+3
Ambition had not driven Ezekiel to power, but now that he held it the true nature of the coyote had begun to warp his perception of the world. He had worn his plastic smile and false cheer for so long that he had almost forgotten the terrible places of the world. Between the trio of women he now led with, Ezekiel had been reminded of such things. Once, he had told Sage he fought like a raven—this was a lie. Ezekiel was nothing less than an eagle, savage and proud. It bled through his eyes even as he smiled at the unfamiliar relative.
This cousin of sorts was clever in his behavior, and Ezekiel felt he had nothing to worry about from the stranger. The wolf lacked any visible scars and didn’t carry himself as a warrior might. No, if this had been anything more than a delivery Ezekiel was certain that even the most seasoned pretender would not have let his guise slip at the appearance of the horse. Paranoia had grown in his heart since Talitha’s meeting with Dahlia, a meeting that Ezekiel had watched from afar. He had been right to place her and Sage together; they fit into his plans unwittingly and perfectly well.
Ignoring the question about the horse, Ezekiel ran the lengthy name along his tongue silently. “Barrett sounds better,” the blonde said, disliking the way ‘Barry’ sounded. It was common, base. “I’m Ezekiel. Or Zeke, if you would prefer that.” Another plastic smile, another faint joke. Few people called him that, either out of unfamiliarity or an unwillingness to address the Aquila as such.
A shadow passed the young Aquila’s face. His father was, for all purposes, fine. Yet the boy could not wash the memory of his father’s body, broken and bloodied by the stones, and could not forget that weight as he had carried him back to the Mansion. “Yeah,” he said, but his voice sounded strange. “He retired due to an injury. Kaena stepped down due to her age, too.” The coyote added, as if this might be something worth mentioning.
“What did you bring?” He asked suddenly, voice returning to its previous inflection as his attention refocused rather suddenly.
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