You got mindspeech? Ry sent as he stared at Trik in wonder.
I'm Belancour—or was. My mother and my grandfather both had mindspeech, and it only makes sense that I might have it. Besides, I practiced for the first time with Connegar and Reemagar when they worked on my right leg this afternoon. They smiled and sent mindspeech back, explaining what they were doing. It was amazing. Trik's smile came through in his mental voice.
All three boys sat in their usual seats at the dinner table, grinning like fools. Man, we can cause havoc now, Tory snickered.
Roff and Toff are here, Ry interrupted. Roff and Toff had clearly just arrived from working at the winery all afternoon. All three watched as Roff gave Toff a smile and steered him toward the three boys at the table before walking to his usual place near the Queen's chair.
"Hey, we're having pot roast," Tory nudged Ry. Tory loved pot roast, but the kitchen staff seldom prepared it.
"This is great—I can cut my own meat," Trik announced.
"All right!" The Queen clapped and laughed.
"Way to go, bro," Tory slapped Trik on the back.
* * *
"See, they look the same," Trik pointed at his right leg and foot. "It doesn't hurt, either, when the Larentii work on it." He, Ry, Tory and Toff had gathered in Ry's section of their shared suite. The suite had been enlarged to include space for Trik. Trik suspected the Larentii had a hand in that, too, but didn't voice his suspicions aloud.
"Toff, do you ever wonder about your dad?" Ry asked quietly while drawing a pattern on his comforter.
"Corent?" Toff asked, turning to Ry.
"No, not your adopted dad, your real one," Tory said, ducking his head to hide the unwanted flush that crept up his neck.
"He's dead," Toff shrugged.
"But what if he wasn't?" Trik asked. "If your father were still alive, would you wonder about him?"
"Of course. But Queen Lissa says there was an accident."
"To put it mildly," Ry muttered.
"And what if," Trik continued, "your real father, assuming he's alive, was afraid to tell you who he was, because he was worried you might be upset about it or reject him when you found out?"
"That's silly," Toff murmured. "Why would I be living in the palace if my father were still alive? Why would the Queen want to adopt me if my father were still alive? Wouldn't she just hand me back to him?"
"I think the Queen—Mom, sort of loves you, Toff. I think she's loved you for a long time," Ry said. "Since she met you, in fact, when you were a baby. You've been inside her office. That painting she has behind her desk? The one with the little boy under the tree?"
"I saw it. That has to be one of you," Toff blinked at Ry and Tory.
"Nope. Look at the date next to the signature, dude. That was painted before Ry and I were born. That painting is you, when you were little."
Toff stared at the brothers. "That can't be," he whispered.
"We've been working on this from the back end," Trik sighed. "Toff, if you want to know about your father, I have the information on my comp-vid. Your father was in a terrible accident, except it wasn't really an accident. Somebody tried to kill Queen Lissa, and he stepped in front of her to save her life. He got staked instead of her."
"He died, saving the Queen?" Toff stared at Trik.
"Well," Ry sounded embarrassed.
"You saw what was done for Cheedas," Tory said. Toff jerked his head in Tory's direction.
"My father's a vampire?"
"Yeah."
"Is that why I can't go to him—they're afraid he'll hurt me?" Toff's mind was whirling with dread.
"No. No, man, nothing like that," Ry held out a hand toward Toff. "I think he's just worried that you won't want him after all this time. I don't think he ever stopped loving you, either."
"The mindbond got in the way, and you didn't remember Mom or your dad," Tory sighed. "I think they're both worried about you and how you might feel about all this."
"But where is he? You seem to know all about this and I don't know anything." Toff was suddenly close to tears, and he didn't want to reveal the weakness to Tory, Ry and Trik.
"Just remember he loves you, and is trying to bring you back into his life the best way he knows how," Ry said, floating Trik's offered comp-vid toward Toff. "We can leave you alone while you read if that's what you want."
"Yes." Toff brushed away moisture from his face and didn't look up as Tory skipped the others away.
* * *
Toff had washed his face to remove the streaks, but his eyes still looked red and swollen. No surprise—he'd scrubbed them often as he read Roff's records. Markoff and Dariff, from the winery, were his uncle and cousin. They were always nice to him. Roff had been careful and thorough whenever he explained anything to Toff or taught him to use any of the equipment at the winery. Roff had taken him flying, too, holding him securely against his chest while he'd sailed across Casino City and Lissia.
Roff—his father? It didn't seem real. If Toff could have picked his father from all those he knew, he realized that Roff would have been his choice. Now, he wandered through the residential wing, searching for Roff's suite. He'd been brought into the palace, not just because the Queen wanted to adopt him, but because his father lived there. His father was one of the Queen's mates. Toff hesitated as the realization hit him. Wiping his eyes again, he continued his search.
* * *
"This is bad," Ry turned in a circle, taking in his empty bedroom. "Mom is going to kill us, because we let the cat out of the bag and now Toff has run away."
"Come on, bro, let's find Uncle Drake and Uncle Drew," Tory muttered, raking a hand through dark hair in confusion. "I thought he'd want to know. I would."
"Contact your uncles, but we should probably let Roff know first," Trik sighed. "This is our fault, and Roff deserves to be the first to know."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ry agreed reluctantly.
Uncle Drew? Ry sent mindspeech as all three made their way into the hall and turned, going as quickly as Trik's motorized chair would allow toward Roff's suite of rooms.
* * *
Toff raised his hand to knock. Roff's name was on the outside of his suite, just as all the other names were. He hesitated. How was he going to tell Roff that he knew? Should he ask? Could he do that, without breaking down? Thoughts leapt and whirled inside his mind, none of them staying for more than a moment, keeping him from latching onto any of them for careful examination. Redbird's face appeared, replaced by that of Corent. Rain. Father Tiearan. Willow. Gren. Toff sobbed as the images appeared and disappeared. They'd taken him away from his parent.