“Dad never explained to me why my brothers attacked me,” Michael said.

  Brothers? Michael had brothers, like in more than one? And they attacked him? My God, how much had Mom left out? It seemed like freaking everything. Emmaline reigned in her anger. She didn’t want to miss anything else by throwing a tantrum. Then, they surely would send Em to her room. Obviously, she already missed enough.

  “They were jealous of you because you had something they didn’t,” Mom explained.

  Michael looked a little wary when he asked. “And what’s that?”

  “You have a special Dome-ni called Perception. It is the ability to expand your awareness so you can comprehend and see connections that ordinarily elude others. It can apply to everything from understanding the potential actions of others to how things are made and put together. It can even be used to orchestrate a series of events in order to get people or a person to a certain outcome.

  “It’s what makes you such a good engineer, and why your dad created an atmosphere in which you could easily work in that field. Neither your dad nor I can give you the training needed to expand your talent at a higher level, but we wanted to at least provide you with a direction that gave you a solid foundation in your Perception ability.”

  So, Ethians have special abilities! That’s so cool. Emmaline wondered if she had one too. She had to make sure to ask Mom later. Michael’s sure sounded interesting, though she wasn’t so sure it was worth chasing him all over the freaking universe! Jeez!

  “Wait. So Dad intentionally created a business in technology to train this Dome-ni?” Michael said.

  Emmaline looked at her brother, not sure how he had reached that conclusion, but then he was good at making big leaps with little information. Maybe that was part of this ability of his that Mom was talking about?

  Mom smiled. “There were several reasons why your dad did that, but that was one of them, yes.”

  Emmaline blinked at her mother. Well shit. She sneaked a glance at her brother. He seemed to be lost in thought.

  “It’s rather rare, Dome-ni in Ethia,” Mom continued. “Your birth father has it, and when he found out you carried the same ability, he was eager to train you and have you follow in his footsteps. Michael, he wanted to make you his official heir, his successor.”

  And there it was.

  Honestly, Emmaline wasn’t surprised at the particular reveal. It seemed like the next logical step––Michael’s birth dad being Emperor, Michael being born with a special ability that could help him be a good leader, jealous brothers trying to kill Michael––yep, being a chosen successor seemed about right.

  Michael didn’t look like he was taking that particular news in stride, though. He seemed shocked.

  “You have to be kidding me,” he said. “Yeah, hard pass.”

  Mom shook her head. “That’s the thing, Michael. You didn’t have a say in it. None of us did. Your father had decided. Even though he’d been training one of your other brothers to take over for a while, once he found out about your ability, that didn’t matter anymore. He wanted you, and that was it.

  “So yes, part of why we left was because of your brothers, and your dad and I didn’t think you would be safe anywhere near them. But it wasn’t the only reason.

  “We had been so happy before everything came out about your Perception Dome-ni. None of us were ready for the changes that happened afterward. It scared us, but even more, we just wanted things to go back to the way they were, when you and I were cast off from the Emperor. So I guess Arie and I were being selfish in that respect. We didn’t want to share you with the Empire.”

  Poor Michael. He really wasn’t taking this very well. Maybe everything was finally starting to catch up with him. He had that look on his face that he sometimes got when overwhelmed. It happened. Mom said it was just because Michael was a little more sensitive than others––whatever that meant. He looked like he was hyperventilating. Emmaline reached out a hand to steady him, but Mom beat her to it. She had moved over to Michael and settled a hand on his shoulder.

  “Breathe, Michael. Don’t think. Don’t feel. Push everything away except for your breath. Focus on that.”

  Emmaline held her own breath as she watched her brother try to slow down and take longer inhales and exhales. He closed his eyes and continued his slow breathing. The roaster ticked off the time in the background.

  After what felt like years, Michael finally opened his eyes, and his whole face had changed. He seemed much calmer and more collected. Emmaline let out a long breath. Thank god.

  Mom met his eyes, and she smiled brightly. “There you are. You are getting better at that.”

  Michael smiled back. “Thanks, Mom.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  She nodded. “And this leads me to the other reason we left Ethia. Yes, you have the Perception Dome-ni, but you have another as well. It’s not actually very common for people to have two dominant abilities like you do. That’s why the Perception Dome-ni wasn’t diagnosed until you were five, because it was obvious you already had the Dome-ni of Empathy.

  “That’s why you sometimes get overwhelmed. You pick up emotions from others very easily. Like you just picked up from me. That’s why I taught you that breathing exercise along with others to help you manage it.

  “Unfortunately, the Emperor wasn’t willing to take into account that of your Empathic Dome-ni. He thought that your Perception superseded everything, and you would just get over your empathic abilities. I disagreed and tried to tell him that even though you had the same Dome-ni as he did, that your empathic side made you different, and that needed to be addressed, or your Perception would never be developed properly.

  “Between your father’s inability to listen to reason and the attack by your brothers, Arie and I deemed it necessary to take you away from all that. We understood you needed different things than what your father planned for you in order to succeed. So as we raised you, we tried to do everything we could to help you in that aspect.”

