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Chapter 155: Issues of Paternity

Even though Garret expected Sakura to ask if he could be Akemi's father, it still rendered him speechless for a bit. He switched back to English; he was as comfortable with Japanese as Sakura was with English, but when stressed, it was simpler to speak in your native language. "I understand. I did have a vasectomy, and I did get tested eleven years ago. Zero sperm. That didn't prevent Micah, my youngest, and I can't guarantee I'm not Akemi's father. First, I want to ask, does anything...strange happen around Akemi?"

Sakura shook her head. <<What do you mean, 'strange'? How can you have fathered Micah if you are infertile?>> She reached over and poured another cup of tea. <<Why can't I get simple answers today!?>>

Poor girl. Garret completely understood where she was coming from. "Strange. Do lights flicker or break when he shouts angrily? Does it go dark for a moment without reason? Do objects crack? Do ghostly images cross TV screens, whether they're on or off? Do people get sudden headaches or feel dizzy?"

Sakura held up her paw. <<You're asking if he has magic.>>

Garret blinked in surprise. He was certain she wasn't a Mage. "Yes... How did you know? Are you a Knight?"

Sakura furrowed her brow in confusion. <<I'm from an old, formerly noble, family. I suppose you could consider us samurai. What does that have to do with anything?>>

He shook his head. <<No, not samurai.>> He used the English word. <<_Knight. _As in Knight Templar.>>

She looked completely baffled. <<No, those are just rumour, like the Illuminati. Aren't they?>>

The basement door opened, and Liam walked into the kitchen, followed by Aoife, Eirne, and Ciaran. Liam waved his children on before walking into the sitting room. Sakura rose to bow: a flawless saikeirei bow. Liam's stride faltered before he shallowly bowed in return. Garret tried to think of the best way to get his point across, but even mild admonitions would cause her to lose face. Garret used the common form of Japanese grammar, rather than one of the more polite forms, to tell Liam, <<Nathanial brought Akemi-kun and Ichigo-kun to the ballroom to get some lunch.>> As expected, Sakura stiffened in shock. She did an admirable job of trying to keep from showing it in her expression, though.

Liam nodded and responded in the same casual form. Honestly, it surprised Garret, given how much effort Liam put into maintaining formality. <<Sounds good, Garret. I'll probably go join them in a bit. I caught some of your conversation just before I opened the door; do you mind if I join you, or is it a private matter?>>

Garret hesitated. It was private, but he would be asking for Liam's help in the matter, anyway. <<No, I don't mind, and yes, it's private. We might need your help.>> Sakura looked between them, obviously wanting to protest, but she felt unable to do so. Garret smiled wanly at her. "Liam is a healer, and he'd be able to find out if I am or not quickly."

Liam tipped his head, and slipped back into a more formal tone, seemingly through habit. <<Ah, Akemi-san. I see. You wonder if he is your son, despite the seeming impossibility of it. Yes, I can easily determine that with a few tests. Out of curiosity, what do the Knights_have to do with that?>>_

"I was wondering if he showed signs of magic, and Sakura seemed to understand what the symptoms I asked about meant."

Liam actually smiled and shook his head in open amusement. "Her nanny told her, which, I assume, means he has shown those signs." Liam headed off Garret's question. "Her nanny has been associated with the Ohtori for centuries, yes?"

Sakura looked spooked again. <<Y-Yes, Smith-sama. You knew her? You met her when you met my ancestor, Ohtori Sakura?>>

Liam shrugged. <<If she is the same Kitsune, yes. Given Sachiko's feelings at the time, I am honestly surprised she stayed.>> The healer looked a bit amused by something, probably some memories. <<We did annoy one another on occasion, but we also felt a measure of camaraderie, being much older than all those around us -- being outsiders in a culture not so welcoming of those who are 'out of place.' I found great amusement in the way she tormented those drunk with arrogance.>>

Sakura glanced at Liam, momentarily meeting his eyes, with a tiny upward tilt at the corners of her mouth. <<Sachiko still finds it difficult to deal with 'mortals swollen with self-importance.' They tend to have very embarrassing mishaps.>>

Garret felt concerned; nothing he'd ever read about the Kitsune said they were trustworthy in the slightest. Many of the typical warnings about Fey were given again, but the authors seemed to put a lot more stress on how dangerous their 'pranks' could be. "You let a Kitsune watch your pups? Is that...safe?"

