Adam snorted softly then and grimaced.
"Yes well, the Elders said and did a lot of things back then that weren't always above board," he replied gently, "I can assure you personally that not only is your mother alive and well, but she has been given a room at the palace, as has your youngest brother."
"Wait," Greyson shook his head, "My youngest brother? The brother I thought was killed with my mother? They're both alive?"
Adam nodded.
"But...how?" he asked again, his voice breaking on the last word.
"I don't have the full details, but from what I understand, and from what I've gathered from the conversation that Ann and I had with Bartholomew, your mother and brother were hidden away in another location after you had left home because of further attempts on their life that originated from your father. You were safe within the Enclave, training there under guard, but your mother and brother…they were almost killed and Bartholomew took the opportunity to not bother correcting that lie. He allowed your father to think that he had succeeded so that at some point in the future, when the threat had been removed, you could be reunited. I don't think anyone ever intended for it to go on this long."
Adam watched Greyson's face carefully as he digested his words and for a moment, Adam wasn't sure if telling him had been the right thing to do.
It was too late to backtrack now though, all he could do was wait for the reaction that he knew was coming…no matter how explosive it was.
Greyson was quiet for a few moments, as he let everything sink in and then, his shoulders sagged as he was hit with a wave of pure motion smothered in relief. His breath seemed to stutter painfully in his chest as if the emotion had overtaken the mechanics of breathing. His vision narrowed, the edges blurring as his heart stuttered once before slamming hard against his ribs and the tears began to fall.
Alive.
They weren't just a painful memory, or a grave or the remains of two bodies that were handed back to him wrapped in silence and excuses.
His hands curled into fists at his sides, nails biting into his palms without him barely registering the pain.
The relief and emotion gave way to something more furious then, a rage that didn't know where to go.
"THe Elders…they all knew?" Greyson asked, barely able to keep his voice from breaking.
Adam answered without hesitation.
"As we were told, only the few that were behind protecting the ancient bloodlines knew the truth of it, everyone else was told the same as you."
Greyson exhaled slowly through his nose, his eyes dropping to the ground between them.
"So they watched," he snarled, "They watched him hunt her and watched me struggle when I was told that they were dead?"
Adam stayed silent, not sure what to say to ease this, but knowing that just listening to him was probably the best option for now.
"They watched me live with it," Greyson continued, his voice dangerously steady now, "They stood there and decided what I was allowed to believe and what I was allowed to mourn."
His jaw clenched tightly once and then he closed his eyes.
It wasn't the fact that he couldn't accept the truth of what Adam was telling him, it was more the massive implications of the news. The years of secrecy that he had endured and the years of lost time with the people that he had cherished the most.
Years of silence and obedience to people that had done nothing but lie to him and of being told to stop asking questions that made people uncomfortable, even when he knew they were hiding something. All of the years that they had taken from him while others decided that he would endure his new life better if he didn't know.
If they had told him back then he would have understood…he would have been careful..he would have left it all alone until it was safe…
When he opened his eyes again, the relief was gone entirely and all that remained was grief.
Not for his father, the grief at that lost relationship had burned itself out long ago and left nothing worth mourning, no, this grief was something far more vicious.
It was for the life that could have existed if the truth had been given sooner. For a mother he had mourned while she was still breathing somewhere else. For a childhood shaped around a lie so complete and convincing that he had barely ever questioned it.
Greyson swallowed hard as Adam cleared his throat.
"They did what they thought was best, and what they thought would guarantee your safety and theirs." Adam said carefully, now that he could feel that his emotions were somewhat settled, "She lived only because she was hidden and because some of the elders chose to remain defiant instead of handing her over to the Lycan King and remaining obedient to orders that they didn't agree with."
Greyson nodded once, the truth of his words slowly easing their way through his anger and grief and as they hit home, he realised that they were more important to him than Adam even realised.
"The important thing is that he failed," Greyson said, sighing heavily, "As hard as he tried, he failed to erase her,"
Adam holds his gaze as a small smile played at the edge of his mouth.
"He also failed to break you."
And with those words, something inside Greyson locked into place and he turned back toward the castle.
All of those broken walls and scorched stone and the crumbling towers that once symbolised coercive control and fear now stood as nothing more than a reminder of how nothing was ever indestructible.
"Does she know?" Greyson asked quietly, "That I know?"
"Not yet. Ann wanted you to know everything before you faced your father."
Greyson nodded slowly. Ann was right, because for him, knowing this changed everything.
"That can wait until we return then." He said finally, a slow smile appearing on his face, "Now I can focus on returning to my mother and telling her without a doubt that for the rest of her life she will never have to hide in fear from that tyrant again."