  My mother spread out her hands as if giving an offering. “And that is all of it. All the reasons we took you from Ethia, all the reasons we kept the truth from you, and all the reasons Arie must do as he is doing. And I will not apologize for any of it.

  “You are my son, Michael. I love you, and as your mother, it is my job to protect you, especially since your birth father didn’t seem to be doing a very good job of that. I am just eternally grateful that Arie chose to step up and take on that responsibility with me.”

  Mom folded her hands in front of her and waited as if expecting something in return. But Michael seemed too wrapped up in his thoughts. And Emmaline didn’t know what to say. It was a lot to take in. Maybe too much. She was glad she knew the truth, but still… holy freaking cow!

  Tick.

  Tock.

  Tick.

  Tock.

  Tick.

  Tock.

  Finally, Michael shifted on his bar stool and sat up a little straighter. A look of determination settled over his features. He met Mom’s gaze and held it.

  “I have to stop him,” Michael breathed. His voice held the edge of panic. “I have to stop him,” he said again.

  Mom shook her head as tears brimmed inner eyes. “You can’t. You have to stay here with Emmaline and me. This is where you belong, Michael. This is your home.”

  Again, Michael was silent for a time, but that look of determination of his only seemed to grow.

  “I want to know,” he said in a cold tone. “Tell me exactly what they are going to do to him.”

  Emmaline’s heart nearly climbed right up her throat. That was something she had been trying hard not to think about.

  “You don’t want to know,” Mom’s voice broke in a sob.

  “Yes, I do,” his voice as cold as ice.

  Emmaline found herself speaking up, “Tell him, Mom. We want to know. We deserve to know.” She felt more than a little sick. She really didn’t want to know, but they had gone beyond hiding from the truth. Anger whirled inside her as she imagined the fate that awaited her dad.

  Mom didn’t seem like she was going to tell them, but eventually she licked her lips and started to speak. “They will take him to Ghar--––the Emperor. They may or may not start the torture before they get there. It depends on who's commanding the ship, but it’s probably one of Ghar’s most trusted commanders, so that means it will probably start right away. His men are quite loyal and ruthless. It’s a long trip to Ethia, so…”

  She trailed off for a moment, not wanting to continue, but Michael jumped it to give her a push to continue. “And what about when he gets to Ethia?”

  “There will be a trial, but it will just be for show. Everyone knows what he did. Arie didn’t even try to cover his tracks. Ghar will want to make this process as painful and as humiliating as possible, so it will be very public and a very degrading experience. You have to understand, Arie––your dad was a very respected man in Ethia before all this happened. A lot of people looked up to him, trusted him. Ghar will make sure all of those people know of your dad’s treason, and the cost of it too. When Ghar is finally satisfied your dad has had proper humiliation, only then will he kill him.”

  Michael nodded as if it confirmed what he’d been thinking. He gave Emmaline a hard look, and she met it with a grim look of her own, even if her stomach was protesting and wanting to bring all the ice cream she had eaten up earlier.

  He then turned back to Mom. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

  Emmaline trembled, but she refused to cry. Her dad was smart. He’d figure out a way out! He was good at solving problems. That’s what made him good at running his business. He wouldn’t just roll over for these Ethian people. Nope, not at all!

  Michael slid off his stool and went to Mom. He took her in his arms and held her for a long moment. He kissed the top of her head and said. “I love you.”

  That was enough to send Mom into a fresh round of tears. “Oh Michael, I love you too.”

  Mom cried, and Michael held on for a little while. He then pulled back and turned to Emmaline. She couldn’t help it. Em was crying now too. Those freaking tears wouldn’t stay away!

  Michael held out his arms wide, and Em slipped from her own stool and ran right to him. It felt good to be back in his embrace. He felt so warm and strong. Maybe she could just stay here for a while. Maybe then it would make things better?

  “It’s going to be alright, little sis. I’m going to make this alright.” He said.

  And then he pulled away. Much too soon for Emmaline’s liking. But he stood there, looking deep into her eyes. And damn if it didn’t seem like he was trying to say something, something important. Em almost felt like she had caught it, but then the moment was gone just like that.

  “I love you forever, baby girl.”

  Emmaline smiled at Michael’s words. A phrase they had picked just for the two of them.

  “Love you forever,” Em said in return.

  Michael then gave a nod to Mom. “I need you to look after her for me. Can you do that?”

  Emmaline nodded back. Sure why not? That seemed to be her task for the day––to look after Mom. How could she tell him no?

  “Good,” he said.

  Michael then turned toward the garage door. He paused a moment, stopping at the table near the door where Mom’s purse was, and then he opened the door.

  It wasn’t until then that it occurred to Emmaline to ask the obvious question. “Where are you going?”

  Michael didn’t even turn around as he spoke. “To right a wrong. Take care. I’ll be back when I can.” He then walked through the garage door and closed it behind him.