Liam glanced sidewise at Garret. "Are mothers always the safest person to leave a child with?" Fair point -- more than fair, in fact. "Judge an individual as_an individual. However, Kitsune, like many of the long-lived peoples with low birth rates, place an extremely high value on children. Some few will take the crimes of the parents and pass them on to the children, but they are in the decided minority. The Sachiko I knew held most mortals in great contempt but would find the thought of causing deliberate harm to a child to be most horrific." A full smile spread over Liam's muzzle. "Besides, you have likely only _read about Kitsune. Consider who would have written that, and if such people could be described as 'mortals swollen with self-importance.'"

'Society bureaucrats? I don't think any mortal could fit that bill better. If this Sachiko is a standard Kitsune, then I could see why the Society would write some biased reports on them. I wonder what sort of pranks she pulls. And I hope to never personally experience them.'

Sakura seemed to be burning to ask a question, but felt cowed by Liam's presence. It'd probably be similar to how Garret would feel if King Arthur suddenly appeared in front of him. Garret figured it related to_how_ he could be a father or to what happened upstairs. Honestly, if he were in her place, there would be hundreds of questions needing answers. Still, there was one subject that had priority. "Will you have the strength to run some tests after lunch?"

Liam nodded. "Indeed. Things are never truly simple with you Markses, but I will start by looking for your particular markers in his blood." Even that word made Garret feel queasy at the best of times; coming on top of what he'd just endured a few minutes earlier, it made him almost black out. He missed what Liam said next, and suddenly felt the healer gently lowering him lengthwise onto the couch. "Lie down. Rest. I will escort Sakura-san to lunch and inform you when we are done."

He fell asleep before he could even nod.

---

Nathanial put a bowl of soup down in front of Akemi and another before Ichigo. He settled himself down on his chair with his own food: nettle soup, colcannon, and a lightly dressed Cesar salad. When Lorena asked if he had any stinging nettles on paw, he really had no idea what she was planning. Obviously, he didn't have any -- he didn't know they were edible to begin with, or know how to prepare them. She made the soup with watercress, instead, but now Nathanial was really curious to try the actual dish. The colcannon was a new -- to him -- twist on mashed potatoes, and made with cabbage, scallions, and milk.

He turned to look at Akemi, marvelling at how much it seemed to throw him back a year. It was almost like he was having lunch with Nick, except their posture and mannerisms were completely different. Akemi caught him looking and asked, "Is something bad? Ah, wrong, sorry."

Nathanial felt his ears heat up. "U-Um, n-no. you just look a lot like Nick, my brother, s-so..." Akemi dropped his spoon into his bowl with a clatter. "W-What's wrong?"

The muttered response, "Nothing," combined with the way Akemi stared down at the bowl pensively, made Nathanial react before he knew it.

He slid his chair over next to Akemi and pulled him into a sideways hug. "Hey, we're brothers. Talk to me." It was then he remembered this wasn't Nick. "I-I mean--"

Akemi pushed himself away. "I'm not your brother!" The younger Akita stared at the pads of his paws as if he didn't recognise them. "I can't be."

Little Ichigo stared at his older brother in worry. <<Older brother?>> The rest of what the Otter kit said was lost on Nathanial.

Connor rose from his table and walked over to Nathanial. He crouched down to whisper, "I don't have Faelen's keen ears, but I get the distinct impression that Sakura Ohtori is here precisely to try to find out if he is_your brother. You look too much alike for it to be mere coincidence, even though I don't _smell much in the way of family resemblance. He doesn't have the scent a Mage should have, either, but...he doesn't smell quite like a Fur."

Another brother? That would be so cool! Nathanial's tail wagged furiously at the thought. But what did Connor mean about his scent? Faelen said, long ago, that he knew Micah was only their half-brother based on Micah's scent, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Connor could do the same, but not a Mage or a Fur? "Is it similar to how Micah smells?"

Connor blinked in surprise, before his nose twitched a couple times. "Noooo... I really can't place it." He glanced past Nathanial to look at Akemi, who was ignoring the worried queries of Ichigo. He stood and moved over to place his paw on Akemi's shoulder. "I can understand how you might find this upsetting, but try to remember that it's your heart," Connor placed his left paw on his chest as he said it, "which determines who you are. That won't change, no matter what you learn today."

