"My Icix?" Remi repeated, giving her uncle a quizzical expression.

He smiled easily. "Yes. I can only imagine how many times he dreamed of getting his revenge on our family. You made that dream possible by releasing him, but you couldn't have known what he'd do with his newfound freedom," he cooed gently, subtlety hinting that this entire mess was Remi's doing.

"Why would he . . . want revenge on us, in particular?" Remi asked brokenly, leaning into her uncle's welcoming embrace.

He stroked her hair soothingly. "You remember your Grandpa Bericc, don't you? He was simply splendid with you children—the perfect, loving grandfather. Always has been."

She waited for him to continue, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Killure had mentioned something about her grandfather in the past, but she hadn't given it much thought. She'd simply assumed he was mistaken.

"All that aside," Uncle Fahrem murmured into her ear. "Your grandfather had made alliances with some dangerous men. Men who had abilities nearly as powerful as ours. They were the ones who decided—"

"—that the Icix population was a threat?" Remi finished, glancing up at him. He looked mildly annoyed at having been interrupted, but forced his smile to become even larger as he continued.

"Yes. They were too strong. Your grandfather and his allies enlisted the help of some powerful men on Merricrest and the other islands with resources they could utilize—Lord Gallanthus and his ships, for one. They destroyed Northfall's entire population."

Remi didn't want to believe that his words were true, but she couldn't find it within herself to doubt him, either. Everyone knew about the Icix massacre, but the identity of those who brought them down wasn't public knowledge.

"It may sound terrible, but it was for the best. Icixes used to torment Merricrest and the other island-cities, preying upon unsuspecting people and devouring them in a horrifying fashion. Picking them off one by one. If that had been allowed to continue, no one would have felt safe. However, I can understand why that Icix of yours holds a grudge against our family. What I can't understand is how he could murder poor Faye, darling Caede, your baby brother Kareem, and all the servants, in cold blood mind you, when none of them had any involvement in what happened to his people."

At the mention of her little brother Kareem's name, Remi's heart ached heavily. Claws of sorrow had pierced her chest and were squeezing her heart dry. She hardly heard anything her uncle said after he mentioned her baby brother.

"Kareem . . . him too?" Remi managed to choke out.

Her uncle nodded solemnly, pulling away from her just enough to look her in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, my niece. So, so sorry. He took Kareem with him after the child was dead."

Remi ground her teeth. Perhaps if she ground them hard enough, they would cause her more pain than her heart currently was. "And my dad?"

"He's in the backyard. A sobbing mess, not that I blame him. He thought you and Kareem were both dead and taken."

At least he was alive. Remi wouldn't have to be an orphan.

With glossy eyes, Remi let her gaze fall to the floor, dejectedly. "What will we do now, Uncle?"

"I have a plan to avenge our fallen loved ones, but it could take some time, and I need your help. Do you trust me, Remi?"

She didn't hesitate. "Of course. Anything. What do you need me to do?"

Her uncle smiled as though he'd won a monumental victory. "I'll explain later, but I'm glad you trust me."

Remi started walking out the door, then paused. "We're going to kill him, aren't we Uncle? The Icix?"

Uncle Fahrem drew his lips into a snake-like grin. "We will. Perhaps I'll even let you do the honours."

"I'd appreciate that," Remi nodded solemnly, then turned to her fallen sister and cousin, and thought of her poor baby brother. "You can save them—bring them back, can't you? Won't you?" He was so much stronger than her.

"Of course!" he assured her, kneeling down beside Caede's prone, bloody form. "Who do you take me for? We're lucky the Icix wasn't aware that fire can permanently kill us."

Remi nodded, satisfied with his answer, then headed outside. She rounded the side of their mansion, and followed a perfect stone path into the backyard. The abundance of colourful flowers planted in rich, dark soil on either side of the walkway seemed wrong. All wrong. Almost as if they were trying to hide the horrors that had gone on inside.

Her heart bled for little Kareem. She hoped that he died peacefully, and not in pain.

Her father was laying on his back, staring up listlessly at the sky. As Remi got closer to him, she noticed that he had tear stains on his face, and his eyes were puffy and red, his skin blotchy. He, too, must be terribly sad about what they must have went through before they died, and what his missing son was going through.

"I made a mistake," he said quietly, his usual dramatic and jolly self gone. Of course he wasn't surprised to see her.

"I know," Remi replied, her tone just as hushed. She put her hand in his and squeezed. He managed to curl his fingers around her hand, but otherwise looked like a shell of the person he used to be.

She sat with him for a while, and then patted his cheek and got up. She gave him one last smile.

She looked at him, for the last time, as her father, and not the monster he'd become.

He closed his eyes, and shook his head. He was ashamed.

Remi turned around and didn't look back. She rounded the front of the house, calmly walking up the front steps into her bloody mess of a house once more.

She had no choice.

In Uncle Fahrem's palm was a spiral of black energy, and he was lowering it down upon Faye's body.

Panic raced through Remi's veins. She'd thought he'd at least wait until she was gone, and then try to get rid of their fallen, but she supposed that was too much to hope for.

"You must really think I'm an idiot," she stated loudly and clearly.

He didn't flinch or jump. He'd heard her coming. Without turning around, he stilled.

Remi barked out a bitter laugh. "Blaming this mess on Killure and expecting me to believe such a thing? Unbelievable. He knows all about our weakness—if he'd done all this, he'd have burned the bodies before leaving. He wouldn't go to all the trouble of killing them just for them to later be resurrected. Oh, and those gashes are clearly not from an Icix—who did you hire, Uncle? A Clawl, perhaps? Looks like their handiwork."

Finally, Uncle Fahrem stood up and turned to face her. His expression was grim, but his eyes were calculating and bright. "You're more intelligent than I gave you credit for."

Another laugh bubbled up from Remi's throat, and she couldn't help how deranged it came across as being. She sounded like a madwoman. "You've always been ambitious, Uncle dear. What has your ambition driven you to do this time, hmm? Kill your own son, and your niece and nephew?"

He scowled darkly at her, black energy sliding up his arms. Remi forced herself to hold her ground and not back away. One touch from him and she'd be permanently dead.

"They were a necessary sacrifice," Uncle Fahrem said lowly, sunlight glinting through the open doorway and reflecting off his reddish hair. "If I am to rule, I need to get rid of any liability—and anything or anyone that will stand in my way."

———

A/N: An early update, I know, haha, but I couldn't leave things off there!! I mean, the ending of this chapter isn't much better hahaha but at least you know Remi never believed her uncle in the first place and was just pretending.

Any ideas as to how this whole scenario is going to go, now that Uncle Fahrem was caught in his lie? (: