If Barbartu hadn’t known better, she wouldn’t have pegged the girl that ran up to meet them as Jasper’s sister. Much of that was due to the changes he’d undergone as his mother’s heritage awoke, but even if one looked past the added height and the ruddy skin, the differences were plain to see.

  Jenny had warm, honey blonde hair that fell in long, straight lines, as opposed to his unruly, brown mop. She was immaculately put together, with not hair out of place, despite running across the street to greet them, and most of all she looked young. Barbartu knew they should have been the same age, but while Jasper looked every bit the early thirties that he was, the girl in front of her looked like she hadn’t stepped foot out of her teens, let alone reaching her thirties - the benefits, Barbartu supposed, of having lived in the mana-rich environment of Arallu? rather than Adammu?’s wasteland.

  Yet, as the girl met Barbartu’s gaze, the differences suddenly seemed small in light of the similarities. She had the same crooked smile as Jasper, the same cautious yet brash curiosity, and - most importantly - the same amber eyes, so rich and dark that they looked like shining gold.

  “Hello, Jenny,” Barbartu greeted her, and a tingle of delight vibrated up her spine as the girl shrank back, offering her a cautious look.

  “Hello - I’m afraid I wasn’t aware we had guests and haven't prepared anything. Father, why didn't you tell me?”

  S?ar was slow to respond, and while Barbartu thought the girl missed it, she could see the fear in his eyes as he gazed down at his daughter. “It was an unexpected arrival,” he finally said. “This is…Lady Barbartu.”

  “Now, now,” she interrupted. “That name will mean nothing to the girl. My friends call me Barbartu, but you might know me as Lamas?tu,” she added with a smirk.

  The girl's eyes widened as recognition dawned and, unlike her father, she had the good sense to be respectful. She bowed her head quickly, clasping her hands before, as she greeted the goddess. “Lady Lamas?tu, I apologize. I don’t have any accommodations prepared, but-”

  Barbartu was bored immediately. “That’s quite alright - I’ll simply take the palace. I’m sure your father won’t object,” she added, sending a wicked grin at S?ar.

  “I-” Jenny struggled to control her expression, sneaking a glance at her father, who huffed in annoyance.

  “You never said you were planning to stay.”

  “I’m not,” Barbartu shrugged. “But your daughter is right - you should have offered. It's only polite,” she added, needling the man.

  “Just do what you came here to do, and leave,” he gritted his teeth.

  “Father?!” Barbartu hid her amusement as the girl gaped at her father, obviously flabbergasted by his rudeness, but S?ar was right on one thing. She wasn’t here for her own enjoyment; she was here to get the bloody goddess of ruin off her back.

  “Very well,” she replied, reaching out and grabbing the girl’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  The harsh shriek of metal against metal filled the air as the man drew a hidden dagger with dazzling speed. “I already told you, you’re not taking her anywhere,” she growled.

  “Yes, yes,” Barbartu replied patronizingly. “And I humored your delusions of grandeur, but do you honestly think you can stop me?”

  “You weren’t that strong,” he countered obstinately, referring to their duel before.

  Anger washed over her like a flash flood. One minute she was holding Jenny’s hand, the next her taloned claws were wrapped around S?ar’s throat as she lifted him above the ground and forced him to meet her eye. “Did you really think you stood a chance, child,” she growled from inhuman lips.

  He gave no response, but she wasn't prepared to kill him. At least not yet. Controlling her instincts, Barbartu shrunk back to her human form, casting the man aside like a piece of garbage, as she turned her attention to the girl. “Fortunately,” Barbartu said sweetly, “Your daughter has better manners than you.”

  S?ar rolled to his feet, ignoring the dribbles of blood that dripped down his throat from a half dozen claw marks, and resummoned his sword. “Perhaps I can’t beat you,” he said defiantly, “but there’s an entire city here, and our ancestor’s ward as well. You can’t beat us all.”

  “You sure about that,” Barbartu laughed, delight coursing through her veins as the man visibly paled. In truth, she was pretty sure he was right. While she was far more powerful than anyone in the city, the fallen daughter of Anu was weak for a goddess. She’d give herself a 50/50 shot of escaping with the daughter, but the challenge - ah, her heart beat faster at the thought. It didn’t even matter that she hadn’t come here to kidnap the girl. Now, she wanted to.

  “Father, stop!” The girl placed a restraining hand on the man’s arm, and a war of wills ensued as she tried to push it down.

  “You don’t understand…” he roared, but as he saw the pleading in her eyes, he slowly lowered his arm.

  Jenny didn't let go of his arm as she turned to face Barbartu and bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, Lady Lamas?tu, but I don’t understand what’s happening. Is there something you want from me?”

  “For myself? No,” Barbartu snorted. “I’m more than happy to let your father do…whatever this is,” she said, waving her hand dismissively at him. “But there are others out there that have taken an interest in you. I’m simply here to facilitate rectifying your father’s wrongs.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Jenny’s brow crinkled in confusion as she glanced over at S?ar. “My father's wrongs? What did you do, Dad? What is she talking about?”

  And while Barbartu wasn’t much of a mindreader, as she gleamed the top of the girl’s mind, she came to a startling conclusion. “You devious dog - she doesn’t know, does she?” she chuckled.

  “Please.” The man seemed to have aged a decade as he stared up at her. “You’ve seen her now, you've verified that she's alive and well. Isn’t that enough to satisfy your goddess?” he pleaded.

  “Know what?” Jenny demanded, her voice growing taut as she latched onto her father’s arm, her fingernails digging into his skin.

  “If you don’t tell her, I will,” Barbartu added.

  “Your-” His lips parted, but no more words came out and, after a moment’s silence, he looked away.

