"Go!" Valeron angrily pointed at the door. "Go! Go!"
Tyris and Leegaain complied without saying a word.
Lith didn’t move, waiting for his judgment.
It took Elysia’s chirping to remind Valeron there were still more people who had hurt him.
"Go!" He pointed at the baby girl and then at the door.
"Go! Go! Go!" Lith, Kamila, and Solus were next.
Valeron resented Solus because she had helped Lith to kill his parents and deceive him the whole time. As for Kamila, he resented her for the same reason he resented Elysia.
Because they represented what he would never have. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Lith nodded and walked away, whereas it took a bit longer for the two women to recover from the shock. Solus felt as guilty as Lith, but she had spent even more time with the baby boy.
Whenever Kamila and Lith left for a date night, she would take care of the children. Solus had come to love Valeron deeply, to the point of enjoying the common misunderstanding that he was her son.
The violent rejection shattered that illusion and tore her heart to shreds.
Kamila, instead, was nailed to the floor by Valeron’s gaze.
It was full of rage and pain, the complete opposite of the happy and kind child she knew. The stark contrast was worsened by the resemblance between the current Valeron and Lith in his memories from Earth.
’Gods, what have we done?’ She thought. ’Did our attempt to protect Valeron’s heart make him a monster? What if he never recovers?’
"Go!" Valeron yelled again, snapping Kamila out of her daze.
She grabbed Elysia from the crib and walked away. The baby girl was hurt as well, but unlike everyone else, she had no idea what was happening. The Guardians had shared none of the connection with her to spare at least one child from the madness of that day.
"Wah!" She called for Valeron in confusion, but he didn’t even turn to meet her gaze. "Wah! Wah!"
Elysia started to cry, but Valeron didn’t hear her. He was too busy keeping his heart from exploding to care about anyone else.
"What about me, sweetie?" Elina asked. "Do you want me to go?"
Valeron was about to ask her and Raaz if they knew the truth as well when Surin started to cry out of hunger and boredom. She had no idea what was happening, nor did she care.
"No." Valeron shook his head, extending his little arms. "Stay. Please."
"Don’t worry, little guy. We are not going anywhere." Raaz took the baby boy out of the crib and embraced him.
Raaz’s warmth and Surin’s cries allowed Valeron to stop fighting his emotions and cry again. This time, not for help or rage, just to vent the pain that was ravaging him.
"It’s okay, sweetie. Everything is fine now." Raaz cradled the boy, and Elina joined him as soon as she managed to calm Surin down.
Nothing was okay or fine for Valeron. His entire life had just fallen apart, and he didn’t know how to put the pieces back together. His mind was a mess, and so was his heart.
All those he trusted had betrayed him, and his beloved parents, all five of them, were lost forever.
Yet even while drowning in pain and sorrow, Valeron couldn’t blame Elina, Raaz, or Surin. They were weak. They were silly. They were innocent.
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