Chapter 148 - Amelia’s Parents

Chapter 148: 148 - Amelia’s Parents

Adrien had expected a great many things after entering Sylvamir. Meeting Amelia’s parents the moment he stepped out of the capital station had not been one of them.

For some reason he had assumed they lived in Elyndor. They were Vael’s family after all, and Amelia had talked about the city often enough that Adrien had quietly placed the rest of the Edevanes there with him. Apparently he had been wrong.

The two enormous mana signatures kept approaching, and a moment later Adrien found their owners through the flow of people near the station entrance.

The first was impossible to miss. Amelia’s father was a broad-shouldered elf built almost like Garrick, except taller.

Loose dark clothing hung from a frame that could have filled armour just as easily, while a full white beard covered most of his lower face and his hair, the same pale shade, was pulled back loosely behind his head.

The woman walking beside him could not have looked more different. She stood considerably shorter, slender enough to seem almost delicate next to her husband, with soft features and pale silver-blue hair falling neatly over one shoulder. Nothing in her appearance hinted at the amount of mana Adrien could feel inside her.

’Day and night.’

The resemblance to Amelia was far easier to find in her mother.

Amelia had barely taken two steps forward when her father saw her, and his entire expression changed.

"My girl."

Amelia stopped, and her father crossed the remaining distance with both arms already open.

"Come here. Let me look at you properly. Do you have any idea how long it’s been?"

"Father, I’m fine."

"That isn’t an answer. Come here."

Amelia looked as though she was considering a step backward, and she never got the chance. Her father wrapped both arms around her and lifted her almost clear off the ground in the process.

"Father."

"There she is. Still too thin."

"I’m not too thin."

"You are. Your grandfather clearly isn’t feeding you properly."

"He feeds me perfectly well."

Adrien looked away before Amelia caught him watching. Cordelia did not seem surprised in the slightest, and Lucien wore the distant expression of somebody who had sat through this exact scene many times.

Amelia’s mother allowed her husband several more seconds before turning toward Adrien, and unlike him she came over with complete composure.

"You must be Adrien Clairmont."

Adrien straightened slightly. "That’s right."

She offered a polite inclination of her head. "Your name has become rather well known here."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "News travelled that far?"

"You would be surprised how quickly it moves when enough important people are interested." A faint smile touched her face. "House Clairmont has been discussed quite a lot recently, and you personally even more so."

That was not especially reassuring, though Adrien returned the greeting anyway. "It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. My name is Selene Edevane." She glanced toward the enormous man still refusing to release Amelia. "And that is my husband, Caelan Edevane."

The names suited them strangely well. Adrien looked back at Caelan just as Amelia finally got both feet properly onto the floor.

"Father. Let go."

Caelan released her reluctantly, though both hands stayed on her shoulders while he studied her face as though checking for damage.

"You’ve been sleeping enough?"

"Yes."

"Eating?"

"Yes."

"No injuries?"

"Not anymore."

His expression tightened, and Amelia regretted the answer the moment it left her mouth.

"Not anymore?"

"Father."

"We’re discussing that later."

Amelia finally slipped out from under his hands and moved to Adrien’s side. Caelan watched her go, and then his eyes shifted to Adrien.

The change came instantly. The affectionate father vanished so completely that Adrien almost wondered whether he had imagined the last thirty seconds. Caelan’s posture straightened, his face turned unreadable, and the weight of his presence suddenly matched the Core Adrien had sensed approaching the station.

He walked over and extended one large hand. "Adrien Clairmont."

Adrien took it. "Caelan Edevane."

"It’s good to finally meet you."

His grip was firm without being a competition.

"And thank you."

Adrien had not expected that part, and Caelan went on before he could answer.

"You helped save my daughter, and from what we’ve been told, what happened afterward prevented a situation between Sylvamir and Valleroy from becoming much worse. A war would have benefited nobody except the people trying to cause it."

Adrien nodded. "I wasn’t alone. Amelia and Lucien did more than enough themselves."

"I know." Caelan’s expression eased slightly, though nowhere near the version Amelia had been given. "That doesn’t reduce what you did."

Selene joined them. "We’ve received several reports about what happened. Some are more complete than others."

Adrien glanced toward the station exit. "So we’re going directly to the castle?"

"That was the intention," Selene said. "Unless any of you need something first."

Cordelia shook her head and Lucien did the same. Amelia had already recovered from her father’s attack and pulled her cloak back into place. "We can go."

They started toward the main doors together, and Amelia moved beside Adrien once her parents had gone several steps ahead. "That went well."

Adrien looked at Caelan’s back. "Did it?"

"He likes you."

Adrien turned toward her. "That was him liking me?"

Amelia nodded seriously, and Adrien decided he had no particular wish to discover what the alternative looked like.

The station doors opened ahead of them, and an entire escort waited outside. Two lines of Sylvamir soldiers stood near several large mana-powered vehicles, their armour carrying the same green and pale metal Adrien had seen at the border. More guards waited farther along the road, keeping the area clear while officers talked quietly near the lead vehicle.

Adrien counted more than twenty before he stopped bothering. This was not simply Amelia’s parents collecting their daughter. This was a royal escort.

Selene noticed where he was looking. "The castle sent them. After everything that happened with Princess Elowen, the Crown preferred not to have you crossing the capital unnoticed."

Adrien looked toward the distant white towers rising above Sylvarin. Apparently his arrival had been expected for some time.

Caelan opened the door of the first vehicle and motioned for Amelia to get in before anyone else. Within minutes the station lay behind them, and the royal castle waited ahead.