Chapter 487
Theron
Family dinners are now hell.
Not the kind of hell that involves fire and brimstone. The kind that involves silence and tension. The kind that involves four people sitting around a table, pretending to eat, pretending not to look at each other, pretending everything is fine.
It is not fine.
Rylan refuses to let his son step foot in Stoneclaw grounds.My parents have never seen their grandson.
The chair beside me is empty too. It has been empty for years.
"Theron," my mother says. Her voice is soft. Gentle. The voice she uses when she wants something.
"Yes?"
"You should talk to your brother."
I set down my fork.
"I have tried."
"Try harder."
"Mother—"
"He is your twin. Your blood. He will listen to you."
I laugh. It is a bitter sound. "Rylan does not listen to anyone. Especially not me."
My father clears his throat. He is old now. Older than he was when I left. The years have not been kind to him.
