Page 28 of Mytho Investigations: Side Stories

That his cousin didn’t disapprove and was happy for him also sat uneasily. So it seemed as though he couldn’t live with the disapproval or approval. With Mason or without him.

And the indecision irked him.

“It is something I have thought about, Dad. But I can’t live my life around things that may or may not happen. I will deal with them as they happen. What other choice is there?” Lekso sat opposite him. “My choices are not what has kept you home.”

Vlash sighed. “My choices have kept me home.”

Lekso waited for him to speak. He was good at giving people space, much like his mother. He suspected Lekso would make a good lawyer, though he was disappointed he would not train to be even a part-time archer.

“Last time I was there, his ex came around, and I used magic to make him listen.”

“The ex?” Lekso clarified.

Vlash nodded. “But now Mason does not trust me. He does not understand the way we use words and magic.”

Lekso smiled. “I mean, half the time, I don’t either.”

“That is not true anymore. You have learned.”

“And so can he,” Lekso said as if it were that simple.

Vlash grimaced. “Only if he wants to learn, and humans can be stubborn.”

Lekso stared at him. “Are you suggesting humans are more stubborn than elves? Can you actually hear yourself? You’ve had over two hundred and sixty years to become set in your ways. And he’s had what, twenty-six?”

“He’s thirty-five.” Old enough to know what he wanted and what he didn’t want. And if he didn’t want magic, there was nothing Vlash could do.

“You could level the field.”

“What are you talking about?” But he already knew, and the refusal to even consider it was forming on his lips.

“If you shared your true name⁠—”

“I do not share my name. Names have power.” He shut the laptop and stood. “Have you told Katie yours?”

“This is not about me and Katie. Do you trust him with your name? Or is it one way with you expecting him to trust you and your magic?”

Vlash rested his hands on the dining table and considered his son. “Your mother was the last person I spoke my name to. I do not know if I can speak it again.”

“Then you are admitting you want to remain alone until your last breath.”

He shook his head, not wanting to go back to how it had been. He’d promised to make better choices this year. “No. I don’t want that. Only it would be easier if he wasn’t human.”

“Would it? Or is that the excuse you found to keep your distance?”

“You are too much like your mother,” Vlash snapped.

“I will take that as a compliment. And I hope that he can see through your bullshit as clearly as she must have.”

Vlash let out a bark of a laugh. “I will be out tomorrow night. You may have Katie around.”

“Will you be coming home?”

“I don’t know, but either way, a decision will be made.” He was too old to be juggling his heart, tossing it to lovers and hoping they caught it and returned it whole. He’d thought that part of his life was over, and now there he was, ready to lob it at Mason, hoping to get one back in return.

If he kept a hold of his heart, he would end up crushing all the life out of it. Did he really need to tell Mason his name?

Was that all it would take for Mason to trust him?