Under the cover of night, Alejandro untied a note from his satchel, carefully wrapping it with a strip of blue silk and fastening it to Azura's leg. His face, unreadable beneath the shadows, was only slightly illuminated by the soft moonlight. With a small nudge, he let the bird go. She took off into the dark sky, wings flashing silver for only a moment before disappearing into the void.
He stood there for a breath, then turned, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the treeline behind him. Silence.
Had he heard something?
He lingered. Then, with a dramatic toss of his cloak, he slinked back toward camp, retrieving a flask from his hip and taking a slow, contemplative swig.
From the trees, Phineus rose from his crouch, silent as the wind. He had seen everything. The boy, no, the young man now, watched Alejandro with a mix of suspicion and unreadable emotion.
Why now?
Why come back only now?
With a firm jaw, he shadowed his father's path just as his uncle had taught him- silent, calculated. Alejandro meandered toward a large boulder, slow and seemingly unaware. Another drink from his flask. Another leisurely step.
But when Phineus rounded the bend, Alejandro was already waiting for him, leaning casually against the stone with a devil-may-care grin stretched across his face.
"Hello, young man."
Phineus stiffened, fists clenched at his sides.
Alejandro's grin faltered, eyes softening just a little.
"Why are you here?" Phineus asked, voice taut with emotion. His gaze didn't waver. "All this time… Why now? You left before I was even born. What's your end game?"
Alejandro chuckled dryly, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.
"End game? Can't a rich old man decide to place his bet with the winning side?"
Phineus glared, head tilting slightly in contempt. "Is this a joke to you?"
Alejandro's smirk dimmed, his expression clouding with something older, wearier.
"Look," he started. "Just after your mother found out she was with child… with you… I was called away for a shipment. It was supposed to be routine." He hesitated, the air between them growing heavy. "It was a trap. The supplier was under investigation by the Inquisition. I didn't know. I should've checked, but damn it, we'd done business before! I thought we had trust."
Phineus's eyes sharpened, his entire body drawn like a bowstring.
"I was captured too," Alejandro added in a whisper. "Rosaria dungeons."
Phineus went pale, his voice a ragged breath.
Alejandro nodded grimly. "I was expected to keep running my guild, just under their thumb." He barked out a bitter laugh. "I escaped a year ago. When I heard about Seamus… the Matteo estate… I had to see it with my own eyes. And offer what help I could."
A pause. Then the smile returned,
faint, restrained, but sincere.
"And to be honest?" He glanced away, rubbing his nose again. "I just wanted to see what kind of man my last living son had become."
Phineus stood still, unable to speak. His fists relaxed at last, falling limp into his cloak pockets.
He gave Alejandro one long, unreadable look… then turned away.
The boy was gone. The man walked silently back toward camp, leaving a trail of questions behind him.
Alejandro took another long swig, eyes gleaming in the moonlight as he watched his son disappear into the dark.