Akemi looked up at the kindly smiling Wolf and offered his own timorous grin. "Thanks." Connor patted the pup's shoulder before returning to his table. Akemi stared at his food and quietly asked, "What does it matter if Garret-san is my actual father or not? I have a father already." Nathanial could almost think it was a rhetorical question or a thought spoken out loud, except it was in English.

"Because we're Mages; we have magic. If my father is your father, then you need to learn how to control it. We also...er, well..." How the hells should he phrase this? "That is, th-the Markses are...different." He had Akemi's full attention, and Ichigo seemed to be doing his best to follow along, too. "We don't follow rules very well. I-I don't mean rules, like law-rules, well, kinda laws, too, but nature-laws and not people-laws. Though..." He thought of all the stuff he'd done over the last few months. "Heh, um, what I m-mean is, strange stuff happens, and we do things people think is impossible even with magic, like talking to beings on other planes without knowing a lot of really powerful spells. I can talk to a Kirin and--"

Akemi and Ichigo both exclaimed, "Kirin!?" and continued on jabbering in Japanese in surprised disbelief. Akemi stopped his brother after a bit and turned to Nathanial, "Kirin as in," he gestured to mime horns and a mane, "not kirin as in," he motioned at his neck as if stretching it out, "right?"

Nathanial wasn't sure what he was getting at at all. The only real long-necked thing he could think of was a giraffe. "A...giraffe? Is that what you're asking?"

Ciaran called out from a few tables over. "They share the same name in Japan." The assassin said something to the Ohtoris, and they gaped at Nathanial, even if Ichigo looked a little disappointed at the same time.

Nathanial grabbed his tail with his left paw. "I, um, y-yeah. The Society kind of reacted the same way when they found out I could go to the Elemental Plane of Darkness; that, or they're scared of me."

He nearly jumped out of his fur when Liam spoke from a few paces away; he hadn't noticed the Ancient One enter the ballroom. "I do not believe those who fear you do so for that reason, or at least that reason alone." The two Ohtoris leapt up from the table to bow.

Nathanial noticed a slight change in Liam's posture. "Oh, shush, you two, and sit down." He looked back over his shoulder. "Why don't you join us, Liam?" He nodded to Sakura, who walked a pace behind Liam. "And you, too, ma'am?"

Liam dipped his head. "As you wish, my friend."

Nathanial levitated servings of food over for his new table-mates. The guests watched the bowls and plates with wide eyes. Oops. He was trying to not freak them out. Oh well, what was done was done. He scooched his chair closer to Akemi to make room for two more people. Akemi, his maybe brother! Gods, that was so cool!

Liam arched an eyebrow and quirked the corner of his mouth up in a tiny smile. "You seem to be in improving humour. It is pleasing to see."

*Yeah! Akemi might be my brother! That's-- That's just so totally awesome! My family, like those close to me, used to be just Nick and Micah, but now Dad's here, and Nanny and Poppy -- even if they're evil -- and Naomi. Then Fellwedyr is sort of family, and now I might get to expand the circle even more! And once Geoff and I--* He couldn't continue the conversation, even mentally, without squeaking in delight.

Liam's tiny smile grew to a full grin and wagging tail. "Ah, Sweet One, I see you've uncovered the secret motive. We'll see what unfolds." He winked teasingly at Nathanial. The Akita in question assumed Yoishi was influencing Liam at the moment.

Nathanial knew he shouldn't get too excited yet, he might just end up disappointed after all, but it was so hard. "Will you be doing some tests or something?" He added telepathically, *Connor says Akemi doesn't smell like our brother, but...he also doesn't smell like a Fur or a Mage?*

Liam's smile vanished. *Oh?* His nose twitched. *I smell a Fur... No, on second thought... peculiar...*

Sakura glanced between them and gently lowered herself to sit on the chair between Ichigo and Liam. Nathanial figured the disjointed conversation confused her but she didn't want to ask. He decided to let Liam ponder, figuring he wouldn't get an answer until Liam's pontification was done. Nathanial did set part of his mind to checking Akemi over with his magic senses in case he could uncover something on his own. He turned to the mother of his maybe-other-brother. "Um, Mrs. Ohtori--" He broke off his question; there was a gap in his senses around Akemi's wrist. It felt very similar to the gap that hid the Brownie over at Geoff's house. "Akemi, what are you wearing on your left wrist? Did a Fey make it?"

