Chapter 20 #2
“Then we leave it that way. If Dimitri ever returns for vacation or whatever, this ensures it won’t accidentally come up. In the long run, this is to protect them as well.” Especially if Elaine goes to her uncle or cousin in retaliation for being sent away. They all agree.
“What if he recognizes her?” Darwin asks.
“Tell him you were ordered not to tell anyone about her whereabouts to protect her from the Resistance. In your case, tell him you didn’t know anything because she can’t remember anything before she was found.”
“If he pushes for more answers?” He’s testing my patience. Why can’t he be more like Liam and stay quiet?
I sigh. “Then tell him to talk to me.” I stare, waiting for more questions.
“I’m done,” he says sheepishly.
“You sure?” he nods,
“You must have driven Charlie and Ean crazy.” I smirk at the thought.
“Oh, no, wait. I do have another question, but it’s for Sodie. Been thinking about this one for a while now,” I motion with my hand for him to ask away. “If you have the ability to heal others, why did you wait so long to heal Jessica?”
“That thought crossed my mind a few times as well,” Liam concurs.
Sodie explains, “I couldn’t get into her room.
She always had someone with her. The Luna Queen, Luke, one of the twins, the nurse, or the doctor.
Finally, Luke left to come here. I was on night shift duty.
So, I snuck into her room. Her body was so badly broken; it took a lot of magic out of me.
I wasn’t even close to finishing when I heard someone in the hallway.
I left. I thought I would have an opportunity to work on her later that night, but I didn’t expect her to wake up and start running. ”
I frown at the memory. “I was in the area that night. I would have seen you in the halls.”
“I never said I sneaked in through the main door of her room.”
“So, you climbed in through the window?” Darwin asks.
“Nah, more like went through the window,” Sodie answers with a mischievous grin. “My superpower is intangibility.” Sodie lifts his arms and then pulls them down, right through the dishes and table. He raises them again without disturbing a single item.
I knew there was more to his magic than he let on. That requires a lot of control. It also explains how my grip on his throat literally traveled right through him. “How long have you had your magic?” I ask.
“Since I can remember, my parents and older siblings tell me I used to run around naked half the time because my clothes would fall right through me.”
“When did you develop your healing powers?”
“When I met Jessica, my brother and I spent so much time patching her up. One day out of nowhere, we just healed her.” He pauses before continuing.
“Dimitri started to demonstrate magic around the same time,” he mumbles, almost to himself.
Worry furrows his brow. “I just want her safe. I’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe. ”
“We all want that,” I reply.
Darwin squeezes Sodie’s shoulder.
We call for one last round of beers, and I send a round to the two young men in the corner. I had texted them to meet me here, but I didn’t think our conversation would take this long. I sure as hell didn’t expect Sodie’s revelations. The young men approach our table.
“Hey, I want to introduce you to a couple of good friends of mine who live here.” I stand and shake their hands. “Thanks for waiting, guys.”
“No worries. Any excuse not to study works for me,” Damien jokes.
“These are some of the newest guards—Liam Fitzpatrick, Darwin Caddel, and Sean Parker, also known as Sodie.” I introduced Sodie by his real name, instead of the false one he supplied on his application. “Meet Damien and Christian Knight.”
Damien is taller, broader, and more muscular, while Christian is slimmer with a narrower face.
They both have reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, but Damien’s eyes are much lighter in color.
For twins, they are easy to tell apart, unlike the Langhlan twins, whom I sometimes still confuse for one another.
Everyone gathers around our table. Damien pulls over a couple of chairs for him and his brother.
“Don’t let your dad find out you’re skipping study time because of me. He’ll hand me my ass.”
Christian rolls his eyes. “Yeah, right. You’re the prodigal son.”
“Well, you can pack those rolling eyes away. I’m kind of on his shit list right now,” I mutter into my beer.
“We heard. He’ll get over it,” Damien assures me, taking a swig of his own beer.
“It will take a while, I’m sure.”
Damien and Christian glance at each other. “Better you than us for a change.” Christian grins.
“That’s for sure.” Damien chuckles.
The new guards’ faces all sport blank stares. I lean forward. “If you haven’t figured it out, they’re talking about their dad, Anders.” The twins’ grins widen.
Sodie pales. I study the physical similarities in their features. They definitely look related.
“Holy crap, Sodie! They look just like you. Or do you look like them? Who is older—you or them?”
The twins stop smiling and look at each other again before turning back to me.
“Way to be subtle, bro,” Liam teases.
“What? I don’t get it. What did I miss?” Darwin says, looking around the table.
“You recruited him? You chose him?” Sodie points his thumb in Darwin's direction.
“Yeah, I did, but I’m not the one who trained him. You go complain to their father. He’s the one in charge.” I wait another moment before finally explaining, “Damien, Christian, Sodie is your mother’s brother. We literally just found out about an hour ago. Sodie, meet your nephews.”
He stares at the twins. Silence fills the air as they assess each other.
“You look like my dad, when he was about your age, I mean, from the pictures I’ve seen,” Sodie says to Christian. “Damien, you resemble my Uncle Buddy, my dad’s brother—uh, your grandfather’s brother. Fuck, sorry...” Sodie rubs his eyes.
“Maybe we should let these three get to know each other,” Darwin implores—the first sensible thing out of his mouth all night.
“You two okay if I go?” I ask.
Christian smiles. “Yeah. We have a bunch of questions about our mom, and I’m sure Sodie must have some for us.”
Liam leans into Sodie. “You good?”
Sodie shakes his head, blinking away the tears. “Is it alright if Liam stays?” he asks the twins.
“Sure. He’s not related to us, is he? Cause he don’t look nothing like us,” Damien cracks with a mischievous smile. Sodie and Liam laugh.
“Nah. He’s a good friend of mine and your sister’s.”
Darwin, thinking the invite also pertains to him, starts to sit his ass back down, but I grab him by the arm. “No.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Out. Now!” Everyone roars with laughter.