Chapter 26 Declan #2
I thought it looked more like a temple, with ceilings that towered over twenty feet and the ever-present crystal lattice shining.
Shelves containing thousands of volumes, many in languages I had never seen, covered every wall.
As I strolled around the room and ran my fingers over the spines of various tomes, I was surprised when some of the gilded ones flared at my touch.
Keelan would love this place, I thought. And Ayden. I might never get him to leave.
When we were younger, I could barely pull Keelan away from his books. To me, books always seemed so dry and boring when I could be outside playing.
And this whole adventure with the Keeper, and the Well, and our mother . . . Keelan would have loved every minute. He would’ve loved the challenge of learning magic, especially the book learning, the part I dreaded.
There had been so many strange things happening lately, and all so quickly, that I hadn’t had time to think about my brother or Atikus much. Now that I was standing still, able to think, I realized how much I missed them.
There was another image haunting me as well.
Ayden’s face forever lingering in the back of my mind.
What would he think of all this? Would he be happy about it, or bitter?
When last we were together, we were two Mute souls adrift on the wind.
Now, if my mother was right, I possessed more magic than anyone alive .
. . and he remained Mute. Would he still know me when all was said and done? Would he even want to?
I blinked away his face and stared at an ancient tome.
“I miss them.” The words tumbled out before I realized I was speaking.
“You should tell them that sometime. You’ve kept yourself apart for too long.” órla’s voice snapped me out of the moment. That she knew what I had been thinking failed to register.
“You’re right, but I wouldn’t even know where to start. I said so many things to Keelan last time we were together. And Atikus. Spirits, I was so . . . angry. I hurt them, órla. I’m not sure they’d even want to be missed by me now.”
“Declan, that might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever said, and you say a lot of really dumb things.” She winged her way up to my shoulder. “They love you. They will always love you, no matter how stupid you are.”
“I think my mother’s right. You have the humble thing covered.” I reached up and rubbed between her wings, chuckling as her eyes rolled back in pleasure and a coo-purr escaped.
A couple of hours later, we sat around (on, in órla’s case) the table in Kelsa’s kitchen.
Remnants of vegetables and cleaned bones littered our plates.
The endless pitcher of wine sat in the center, challenging me to find its bottom, as everyone sat in silence, enjoying the peace that only comes following a good meal at the end of a long day.
Kelsa broke the silence. “Tell me about your brother. You were both so small when I saw you last.”
I stared into my wine. “What would you like to know?”
“Everything. What kind of man is he now? I only know the pieces fed to me by the Arch Mage over the years, and that was never very much.”
“Well, he’s tall—really, really tall—and he started training with the Guardsmen who protect the guild when we were little, so he’s grown muscular. Honestly, he looks like he should be one of those statues you’d see outside a palace—the idyllic warrior with his sword raised,
poised to protect everyone from everything. Add his sharp blue-and-gold Guard uniform, and the statue would be complete.”
I hadn’t meant for bitterness to seep into my voice.
“I know what he looks like. The Well is a spyglass, remember?”
“Right, sorry.”
She took a sip. “He’s an investigator?”
I spat a laugh. “No. He’s not an investigator. He’s the investigator.”
I refilled my cup and took a long pull. “Early in his career, he solved a series of crimes that had stumped the Guard. The papers ran with it, hailing him as the greatest investigator of our time. His Gift made it impossible for anyone to hide from his questioning, fueling even more success.
He’s twenty-six now and already one of the highest ranking officers in the Guard. I don’t think there’s anything he’s ever touched that didn’t turn to gold.”
“But what is he like . . . as a person?”
I ran a hand through my hair and scratched my scalp.
“We’ve spent so little time together over the past few years, I don’t know. I guess we got to know each other a little on the mountain before we split up. He seemed stern, inside his head a lot, always thinking; but there’s a gentleness, a kindness to him, too.
He wants things to be perfect all the time and thinks he can protect everyone from everything—or at least he tries to. Now and then, he let the old Keelan out, the one with the goofy sense of humor. That never went over so well with the boys in the Academy, but he always made me laugh.
He’s tough and quiet but commands attention and respect. I don’t know. He’s hard to explain.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
I couldn’t meet her gaze, and my voice was a broken whisper when I spoke.
“He’s the best man I’ve ever known. I could only hope to be like him one day.”
She reached up and cupped my cheek with her hand, then smiled when my eyes rose. We searched each other for a long moment, each looking for something different, pleading in our own way.
Kelsa finally pulled her hand back. “You’re probably tired. Let’s get some rest and start early in the morning.”