidewalk until she found an empty bench and she sat down. The air outside was gentle against her face as her eyes shut.

The pretzels smelled similar to the ones her mother used to make and for a very short moment, her chest ached with longing. Asia had no idea what to do in the present moment, but if her mother were here, surely she would know.

Soon- too soon, her daydreams were interrupted by the sound of a jogger's feat moving in her direction. At first Asia opened her eyes and dismissed the man, being that he had headphones in and a hoodie drawn over his face. It seemed clear he was in no desire to speak with her and she allowed her nerves to settle, refocusing on the food she'd purchased. Just as she raised the warm treat to her lips, the man planted himself on the empty side of the bench beside her with a soft thud.

Asia blinked twice, turning confusedly to the man and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she recognised the face of the stranger.

"Adriel?"

The man turned to her with a toothy grin as he removed the headphones and looked out at the flowering tree across from them. His face was clean shaven and tan from being out and about. She wondered what sorts of trouble head been getting into, now that dad had practically excommunicated him from the family business.

"Morning sis, how's the pretzel?"

Asia scoffed but a mild humour befell her and she admitted to herself that she was very relieved to have him nearby.

"Haven't tried it yet. What are you doing here?"

He gestured to the set of grey joggers and the slightly oversized hoodie, pulling a coy face as he glanced in her direction. The splash of mischief from their youth had never left his twinkling eyes and Asia was relieved, it was the only attractive feature that her brother had.

"Going for a run, of course."

Asia pursed her lips. Her brother hated going for runs. When he did workout, he did so either in the comfort of his own home or in the gym at 3am when nobody else in their right mind would be there. Surely, he had another reason for being here, outside of her place of work and disguised rather convincingly in attire he wasn't even the sort to own.

As pleased as she was to have him nearby, a slight sort of nervousness hit her and she averted her eyes from him, her whole body going tense. Adriel noticed the change and tried to analyse it as she opened her lips to speak.

"Adriel… you ought to stay away from me."

Her older brother looked to her with complete disbelief as it was his turn to scoff. He threw his arms out flippantly before them as though he could simply toss her ridiculous statement across the pond and it would be gone.

"You're my baby sister! Like hell I'd stay away from you."

A smile tugged at her lips and she looked into his eyes very seriously.

"Adriel, dad has people watching me. If you aren't careful, he'll find you."

The young man's eyes darkened at the vulnerability in her eyes. Why would their father possibly need to have men watching Asia? She was a grown woman now, and she had always attended to her business matters with utmost efficiency. He nodded at her words to let her know he had heard them but in his chest a mess of complete rage was brewing.

"Where is Melkior?"

Asia sighed, shaking her head. He looked to her with prodding blue eyes, seeing the way her jaw held firm and her eyes stayed glued to the sidewalk. She really wasn't going to tell him. Finally his frustration got the better of him and he groaned, letting a slight look of hurt slap Asia as she refused to look at him.

"Asia, you're acting strange. Stranger than usual. Why?"

When he noticed the steady tremor in her hand, he started to feel his rage cultivating into a deadly and refined sort of calm. She opened her mouth with the intention to speak but spluttered helplessly before her mouth closed and she buried her head in her hands. Asia really wasn't sure what she could possibly say to explain any of it anyways. Even if she wanted to break it all down to Adriel, she would have to start quite a while back in time and even then, she'd expose a mess of horrors along the way. Finally, she sucks in a deep breath of air and looks at him with calm grey eyes.

"I can't tell you. I don't even know how to tell you."

Adriel nods, finding that sentiment somehow easier to accept than the rest of it. Perhaps he wasn't angry at Asia at all, it was Melkior who he now sought to destroy.

"Does dad have something over you?"

Asia didn't look away from him at all now, nodding her head very slowly.

"Something big? Something really important to you?"

Asia nods again, just as steadily and Adriel knows without having to ask that she won't be telling him exactly what. A mild relief hit him as he understood even the tiniest bit more than he had before and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The birds in the park resumed their chatter and the both of them could hear the faint sound of a family growing closer.

"Alright, little sis. Remember, if you need help with any of it, at any point, all you have to do is say the word."

The firm look in his blue eyes cooled her nerves and she allowed a smile as he rose from the bench, stretching his arms up into the rays of sunlight.

"Drink all of that water, and wash your face, you look tired. I'll catch you later."

With that, Asia watched his back move farther and farther down the sidewalk until he was out of view altogether and the chatter of a family replaced his footsteps.

She sucked in a deep breath as Ivanna's face entered her mind. She wondered whether or not the two of them would be okay.

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