Unflappable. Cool under pressure. Immovable.
She is alive.
Defiant. Arrogant. Ruthless.
She is your daughter.
Devoted. Loyal. Unblinking.
She is my twin.
Uncompromising. Risilient. Autonomous.
She wants the Empire.
They were not known for cracks.
*~*
Andresj bolted from his chair as if shocked with a live wire and moved to Stefan’s side, wanting a look at this woman Nikolas claimed was family. He did not take the picture from his father’s trembling hands, but examined it closely. He wanted to reject it outright, to laugh at the word of Lucky Spencer, but in looking at the woman, he could not ignore the pit in his stomach.
“Her eyes,” he murmured, his voice trailing off. Stefan exhaled a breath, as if both saw and confirmed the same fact.
She had the eyes of a Cassadine.
Fierce. Sharp. Intelligent.
And the particular shade of blue was eerily familiar.
A few feet away, Sabrina stood, and then wobbled so much that Jack took her by the elbows and simply held her loosely against him. “Oh, Jack,” she whispered, her eyes falling on Stefan, as she felt the first wave of such a cruel reality. She did not need proof to know what Nikolas said was true.
“How?”
Faith spoke, her voice a tremble as she looked up at Nikolas. She wanted more information; she needed to hear more words to help her decipher what had just exploded before them.
Nikolas finally sat, grabbing a nearby chair. “No one knew until the birth, that there were two children.” He winced. From now on, it would never just be the day he was born. It was now a matter of two. A boy and a girl. The sister he never knew.
“Only the doctor, nurse, Helena and Stavros were present when my mother gave birth. The doctor and nurse have both died in the last ten years.”
“No surprise,” Alexis muttered as she pulled a legal pad from her valise and began jotting down details. Keeping her hands and her mind busy was the best way she could deal with this devastating revelation. She gave her head a shake as she scrawled down the details as Nikolas had described them.
“Stavros died shortly after, leaving only Helena and my mother as living witnesses.”
“Has your mother said anything?” Faith asked delicately. Laura’s mental well being was not discussed openly in the family, but everyone made it their business to keep appraised of her current condition.
Nikolas shook his head. “Lucky is more attentive,” he said, his voice pained at the admission. “He doesn’t believe she’s aware. He’s telling Lesley Lu right now. We’ll then go see my mother and tell her about Athena.”
“Tonight?”
Nikolas’ gaze flicked to Andresj. “Yes, of course.”
“Good, the sooner the better. Lesley as well?” Alazne interjected smoothly, sensing a sudden spark of friction between the brothers. Again.
Nikolas nodded. “We leave tonight and I’ll return by morning. The others will stay with her until it’s certain she won’t have an outburst.”
Stefan stood abruptly. “Excuse me, I will retire for the evening,” he said calmly. Faith rose as well, as bewildered as everyone around her.
“Father?” Andresj query was soft, his face open. Stefan turned to look at his two sons and while there was a deep pain to his eyes, his face broke into a devoted half-smile. He embraced Andresj first and then Nikolas, pulling each one close to him, pressing a kiss to their cheeks, as he had done since they were babies.
“Give me the night, alright?” he requested and both men nodded quickly, as they did when they were young boys, eager to please the father they both adored.
“Heart?” Stefan held out his hand and Faith took it, holding it tightly. She exchanged a silent glance with Sabrina and Alexis before the couple departed the office for their wing of Wyndemere.
Silence filled the room as each stood uncertainly. Alexis put her pad away, already several pages full of scribbling and notations that only she would understand and set to work on once she and Marcus returned to their home. Jack and Marcus flanked their respective wives, but took a moment to exchange a wordless look. Their own backgrounds would be put to good use starting now. Marcus was already mentally going over his contact list and knew Jack was doing the same.
Nikolas squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, as if willing this nightmare to burst, allowing him to awaken to a new day, so this horror did not exist. He felt Alazne’s warm hands encircle his clenched fists and slowly ease them open, so her fingers could twine with his. He relaxed at her soft touch and turned to Sabrina and Jack.
“I believe you both have a flight to New York City?”
Sabrina shook her head, mouth open, and fire igniting in her eyes. Nikolas knew a tirade when he saw it coming and he gave his head a firm shake to stifle her words before they came. “Everything will be fine until you return and no decisions will be made until then.”
Andresj came to her and bussed her cheek, taking care to wipe the stray tear that had carelessly fallen in the last few moments. “We would never think to be destructive without you leading the way,” he chided her gently.
“I should be taking care of you,” she whispered fiercely, cupping his face in her hands. Andresj’s lower lip trembled ever so slightly before a smile took its place. “Take care of your family and then come home safely to ours. That is how you take care of me.”
*~*
The evening was cold and quiet on the Hera as Archer took a small sip of his Merlot, his eyes resting on the dim lights of Wyndemere. He waited for the guard to head up the steps to the 2nd level before speaking.
“How’s Loverboy?” he chuckled as the seat next to him was filled by a bundled up Helena.
She took the glass he offered and gave the liquor a sniff, swirling it in the glass. “Inconsequential,” she replied crisply. She gave an experimental swallow of the dark red liquid before wincing. “Merlot?” she rasped with distaste.
Archer bit back a smile as she placed the offending drink on a side table with a huff.
“What do you hear?” she asked.
“I hear nothing,” he replied. He turned to her. “What do you hear?”
She smiled cryptically and he bit back a sigh of frustration.
“What do you want to hear?” he rephrased and she inclined her head with approval.
“Forgiveness?” he asked and she turned sharply, genuinely alarmed. Archer let out a bark of a laugh as he leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.
“Cracks.” Her voice was clear and sharp and although his smile remained, the laughter died out quickly. “I want to hear the sharp, deep and irreparable sound of cracks.”
He considered her words carefully, rubbing his chin as he took another sip of his drink.
“And if it were forgiveness?”
She gave an amused laugh. “It would never be asked for and never be granted. From either them or I.” Her gaze once more fell on Spoon Island as the Hera bobbed gently in the evening breeze. Reconciliation was impossible, it had been impossible for decades.
Archer gently reached over the space between them and took her hand. She opened her mouth to query him but did not resist or pull back. He gently placed a kiss in the palm of her hand, his dark eyes locked onto hers.
“I forgive you, Mother,” he pronounced in a low murmur and she stilled at the gesture from her youngest child.
“For all that you have done, and all that you will do. I forgive you.”
Helena’s eyes shone with pride. “If only there had been you,” she whispered tenderly as she cupped the side of his face with the same hand. “I would have given you the world.”
He shook his head fiercely, as though providence were entirely in his control. “You only needed to show me the path. I am your son, I would take the world.”
*~*
Jerry Jacks entered the small apartment and without turning on a single light, moved into the kitchen and flung open the fridge door. In one swift movement, he’d pulled out a cold beer, snapped off the top and guzzled half of its contents in one gulp before taking a breath.
“Bonjour.”
Jerry spun, snapping a pistol from the hidden spot in the fridge and whirling around a half second later, his years of training kicking into high gear at the intruder in his domain.
His gaze narrowed and a moment later, he dropped the weapon down to his side and let out a gasp of relief.
“Athena! What in the hell are you playing at?!”
Athena, who had only smiled demurely at Jerry’s super spy antics, issued a pouty sigh.
“I have wonderful news and I have terrible news,” she announced, the twirl of her Parisian upbringing in her accent dancing across the room.
Jerry arched a brow as he grabbed a second beer from the fridge. “Yeah?” he asked suspicously.
Athena smiled impiously as she accepted the beer. “I need your help with both.”
Next
Return to Short Stories
Home