“Then where is he? I want to see him,” she demanded in a surprisingly firm tone.
“I should probably have him come to you,” Calix hedged.
“Then call him. Now,” Soleil ground out. When I felt her shake with anger, I gave her a comforting squeeze and kissed the top of her head.
“Very well,” Calix conceded with a sigh, then pulled out his phone.
Soleil cried as she spoke to her brother for the first time in who knows how long. She tearfully explained what had happened. From what I heard, neither he nor Calix had any clue she was here and alive.
“Okay. I love you Hayden,” she whispered. Then she sniffled and held the phone to me.
“You motherfucker,” he shouted the second I had the phone to my ear. I winced at his tone.
“Hayden, I have no words that will convey my regret that I failed you,” I told him as I leaned against the exterior of the slaughterhouse. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes.
“I don’t even care about that now. I’ve had almost six hundred years to come to terms with what happened to me. What I’m pissed about is the fact that you went behind my back with my sister!” I could hear him breathing heavily.
“Hayden,” I started but he cut me off.
“I don’t want to hear excuses. What I want to know is do you really love her?”
My chest caved that he could think I would’ve neglected my duties and broken the rules for a quick fuck. “Hayden, I love her more than my next breath. She is everything to me and without her my life is meaningless.”
Silence.
“Tell Calix to give Soleil my number.”
“Okay.” My heart broke a little that he didn’t seem like he could forgive me.
“And Aros?”
“Yes?”
“We’ll never know if my circumstances were your fault. It could be that despite what the gods planned, fate had this road mapped for me from the beginning of time. So maybe it was your fault, and maybe it wasn’t.” He sighed. “Just treat her well. Better than well. I’m trusting you with the most important thing in my life—my sister.”
“Always,” I promised, the weight on my chest a bit lighter.
The call ended.
Holy shit.
My mind was reeling. I couldn’t believe the revelations of the night.
I was officially stunned.