Chapter 189: Book 3: The Scion of Change
Kauku frowned. Something was wrong.
Several somethings, in fact. That in and of itself would not normally be enough to make him worry—things went wrong all the time, and it was usually no trouble for him to nudge them back into place or simply adapt his plans to accommodate them. He hadn't expected someone like Ethan to become his Heir, for instance. He'd expected someone a lot more pliable. Less wary, less intelligent.
More fool him, he supposed. Anyone who could inherit the ability to Anchor was not someone that would be any of those things. The Talent required a certain depth of will to invoke. It required conviction, restraint, an aptitude with Firmament and an intuitive touch with reality. Of course his Heir wasn't some easily-manipulated tool.
But that was easy enough to work with. It helped that Ethan was easygoing and likeable; he had questions, yes, but Kauku found himself surprised by how much he enjoyed their little talks. It had been a while since he'd been challenged in any serious capacity. Ethan spoke to him without cowering or supplicating himself—treated him as an equal despite the sheer gap in their power.
Truthfully, he'd thought that would be annoying, but he found rather quickly that he enjoyed that audacity. Imagine how much more interesting life might have been if the mortals he met spoke to him so freely! Perhaps then he wouldn't have been led down the path he'd chosen...
Ah, but it was far too late for such ruminations, and far too late to change his plans.
It was a pity, really. He liked Ethan quite a bit. Not enough to abandon everything he'd done so far, but enough to that the help he offered was genuine. It would give Ethan more of a chance against everything that was to come, and while that also meant the human had better odds at screwing up his plans, he couldn't really bring himself to care.
He'd give Ethan a fair shot. Why not? The human had earned it, and the odds that anything he could do would interfere with Kauku's plans were minimal even with the help Kauku had given him.
Ethan kept surprising him, though. The hint he'd given about Aspects? He hadn't really expected Ethan to make anything of it. Who would've thought he'd figure it out! And not just figure it out—from what Kauku was sensing, Ethan had managed to layer the revelations into his fourth shift and build a foundation more stable than any he'd encountered since who-knew-when.