Sakura and Akemi both glanced at Akemi's wrist, but the pup's sleeves covered it. Actually, Nathanial hadn't really registered what he wore. A very tight ochre t-shirt with a green koi fish pattern on the front, with an open, burgundy, button-up shirt over top. The outer shirt had copper-red 'x's widely scattered across it, and matching buttons. He could see Nick wearing any of those colours individually, but the combination and styles would make the fashion conscious teen frown sceptically at it. It looked good, but definitely not 'local.' Anyway, whatever was on Akemi's wrist wasn't visible.

Liam impassively pronounced, "I presume it is a warding item crafted by Sachiko to keep his magic from catching anyone's attention, and to hide his nature from detection. I would not have noticed anything amiss without being informed of an oddity."

Nathanial shook his head. "It's very subtle -- the magic is, I mean. I missed it until I looked for it, like the Brownie's magic."

Liam waved his paw at Akemi. "Come, come. Let us see."

Akemi looked at his mother nervously; Sakura bit her lip before nodding reluctantly. Akemi pulled his sleeve back to reveal a braided leather band with a generous number of small chips of carved bone and jade worked into it. Strangely, the jade was carved into little leaves and the bone into Otter skulls.

"That is the work of Sachiko, no question." Liam stood to lean across the table to get a better look. "I had not seen any of her carvings before, but she has had more than ample time to learn new crafts. Artistically, I am impressed, as an Artificer, I would like to examine it in more detail before commenting."

Nathanial still couldn't pierce the wards around it. To his magic, the bracelet just didn't exist. He couldn't even find the edge of the ward to begin working on it. Neat! 'So, if I start mapping here...'

"Nathanial? Nathanial!" Liam's voice snapped him out of his daze.

"Eh?" He looked around. Most of the Spirits had gotten up and cleared their dishes out. Sakura, Akemi, and Ichigo had finished eating, and Liam was almost done, too.

"Eat." Liam pointed at Nathanial's cold food. "I am about to steal your puzzle away, so you may as well turn your attention to your meal."

"Yeah, um, sorry." Nathanial began wolfing down his food.

Liam waited several seconds for Nathanial to swallow a few mouthfuls. "So?"

"Mgrf?" Nathanial swallowed a few times to clear his muzzle of potato. "Pardon me. Yes?"

Liam arched an eyebrow. "What did you find?"

"Nothing." Nathanial shook his head. "Literally nothing. I could find the gaps between the magic, sometimes, but none of the threads to begin working it out. It's absolutely fascinating!"

Akemi frowned. "What do you mean? You were just staring off into room."

"Space." Nathanial ducked his head sheepishly after reflexively correcting the younger Akita. "Sorry. I, um, see magic -- Mage magic -- though 'see' isn't really the right word. It's not," he pointed at his eyes, "visual, but something close to it."

Ichigo turned to his mother and asked something quietly. She shook her head. "Ask Nathanial, Ichigo-kun. In English."

The tiny Otter spoke to Nathanial, keeping his head down. "C-Can you say more...over, please and thank you, Nathanial-san?"

Nathanial nodded. His felt his tail rocketing back and forth, but had trouble slowing it; someone called him 'san' without it being a joke! It was like he was in an anime, or something! So cool! Today was really turning out to be awesome. "I can repeat it, ehh, in different words. I can't remember what I said, exactly." He tried to talk a little slower. "I can sense magic, the sort I -- and other Mages -- use. It's very similar to seeing it, but there are differences, like how I can have my eyes closed or how the magic can be behind me or in another room, even. There's more, but I don't understand it well enough to explain it to myself, let alone someone else."

Liam looked rather frustrated. "It is a unique talent. I have not encountered it before in a Mage, and while the Arcane Society is very close with their secrets, they appear to have no records of such a talent, either. They have crafted artefacts and enchanted items to do much the same thing, and other entities possess a similar talent. I do not know how similar, though."

Nathanial perked up. He'd never heard that last bit before. "Really? What sort of creatures?"

The Ancient One arched an eyebrow. "Dragons, Celestial Guardians such as Zhuque, some Kami and Shishi, Hecate, and possibly many of the more powerful gods. Lore indicates some liches had the ability; I have destroyed several but cannot say if they did or did not. Likewise with the more powerful spellcasting Demons."

