Yew was feeling useless.

  His aunt was taken by a demon, his father was missing in the woods, and his younger sibling was now puttering around their home trying to warm him up and make him feel better. When he felt that it should be the other way around.

  Both siblings had changed out of their wet clothes into something clean and dry, and the younger boy had even started a warm fire burning with the help of their candle friend. However Yew was still shivering while Willow seemed unaffected by the cold.

  The young teen wanted to chalk it up to his brother’s fire spirit, but had to admit that he just couldn’t deal with chilly temperatures as well as the rest of the family. Both his siblings and his father seemed perfectly fine in winter so long as they took the proper precautions, but Yew always needed to bundle up more than the rest of them.

  One of the few memories he had of his mother told him that she was the same.

  Nope, not thinking about that right now.

  As he saw Willow bringing a fifth blanket to wrap him in, he chuckled a bit.

  “I think you’re going a bit overboard with the blankets, little bro.”

  Hmm not sure about “little bro” as a nickname. Considering how he wrinkled his nose a bit at being called that he assumed Willow felt the same.

  Guess he was sticking with gremlin for now. Maybe it’ll take on the same warmth that “little gnome” had with Maple.

  “You sure we shouldn't've gone to the Faber’s and Mister Joaquin?” Willow asked him while wrapping the last blanket he’d brought around himself. Grey green eyes staring at him from within his cocoon of fabric.

  “Nope.” He said with a smile he didn’t feel. “But it was more important for us to get dry and warm. They’ll check on us if they’re worried.”

  Besides, he didn't quite want to see them right now. He knew there were probably valid reasons for Uncle Lucius not showing up to help, but he was still pissed at the man for not appearing when he was needed.

  Not that it would have mattered, a dark part of him whispered.

  Yew shook his head to dispel such thoughts.

  He really needed to stay out of his own head. Wasn’t good for him.

  “So, you got a new friend?” He said to his brother as a way to distract himself.

  “Yup!” The way Willow’s face lit up whenever he spoke of his spirits always used to spark jealousy and annoyance.

  Now, he was just happy for the little gremlin.

  “I named them Calypso! They’re a little weird, but seem to get along with everyone else.”

  His brother had the weirdest naming sense for his spirits, he’d’ve gone with something like Flood or Storm. Something that sounded powerful.

  But still, he smiled. “After the artist from Ma’s stories? Never really liked those.”

  They made him feel weird, but he didn’t want to explain that to his little brother so he just left it at that.

  However he had apparently said the wrong thing because Willow looked saddened by his words.

  “They’re Aunt Jieun’s favorite.” The boy said quietly, eyes downcast.

  Way to go, made your little brother sad again.

  “Want me to read you something?” He started to untangle himself from the bundle of cloth he’d been wrapped in, eager to distract his brother.

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  Eager to distract himself.

  Before he could fully get out of the pile of fur and cloth there was a thunk at the door. Yew scrambled to get between his sibling and potential harm, grabbing and brandishing a nearby fire poker.

  However, instead of the Bloom or another hostile spirit, it was their father who stumbled through the door, clearly a lot worse for wear. His simple clothes were scratched and torn, likely from being tossed through tree branches, and he looked quite haggard.

  But worst of all was his leg.

  His right leg, the one grabbed by the demon before it tossed him aside, looked to be rotting from the knee down. The pantsleg that would’ve covered the sight was torn off and seemed to be used to make some sort of makeshift tourniquet.

  “Da!” Both his children cried as they rushed over to help him.

  Yew helped keep his father steady, while Willow brought over a chair for him to sit in. When it arrived the large man sank into it with a groan, clearly glad to be taking weight off his leg.

  “Thank you boys. Glad to see the two of you are all right.”

  Willow was fussing over their da in the same way he had been fussing over his brother a bit ago. “I wanted to go and look for you, but Yew said the forest was too dangerous.”

  “Your brother was right, sprout.” Their father said, and the teen felt an ember of pride at that. “I appreciate the sentiment, but right now all of the spirits and beasts in the Vale are riled up. They’d attack anything they came across.”

  Yew saw the spark of an idea flash in his brother’s eyes.

  “Would they attack the Bloom?”

  Rowan’s brow furrowed. “Not without a good reason. Most of the beasts in the Vale are subservient to them. Even the ones that aren’t know better than to tangle with that overgrown weed.”

  The fact he himself was tossed aside by said weed went unspoken by everyone.

  Still, Willow seemed insistent on figuring out if that idea of his would work.

  So the boy explained what he’d been thinking of.

  In great detail.

  It was mostly babbling if Yew was honest, rather than a solid plan. However, as his brother continued explaining what exactly he wanted to try, something started to become clear.

  Willow might be able to save Aunt Jieun.

  They confirmed some things with his talking spirits, to make sure the child wasn’t overselling his ability to get the task done, but at the end of everything it seemed doable to the young teen. Except for one last obstacle.

  “Willow, I appreciate you trying your best to save your aunt, but this isn’t a game. One little slip up and we’d lose you too.” Their father’s face was marked with anxiety and grief. “It’s safer if we wait for help to arrive.”

  “But if we don’t do something she’ll wind up like Old Ping!” The words struck Rowan like a physical blow, but he held firm in his decision.

  “I can’t lose more of my family.” He sounded so tired.

  “Aunt Jieun’s family too!”

  He winced, but still he didn’t budge.

  Yew looked at his father, the large man seeming so small in this moment. The shadow of expectations that had been cast over him his entire life vanished for just a flash.

  And in that moment he realized something all children inevitably do about their parents.

  His father was just a man.

  Not a myth, not a legend.

  A man.

  And men could make mistakes.

  And Yew felt it in his bones that his father was making a huge mistake right now.

  But he knew his father, he knew he wouldn’t budge on matters concerning the safety of his kin.

  His little brother, likely sensing the shifting of his mood, looked at him in confusion.

  He gave Willow a confident smile, but it probably came out more wry than he intended.

  “Run, little gremlin.”

  The boy still looked confused, but began scampering to his room, likely to exit through his window.

  “Willow, don’t you dare-” The large man said as he started to get up.

  Before he could change his mind, Yew tackled his father off his chair.

  Due to surprise and his injured leg Rowan went down with ease.

  “What in the hells are you doing, boy!” He bellowed as the two of them struggled on the ground.

  “Helping!”

  By the time the two of them disentangled, Willow was long gone.

  He’d trust his brother to save his aunt.

  Time would tell if he had made a mistake of his own.