“You’re a coward,” she had said.

  The pair was standing outside the entrance of her castle as he bowed in farewell to the heiress.

  “Obviously.”

  “Aren’t Lycans meant to be brave?”

  “I don’t know… I cannot carry the expectations of a whole race on my shoulders; I just want to live.”

  “You’re also a liar.”

  At this, he turned and gave an inquiring look at the smartly dressed Goblin scion.

  “You don’t want to live. You’re content with scraping on the floor like some insect; that’s not life.”

  “Thank you for your instruction, young mistress.”

  He wasn’t going to argue the point.

  “Wait!”

  Her command maintained its absoluteness to him, and despite his eagerness to escape, he did as she said and faced her.

  Despite his acute vision, he found himself rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing rightly. She held a small, orange dumpling in her hand. It was a Goblin delicacy called okpa, and he had developed quite a weakness for it in his years away from home.

  “Share this meal with me,” she said, her eyes staring fixedly into his as she did, not allowing him his usual levity when pushed on certain matters.

  “And then what?” he asked, his brows furrowed and lips stretched out in one strict line. “What exactly will us sharing a meal do? It does not affect the reality of our lives—you're used to getting your way, young mistress, but the gods are even more used to getting theirs.”

  “Share it with me,” she insisted.

  He had almost needed to grab his hand to stop it from reaching out for it.

  His place in this world had literally been beaten into his hide since he was a child. Even desiring anything different was a transgression.

  In the present, he let his inner heart be known through a single sigh.

  Needless to say, he had not taken her up on her offer. As he stared at the damp ceiling above him, he wondered if this was enough. Was he telling the truth when he said he was okay with this type of life?

  Leave it to her to stir up these thoughts. This was one of the many reasons he had avoided her: he had decided to be content with his lot, though he found it difficult. Why did she have to mess it all up?

  The soft tread of well-clad feet stirred the young Lycan from his idling, and he turned to find that his father had arrived next to him. He stood up rapidly and performed the standard greeting without flaw but half-heartedly.

  Cardinal responded in a similarly stiff manner but put his hands on his shoulders as he observed him from head to toe.

  The warmth that poured through the young boy told him that this wasn’t just an avatar but the real deal this time. Although his father was certainly more than powerful enough to simulate such a thing if he were so inclined.

  His father.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  The term carried with it some almost desolate distance, as, despite the fact of their definite resemblance, the man before him was almost a stranger.

  This was the first time they had seen each other face-to-face in five years.

  “How was the journey home?” he asked tentatively.

  Glad for the chance to say something, Elijah went into almost excruciating detail about the mostly unremarkable trip while the man in front of him listened raptly like it was the most interesting narrative he had ever heard.

  Despite his efforts, though, recounting the boring trip could last only a few minutes, and he knew that his dad had already seen the fight earlier. Thus, they were cast into an awkward silence once more.

  It was through this oppressively awkward atmosphere that the sound of gentle laughter cut through, and all of a sudden, the giant lifted his son up and looked at him up and down.

  “I can’t believe you’ve grown so much,” he said with his grey eyes glowing with pure delight.

  “And I don’t just mean physically. You’re a verified fighting machine, and you did all that without a weapon. Amazing!”

  The switch from awkwardness to uncharacteristic warmness was quite too much for Elijah to handle, and he just stared dazedly at his father for a few moments before joining in the laughter.

  The mortal heart was a strange thing, to say the least.

  The laughter wasn’t feigned.

  It wasn’t the polite chuckle used to humour an elder.

  He felt it coming from his belly and rocking his small but robust frame.

  As he laughed, he thought of the conversation he had had with Chaina.

  The confrontation with the Elven servants.

  The trip home.

  These experiences had solidified in him a certainty of his life—the life of a child cursed. When he walked out on her, he felt that he was condemning himself to that life of an insect she had described.

  And yet…

  And yet, here he was.

  Laughing till his stomach hurt.

  For a reason that he’d be unable to articulate if asked.

  He had imagined the world ahead of him as nothing but grey, but here he was.

  With this laughter he had to admit it… He was alive!

  “I’m not exactly sure what came over me.”

  After a few minutes of pointless laughter had reduced the father-and-son pair to teary messes, those were the first words out of the former’s mouth.

  “I just… I’m glad you’re home, my son.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I… there’s something I want to explain to you. It’s a little fragmentary, so forgive me when I don’t sound coherent.”

  “As osu, our lives are meant to be dull and hopeless…”

  Cardinal’s face moved through almost the whole spectrum of uncertain expressions in his grasping for the right words to express himself, and Elijah’s eyes didn’t leave him this entire time.

  “Condemned by the gods, we’re meant to be beggars and slaves, but understand this: even above the gods is God Almighty. Even if we are not accepted by Ani, we have recourse to Chukwu [1], the One exalted above all others. His divine spark lives in us in our Chi!”

  Elijah stood listening with rapt attention, pulled into the words his father said, even if he wasn’t sure he understood his meaning.

  “People are limited in their destiny by their Chi,” he continued, “but they can also shape it by their efforts." The same mouth that says that no man can defy their Chi also says, ‘Onye kwe chi ya ekwe’ (When one says yes, his Chi says yes too)."[2]

  “…It’s a silly example, but I’ll share it anyway. As osu, we’re meant to be dressed in rags like beggars. We’re meant to be beggars, not having anything of our own and dressed like it. I’ve personally always rebelled against this a little; even now I’m wearing a special pair of shoes…”

  Elijah’s face betrayed confusion, but he also nodded.

  “It was a habit from my former life, the life we leave behind when we take on Human names. [3] Even small things like this remind me that I’m alive. Moments like that aren’t enough, though. It’s not enough to rebel with small actions. You need something to make you live earnestly. The only cure for a cursed existence is to live… even if it kills you.”

  “You turn twelve soon,” he said with real emotion in his voice. "When I was your age, my own father gave me my first gift and told me my destiny was to chase after miracles and to bring them into reality—and it was. I found the two most amazing miracles any mortal has ever had, and now… now, it’s my turn to give you a similar gift.”

  The room was bathed in a dark silver glow.

  Squinting his eyes, he saw something unbelievable.

  Floating in his father’s outstretched hand was a sight difficult to explain.

  It was like silver and water combined.

  Unlike silver, though, there was no violent reaction.

  This was something different.

  It wasn’t just its unaccountable behavior—metals behaved in all sorts of ways in this strange land. As a Lycan, he had a special connection to metal and could tell something of their inner nature from even the briefest interactions.

  This was…

  Miraculous!

  “This is the only thing of value I can give you,” his father continued. “I’m giving you this one hope… that you will live. Live even if it kills you, my son.”

  Everything went dark.

  [1] Reference for Chukwu: In Igbo cosmology, there are five elements of the spiritual world. First are ancestral spirits, second are the good and bad spiritual forces of the world, third is one's own chi, fourth are the gods, and fifth is the God who stands above all creation, Chukwu. He is also called Chukwu-okike (creator God) and Chineke, among other names and titles.

  [2] Reference for Onye kwe chi ya ekwe: There's a belief that destiny can be negotiated by one's own actions and attitude toward life.

  [3] Reference for Human names: When one becomes an osu, they're made to throw away any old identity they may have had. This is why the Brimstone family all have Western names in contrast to the most people in this setting.