Both Akemi and Ichigo looked a bit lost. Nathanial was about to try to fix that, but Liam's phone rang. He rose, took his phone out, and his face went studiously neutral. "This shall not take long. Wait for me downstairs, Akemi-kun." He stalked toward the side of the ballroom. "Liam Smith speaking."

Nathanial resumed wolfing down his food so he could bring his guests to the basement, but Conor walked over. "Slow down, Nathanial; you'll choke. Colcannon, particularly cold colcannon, sticks in your mouth and throat easily. I'll show them down." Dirk set their dishes back on the table and hastened over to take his 'on guard' position by his boss.

Nathanial nodded, slowed down, and listened with half an ear to Liam as his maybe-brother Akemi, Ichigo, and Sakura followed Conor and Dirk out. Liam seemed to be talking to a guy named Strickland. Liam suddenly referred to him as 'minister,' and Nathanial remembered where he'd heard the name before. This guy was the Minister of Education for Nova Scotia! Why was Liam talking to him?

The Fisher was in an office with two women; the name plate said it was Marie Osmond's office, and he could see it was in the school board's building in Dartmouth. One of the women, a rotund Chipmunk, stood off to one side, and looked like she'd been chewed out for something. Actually, both women looked less than happy, and they winced every time an e-mail popped up in the computer's inbox. They seemed to be popping up very frequently for some reason. Huh, they all had titles referencing Liam, too. Weird. 'Whoa! 3261 unread messages?! Don't they ever check their e-mail?' Nathanial surreptitiously began scrolling down the list.

Minister Strickland spoke; he sounded oddly cheerful about something. "Well, Mr. Smith, I'm glad to hear that the board has decided to award you full marks on your history exam, and I'm sure you are, too."

Liam tipped his head in agreement. "Indeed. I am most grateful for your assistance in this matter, Minister, and will be happy to put this issue behind me. I will notify Hao and my other friends duly. I cannot say how quickly word will spread, but it should not be too long."

'Holy crap. All of these e-mails are about Liam. What the hells happened? Are these guys all Monks, or something? I didn't think there were that many Monks in Nova Scotia.'

The minister drily chuckled. "That'd be appreciated, Mr. Smith." The computer beeped again. "Very appreciated."

Liam smiled, almost...evilly. It was a chilling sight. "I quite understand. I shall see you November sixth, Minister. Farewell."

Minister Strickland appeared really smug. "November sixth. I look forward to it." Nathanial pulled his mind back before Liam hung up. Liam typed out a message to Mr. Cheng, his friend at the Silver Dragon Kwoon, and to Mr. Chan, Betty's dad, as he slowly moved toward the door.

Nathanial levitated the remaining dishes out of the room while he drank his soup directly from the bowl. It was tasty, but probably better warm. He felt a bit guilty rushing through lunch like this, but he really wanted to be there to see if Akemi was his brother.

Liam stopped in his tracks, peering about in confusion with his thumb over the 'send' button. "Are you doing that on purpose, Nathanial?"

"Doing what?" Every object in the room seemed gilded in frost and sparkled faintly in the light, but it was too warm for frost. Nathanial took a breath and worked at reining in his magic. The shimmer vanished. "Sorry."

The Rottie sighed. "It was one of the most pleasing and least frightening examples of your poor magical control, but attempt to exercise greater restraint."

He hung his head in shame; he was really getting bad about letting his magic run amok. "Sorry."

"There is indeed cause to apologise, and I was one of the ones harmed. As was Aoife and nearly her child-to-be -- Geoff's child. The haunt sought to turn her into a monster like Lily Marks and have her treat children as your mother treated you, particularly her child. It also sought to corrupt Eirne."

Nathanial's guilt and fury warred with each other. This undead horror wanted someone so kind to...to turn into his mom. To take bamboo staves and beat a new-born pup!? Geoff's pup!? And it almost succeeded because of him. He wasn't an expert on Spirits, but he couldn't imagine them allowing any harm to come to a baby. Even the rumour of a risk would probably result in an extreme reaction. "I-If the Spirits th-thought..."

