Martin stared him down. Onyx didn’t blink, just held his gaze. Eventually, it was Martin that looked away.
“Can I be excused?” he asked softly. Azura seemed so shocked by his respectful tone that she almost fell off her chair.
“All right, Martin,” she said gently. The boy left the room quickly.
The servers were putting down more plates of Earth food, and Onyx was quite enamored by the smell of it. He was beginning to enjoy little pastries with meat and cheese inside them as well as crumbed pieces of chicken.
He turned to Azura eagerly, expecting to see her tucking into the food and ready to spend time with him alone.
Maybe she’ll even congratulate me on my child-raising skills!
When he finally met Azura’s eyes, though, her face was dark.
What have I done now?
“Onyx, you can’t speak to him like that,” she said, her voice low. “I appreciate that you’ve gone to some effort here, but I’m his guardian. I decide what happens to him, not you.”
Onyx was so shocked for a moment that he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. His emotions clarified before the words did, and his opinion was out of his mouth before he could properly examine it.
“Maybe, you’ve been too soft on him,” he said, shrugging. “That might be why he’s such a handful.”
Onyx felt a strange sensation like he had just wandered into enemy territory by accident, and there was an attack about to happen, but he couldn’t see where it was coming from. He looked up from his food to see Azura glaring at him.
“My parents died,” she hissed. “I’ve done my best. The poor kid is heartbroken; we both were. Can’t you see that?”
Onyx felt as if he were drowning in a cold winter sea. There was no shore, no boat, only helplessness and the knowledge he was going under.
“What do you need more than anything else?” he asked, trying for damage control.
“I need to care for Martin,” she said firmly. He nodded.
“I can help you do that, but this is my house. If you are both going to stay here, the boy needs something to keep him occupied. I need you to trust me, Azura. I can make good decisions for Martin, and you’ll be involved in them all, I promise you.”
Her eyes softened just a little. He knew that his words made sense. He just didn’t know if Azura could see that.
She will. She will see I only want the best for her and her brother. I will make sure of that.