Cold toasts taste awful, and I have to force myself to swallow the last bit.
Blergh.
Guys, we should talk less when we eat, for my taste buds' sake.
"Dad, dad!"
"Hm?"
What does Elois want, now?
"Is our big brother called Sir Akerley?" I see stars twinkle in his eyes. "That's so cool!"
Right, we never answered his question, but the boy's bright enough to extrapolate the answer on his own. But maybe we should scratch the Sir part, that is, if they're to be siblings. I mean, the vampire patriarch has yet to say a word about it. The poor guy's still processing the bombshell.
Not like his opinion matters.
"Sir is his title," Jordan says as he puts the file away, "and Akerley is his family name."
He then leans over the table to dab a napkin on his son's chin. Whatever the boy is eating this morning, it's juicy, and half of his face has turned into shades of blue and purple. For my sanity, let's pretend that's grape juice.
"That reminds me."
Jordan doesn't look at Sir Akerley and instead beckons his daughter to come closer. Her face also needs to be cleaned up—Ellena is a messy eater. Still, even if Jordan is not looking at the vampire, everyone knows he's talking to him.
"What's your full name?"
The answer is a deafening silence.
There's only one reason why Jordan is asking for his full name, and that's to add the vampire patriarch to his family tree in due form.
A deep, shaky breath resounds, and I think it's slowly dawning upon Sir Akerley that Eve and Jordan truly intend to add him to one of their family trees, regardless of the demon realm's social norms. They're too old to care about those, anyway.
To start with, a human and a vampire have already been added, so… What's one more?
"M-my Lord!"
Sir Akerley stutters just as I get up to clean the table. I know I could let the maids do it, but old habits die hard. I feel better when I do it myself, too.
"Y-you realize the implication of w-what you—"
"I'm more than aware of what I'm doing." Jordan cuts him off, gesturing for Elois and Ellena to help me, since they're also done with their breakfast. "The stronger a feeling or emotion is, the higher the possibility of it becoming true at some point in the future. It might only be a possibility, but there's no point in denying it."
"The kids can't make the difference between now and the future, by the way," Eve says as she pulls out her cell phone to go through her emails.
…She's made of the same cloth as Jordan, isn't she?
These two workalcoholics, I swear!
"W-wait!" Oh, it's James's turn to stutter, eying me as he still can't face Eve or Jordan. "Yesterday, when you mentioned Ellena's sight was acting up…!"
"Ah, that…" I shrug, ruffling Elois's hair as he happily takes my plate from my hand to put it in the sink. I was just about to do it, but if it makes him happy… "Most likely, her sight had 'shown' her a possible future where we didn't make it back home, or at least, not all of us. She didn't react too violently, so it wasn't a strong possibility. It was still one, though."
"W-what?"
"What's so surprising about such a future? Oliver and his cronies could have staged a coup during supper, and it didn't end well for us, or then again, something else could have happened. Who knows?"
"Holy—then, the kid's over the top aversion to the staff giving me tea…!"
He can't finish his sentence as he connects the dots. I love smart people. I don't need to explain things, and they do the math on their own. Yes, the children were acting feral for a reason.
Before, I couldn't pick up on such signs. Now, I'm hunting them down.
If I had realized sooner how their sights affected them, Melissa might still be alive. But dwelling on regrets won't bring her back, and all I can do is make sure something like this never happens again.
"—And Jordan? He…?" James looks like a lost child. His silly face is kinda cute, I gotta admit it. And seeing the small smile hovering on both Eve's and Jordan's lips, I fear they share the same thought. "What did he, hum…"
I peer at Jordan. That bit, I'm not sure if it's ok to tell the vampires.
My husband picks up on my silent question and decides to enlighten James, as well as Sir Akerley.
"I forced fate to show me the nearest future so that I could find you and Scott." He takes a sip of his coffee, behaving as if he hasn't just dropped another bomb. "I think I had to go through a week of events before getting the information I wanted. Anyway, your realm didn't like it, and the restrictions got triggered."
Yep, Jordan's just shattered these poor guys' worldviews.
Now that I think about it, there aren't many species endowed with clairvoyance abilities, and certainly not to this frightening degree. Prophets might exist, but they never choose what prophecies they get, and those are usually vague.
Well, whatever. The vampires have to get used to it at some point. For the time being, let's rinse the dishes.
"Mind you."
Eve stretches on her seat, drawing attention to her. I give her a glance over my shoulder, then focus back on the task at hand.
"The majority of us aren't monsters like Jordan." I almost drop the plate I'm washing in the sink. The fuck? "If anything, only he and our clan head can force fate to give them a clear image of future events. And even then, my brother can't see as far as Jordan."
Wait, what?
"But well." Eve cracks her neck, relishing in our shocked faces for a second before adopting a serious expression. "The cost to pay for meddling with fate isn't exactly light, so don't expect him to do it for you." She throws James and Sir Akerley a warning gaze. "He only did it last time because Scott was involved, and the dread we felt was too strong to be ignored."
My throat clenches, and my bowels twist, my hands stalling over the sink. Thoughts I've tried to ignore for too long assault my mind, and I'm reminded of what Jordan must have seen in that future.
An image of my and James's corpses pops into my mind, then, of the kids bawling their eyes out and Eve losing her smile.
In the background, I can see Jordan quietly breaking down.
It's a daunting sight I can't forget.
But the funny thing is, it's been generated by my mind, not by something I've literally seen.
Unlike Jordan.
"Dad, are you alright?"
Ellena tugs on my shirt, and I force a smile out.
"Yes, I'm fine." I poke her nose, smearing a bit of soap foam on it. It earns me a giggle. "Don't worry. Can you get your father's plate, please?"
She nods and happily trots to the table. Elois looks at me with an expectant gaze, so I also scoop a bit of soap foam, rubbing it on his cheek. He chuckles too.
"Go fetch your mom's plate."
And so he does.
I watch him skip to his mother's side, and my eyes inevitably meet Jordan's. He offers me a reassuring smile, and I instinctively lower my gaze, biting on my bottom lip.
Why are you the one trying to comfort me with a smile? I know you're not alright.
That anxious voice and that tight hug my husband gave me back then spoke of a thousand words. Even if I pretend not to know, I still know. I'm not dumb. I've been brushing his feelings off with the excuse that they're not real yet. But in reality, I just don't want to face them.
"So," Jordan says, snapping me out of my dark thoughts. It's too timely. He's speaking now on purpose, isn't he? "That name?"
"…Jonathan Michael Akerley."
The vampire patriarch gives up, his head lowered like a child who's being scolded.
He still looks lost, though.
Well, he's not alone.