"They would take the child away. If there was any evidence, she would be exiled, if lucky. Most likely she would be executed. Think of their reaction when they found out you -- a Mage -- were harmed, and think of how much worse it would be if the victim were the baby of a Dark Spirit. Your lack of control almost cost me my other daughter, Nathanial, and a grandchild. If Eirne had been infected as well..." Liam trailed off shaking his head.

He didn't need to finish the sentence; his newly recovered family would've been torn apart. The O'Conalls would have lost huge standing in the clan, and if they really were the agents of modernisation that Nathanial thought they were, then the chances of gay Spirits gaining any sort of rights would've been destroyed, let alone his chance of marrying Geoff or Liam marrying Faelen. If any of that happened, then Nathanial wouldn't deserve Geoff; he'd actually deserve whatever punishment the clan decided Aoife warranted. Maybe he still did. Lily might be locked up, but Nathanial remembered what she said yesterday at the airport: 'This is your fate, Nathanial. As long as you live, all those you come into contact with will die.' His actions had nearly cost several people their lives, and condemned hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of gay Spirits to lives of fearful hiding, if they were lucky. Very long lives. Nathanial was trying -- really, really trying -- to act like a hero; to be strong, decisive, and protect people, but...every time he seemed to do something good, stuff like this happened. He'd unleashed a monster, the person he tried to save had his arm reanimate and start slicing people's windpipes apart, or something.

Nathanial felt Liam's surprisingly strong arms pull him into a hug. "Shut up, Nathanial. I am here to help. I can correct many of your errors until such time as you no longer make them, but only if you allow me to be near. My pupil may not be as skilled in crafting ofuda as I am -- Ciaran is not an Artificer after all -- but I will ask him to craft some ofuda to aid in meditation. They will help until I can make stronger ones. You need to work on maintaining control of your emotions, and that should help control your magic. Study and practice will also be required, but that shall take much more time. Those around you are more likely to pay the price for your failure than you are. Nicholas and Micah are strong, very strong, but your father needs his magic to keep his curse under control and cannot defend himself as they can."

The young Akita sent his mind out to check on his father; he may have easily missed Garret coming to lunch while he was distracted, but he wasn't sure. Dad was stretched out on a couch in the sitting room, in deep sleep. The Spirits were trying to be quiet as they cleaned up, but washing that many dishes just_couldn't_ be done quietly. Still, Dad didn't even stir. "That haunt thing really made him ill, eh? I noticed he burst some blood vessels in his eyes from throwing up so hard." Liam tensed in his arms. It wasn't a strong reaction, but Nathanial knew something was up. "What happened? It was something else?"

Liam didn't answer for three long seconds. "I will need to speak to your grandmother. Garret may not like it, but...this is not my area of expertise."

"What happened?!"

"I detect no Taint in him, do not worry."

'Not worry?' How the fuck was he supposed to not worry after that? "Gods fucking damn it, Liam! What the bloody hells do you mean, don't worry!? What does Nanny have to do with anything? Does...?" No Taint, the bloody eyes weren't from throwing up, Nanny? Shit, shit, shit-shit-shit. "He... H-He..." 'No. No, no, no. Not now. Not after he just came back. Not after I just started letting him back in to my life. Nick. Micah. Fuck. How can I tell them?' Nathanial tore himself out of Liam's arms and ran toward the sitting room.

He didn't even make it halfway to the door before Liam slipped in front of him and caught him in a tight embrace again. "Perhaps I was unclear, I said do not worry. I did not say it would be foolish to, merely that you should not. This is a Marks we speak of; like you, he has an incredibly annoying habit of defying every known law governing our universe. I will keep a close eye on him, ask for data I can only receive from one like your grandmother, and wait. He may very well reverse these minor changes on his own as the stimulus that caused them is gone. No one else could have survived in the clutches of a Nosferatu for that long, and I highly doubt such a minor event could do what it could not."

Nathanial grabbed his tail with his right paw. "B-B-B--"

"Shush." Liam gently rubbed the backs of his fingers over Nathanial's cheek before pulling his head down so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Breathe and relax." Nathanial felt a faint hum in his jaw and knew Liam was using chi to force him to calm down. "You're in a more precarious situation, Sweet One, so please, leave it to me. Let your heart heal, and find some peace in my arms."

How could he say no to that? Nathanial let himself tumble into those deep, brown eyes, and felt the tension in his muscles melt away.