Chapter 25 #2
“I thought we were rid of that thing,” Sebastian grumbled.
Crispin only laughed.
I smiled at Mistral and Gabriel. It seemed the goblin pathway would still have a guardian after all, and I had a feeling she would keep an eye on the balance of things. This was going to work.
I went to stand with the two goblins while Francis and Elizabeta started discussing future plans.
Content to wait, I leaned toward Gabriel.
“You never told me what you saw in the darkness.” Crispin had seen his mother’s ruined home, Mistral had seen the Bogs unraveling, and Sebastian had seen his father.
I had been wondering since then what Gabriel had seen.
He pulled me against him, then muttered in my ear, “I saw a world where you did not exist.”
I frowned, since my existence had brought about quite a bit of trouble. “Was it a better world?”
“More peaceful, perhaps,” he chuckled. “But a hell of a lot less interesting.”
“What’s so funny?” Crispin asked, joining us.
“I’m sure we don’t want to know.” Sebastian rolled his eyes, feigning boredom, but soon his eyes drifted back to me expectantly.
Maybe I had come in and ruined everyone’s peace. Or maybe they had ruined mine.
But hey, at least we’d never be bored.
I woke, sensing someone in the room. Someone I didn’t have a magical cord connection with. And in Mistral’s bedroom within the Citadel, there were only so many someones that could be. Why was this always happening to me?
I cracked one eyelid open, then sat up with a gasp. “Mom!”
My mom sat next to the bed. I noticed an empty coffee cup on the small side table beside her, and I realized she had been sitting there for a while, watching me sleep.
She looked better than when I had last seen her, but I supposed anyone looked better without a magical blade at their throat.
But she looked rested and clean in her silk lavender top and jeans.
A soft smile curved her lips. “Leave it to my daughter to bring back the pathways while avoiding all the consequences. I knew you’d figure it out. ”
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, wishing there was a second coffee cup for me. “You did?”
“It’s why I let him capture me. You drew too much of his attention and he ceased his pursuit. It was the only thing I could think of to keep you from harm.”
I blinked at her. After running for so long, she’d let him capture her? “You could have warned us.”
A knock sounded before the door creaked open. Crispin tiptoed into the room, though we were both perfectly awake, extending a fragile porcelain teacup of coffee toward me. “Don’t mind me. Eva struggles to think without coffee though. This will make her easier to deal with.”
After I took the coffee he ran from the room before I could throw a pillow at him.
My mom laughed. “You certainly have made interesting choices.” She tilted her head. “But why did you never tell me about the darkness coming to you when you were young?”
I sipped my coffee, then said, “I see the guys filled you in.”
“About that, and about you spending most of the night anchoring darkness near each of the pathways on both ends.”
I sighed. It certainly had been a long night, but everything had gone according to plan.
The pathways seemed stable, and there were no more giant bursts of darkness swallowing houses.
“I didn’t tell you back then because I was a kid and it was my little secret.
And I didn’t tell you now because I never regained all of my memories.
At least not until the darkness brought them back to me.
” I couldn’t help the slightest bitter tone to my words.
“I do apologize for that, but it did keep you safe until you were ready.”
I let it go. We were all okay now, and that was the important thing. “So once the two pathways were stabilized, he just let you go? He does still realize I have to make the path to the Crystal Vale?” That was on the agenda for today, as well as bringing a dark vortex to leave behind.
“We were watching when you faced the darkness in Willowvale.”
I sat up straighter, sloshing my coffee on my hands. “What! You didn’t see—”
Her smile was serene, but her eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. “We could not see through the darkness, but one can guess at what was needed to create such an astounding light.”
“This is so embarrassing,” I groaned.
“Oh don’t be silly. If anything, I’m a bit jealous.”
“Not helping.”
She laughed. “Moving on. After you tamed the darkness, grandfather believed you were serving your true purpose. He believed you could restore balance, and he was right, even if it wasn’t in the way he thought.”
“So he let you go right then and there? Why didn’t I see you until now?”
Her knowing smile was starting to irritate me, but maybe I just needed more coffee. “You seemed to have things under control. You did not need my interference.”
She stood, then leaned down and kissed my cheek before stepping away.
I quickly set what remained of my coffee on the end table, preparing to rise. “Wait! You’re not leaving already, are you? I mean, you’re not on the run anymore.”
Her eyes drifted toward the door. “No, but I do believe your boyfriends are waiting to bring you breakfast.”
“You could stay for breakfast!” I blurted.
She arched one brow. “Are you sure it won’t be too embarrassing?”
It would be, but wasn’t part of growing up supposed to be getting embarrassed by your parents? I had missed out on a lot of that. “Just the right amount of embarrassing.”
She straightened her top but didn’t move any closer to the door. “I’m supposed to meet with Lucas, but I suppose that can wait.”
“I guess he finally fulfilled his oath to you, huh?”
Returning to her seat, she waved me off. “I told him it was unnecessary, though I suppose it did work out alright.”
I waited for her to continue, but when she didn’t I pressed, “Okay, you really have to tell me why he owed you in the first place.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean you couldn’t tell?
” She chuckled. “Lucas is your half-brother, Eva. Unfortunately he was born just before I had to sever the pathways. I was forced to leave him in his father’s care.
” She shrugged. “It was probably the right thing to do, he does favor his angelic blood, but I can’t say that his father did the best job. ”
Shocked, I managed to say, “Lucas is a psychopath who tried to kill me.”
She waved me off again. “He’s not all that bad. When he found out I was his mother, he helped me run, and insisted I take one of his feathers as his oath to do right by me.”
I sat back against the pillows, flabbergasted. “If I would have known during all those years of searching for you that I would also get an evil aunt and a psychopath half brother, I might have stopped looking.”
“You’ll forgive Marcie in time,” she chuckled. “Maybe we can even find your sister and you’ll understand that type of bond.”
“My sister!”
Her eyes sparkled. “My dear Evelyn, you must understand, I’ve been around a very long time.” She perked up. “Now let’s see about that breakfast.”