  “What he was trying to say,” Barbartu interrupted, “was that your brother is still alive, and his patron goddess promised him that she would try to find you. I’m quite impressed,” she added, turning her attention to S?ar. “You tricked both of them into believing the other was dead. Perhaps you’d make a more suitable candidate for my court than my uncle’s.”

  The girl’s hand flew away from her father’s arm in a flash, shock and confusion mirrored in her eyes as she staggered away from him. “Jasper’s alive? Tell me it isn’t true, that you didn’t lie to me like that…no, wait, I want it to be true, but…” she started babbling as S?ar avoided her gaze.

  While normally Barbartu would relish the mortal’s distress like a sommelier a fine wine, the girl was Jasper’s sister, and while he might not be one of her followers, she still felt she owed him. The act of comforting someone was unfamiliar ground, but she tried, patting the girl's hand. “It’s alright, child,” she began, but Jenny slipped away from her grasp, turning her ire on her father.

  “It’s true, isn’t it?" He still didn’t speak, but when he finally turned to look at her, his chin dipped in a shallow nod.

  “I…I…” Her face twisted in revulsion and she quickly looked away, blinking rapidly as tears began to flow. “Please excuse me, Lady Lamas?tu,” she said, bowing hastily, “But I fear I cannot be a good host now.”

  “Go, child,” Barbartu bid her generously, and watched in silence as the girl turned and walked away at a pace just short of a run.

  “You happy?” S?ar gritted out once Jenny had turned the corner. “Is this what you wanted? She may never forgive me.”

  “There you go with your delusions of grandeur again. Get it through your head, S?ar, I don’t care about you,” she shrugged.

  “Liar,” he hissed. “I know your kind feeds off of misery.”

  Her hand grasped his chin, claws extending from her fingers and biting into his skin as she forced him to look at her. “I have shown great patience,” she said, without any heat. “But if you keep testing me, I will kill you. It would be a shame to be forced to kill my uncle’s playthings right before he awakes, but there are limits to what I’ll put up with.”

  His mask of anger and defiance crumbled, and he cast his eyes downward. “Then kill me. You’ve already destroyed the only precious thing I have.”

  She cocked her head to the side and retracted her claws as she saw him in a new light. “You genuinely love her,” she realized. “I assumed you only valued her for her heritage - a talented heir like that doesn't come along every day - but that’s not all there is to it. You love her.”

  The man swallowed. “What does it matter? She hates me now, and who knows if I could ever regain her trust.”

  “But if it’s not just about her power,” Barbartu continued, “Why do you love her and hate him? I admit the boy likes to whine, but he’s hardly lacking in courage or talent.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” S?ar repeated dully, but she didn’t believe him.

  “You don’t need to convince me,” she replied, “but if you have any hope of repairing your relationship with your daughter, you better have a reason for your actions. A better reason,” she added with a cruel smile, “then simply hating the boy.”

  “I did what I thought was best - for her and for him,” the man said sullenly.

  “You’ll have to do better than that,” she prodded. “Or perhaps, if you’re no longer in the mood for chatting, it's time for me to take a tour of the hospital. There’s so much misery to be enjoyed there,” she added with an ominous chuckle.

  The threat was enough to snap him out of his fugue. “It’s because they’re twins. They wouldn’t be safe.”

  “What does that have to do with anything,” she said, scrunching her brows together, and then it hit her. “Don’t tell me-”

  S?ar grimaced. “Yes. While some of us, like myself, have had the opportunity to visit the modern world, most of our people have never left these mountains. Our people are isolated, proud of their traditions and their heritage, and old superstitions that others have long since jettisoned remain strong. Many among our people still believe that when twins are born, the power that they should've inherited is split between them. If one is killed, it is believed that the twin that lives will regain the lost power, doubling their strength.”

  “It’s a silly superstition, completely untrue,” S?ar continued, “but the way the twins were born would only reinforce that belief. Jenny took solely after me. From birth, it was clear that she was one of the greatest talents born to my family in decades. She was using mana unconsciously as a toddler, casting our family’s spells without even being taught them. She had to come live with me - she couldn’t be abandoned to live in the modern world with that sort of power. The best case scenario would have seen her forget how to use and waste her talents, but you know there are far worse fates.”

  Barbartu nodded her head in understanding. If her father hadn’t taken her, someone else would have. “That doesn't explain Jasper, though” she prodded.

  “The boy-Jasper,” he amended as she cast him a dirty look, “was the complete opposite. He showed minimal talent with mana, and while I could tell he’d inherited his mother’s ability to use essence, that did him no good here. It wasn’t like I could send him to his mother’s world,” he shrugged. “If I’d brought them back together, it was only a matter of time before someone would decide to ‘help’ her by killing him. He was just too weak to survive.”

  “Why couldn’t you protect him,” Barbartu questioned, and S?ar gave her a weary, lopsided grin that resembled his children's.

  “Haven't we already established today that I’m far from omnipotent? Our family is the most important in Birat-Ah?is?, but we’re not the only important one, nor am I the strongest in the realm. And for a talent like Jenny’s, my own retainers would have betrayed me, fully believing that they were doing me a favor.”

  “And now?” Barbartu asked.

  The man sighed. “He still can’t come here, not until he’s strong enough to protect himself.”

  “He’s not that weak."

  “But he’s not strong enough," S?ar countered. "It would have been better for them to have never known.”

  “No,” she replied flatly. “You may have had your reasons, but your method was still cruel. Perhaps, if they had known the reasons, they would have gone along with that, but now," she allowed herself to smile, relishing the misery emanating from the man. "Now it is no longer your decision. We shall see what choice your daughter makes."