Two hours. That’s how long they travelled before seeing another landmark. Kain side-eyed the two people. He didn’t believe they travelled so far just for food.

"It’s been two hours. Are you two planning to find a place to gut me?" he asked curiously.

Jaylin’s face turned green, and Matthew looked constipated. Neither of them thought of harming him. But now that they hadn’t reached their destination, it looked like they were lying.

But they couldn’t understand either. They were certain they should be close to home.

Kain saw their expressions and knew his assumption was incorrect.

"Alright. You look like you’ve swallowed something unpleasant. We’ll continue for another hour. If we don’t find anything, we turn back."

They nodded, their expressions grim.

If they didn’t lie to him, it meant they were either in the wrong place or the expansion was faster than he anticipated. At this point, he sure as heel hoped they were going in the wrong direction.

If the koi were any indication, other sea creatures were out there. He had no clue what he might encounter. It was safer for him to leave when he went back to the mansion, rather than staying and waiting.

Thirty minutes passed before they finally saw a building.

"That’s it," Jaylin cried out.

She stood looking at the building like she had seen a saviour. Kain frowned.

"How long did it take to get to the mansion before?" he asked no one in particular.

"A little more than an hour," Matt responded. His eyes were glued to the building they were approaching.

He tapped his finger on the side of the boat. He didn’t allow his thoughts to linger. Now was not the time for deep thinking.

The boat sailed close to a broken window. They moored the boat on a makeshift dock.

People popped their heads out of their windows when they heard the sound of the boat. They had been looking for a while. Kain was trying to decide whether to go inside with them or let them handle things on their own.

"We’ll be right back," Matthew said.

Kain answered absentmindedly and said, "I won’t take anyone else with me. I’m not a charity."

Their steps faltered for a moment before they stepped off the boat.

Kain watched as they stepped on the piece of wrought iron that continued down the length of the passage. He watched them make their way up the stairs and began scanning his surroundings.

Smirking, he wondered if they could get out of the building intact.

Inside, Matthew and Jaylin were surrounded by people.

"Where’s Sean? Why didn’t he come back with you?"

"Jim...where’s Jim?"

"Brother Matt, where’s my dad?"

The questions were relentless and endless. Matthew and Jaylin had no idea where to start. They felt the weight of the questions pressing down on them. Matthew tried to open his mouth, only to have another question thrown at him.

Someone shouted, "Hey! Hey! Give ’em some air. They gotta breathe. Ain’t nobody gonna get answers if you don’t shut up."

The person who shouted was the wife of the wiry man, Tony. She led the people in the building to live well. She was in charge of the inside while Tony was in charge of the outside.

The weight Matthew and Jaylin felt magnified when they saw her. They had been so preoccupied with getting home that they had forgotten about her. Tony was easy to deal with; his wife...was not.

Matthew and Jaylin hadn’t seen their family members yet. They eyed each other, each willing the other person to talk.

In the end, Jaylin was the one who spoke up. Her voice was no louder than a mosquito’s, but in the silent corridor, it carried.

"They’re dead. They were eaten by fish."

The murmurs started softly and slowly, then rippled outwards. Their voices became louder. Matthew lowered his head, and Jaylin shrank her shoulders.

"Quiet!" Tony’s wife’s voice echoed. The voices stopped. "Explain. What do you mean they’re dead? And if they’re dead, why did you come back?"

They both flinched when they heard the question.

"We weren’t on the boat," Matthew answered, his voice full of guilt.

The clamour started again. The wife held up two fingers. She stared at the two people. Her nostrils flare, her cheeks puffed up, and her face became red.

Tony’s wife chuckled. She sneered, "Not on the boat. Why weren’t you on the boat?"

They didn’t answer. How were they supposed to tell everyone they were deserters? It didn’t sound good, but that’s exactly what they were.

"You don’t have to answer now," she said, sugary and sweet. "Go back to your rooms and think about it. I’ll tell the gentleman who brought you back that you won’t be coming down."

She placed a hand on their shoulders and pushed them in the direction of their rooms. As they entered their rooms, the doors closed behind them.

Tony’s wife went downstairs. She walked up to Kain. Seeing him relaxing in the boat under the sun, a surge of anger welled up inside her. She didn’t know what happened, but her instincts told her it had something to do with this man.

Her husband was dead, but he had the freedom to lounge and enjoy the sun.

"Hello there," she greeted Kain. Kain glanced at her. She didn’t wait for him to greet her. "Matt and Jay aren’t feeling well. I’m not sure what arrangements you’ve made, but they’ve asked me to tell you to go back without them."

Kain stretched, sighs of contentment left his lips. His violet eyes met hers. The moment their eyes met, her body trembled. She felt as if she had been plunged into ice water. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Tell them I’ll be waiting 10 minutes. If they aren’t here, I’ll come up." Then he smiled. "Make sure you tell them. I’ll know if you don’t." He tapped his ear.

In her eyes, he lay down to continue to soak up the sun. However, Kain was actually taking in source energy.

Based on what he heard earlier, he knew she understood his statement. He listened to her trudge back down the hallway and smiled.