Page 33 of Forgotten Arcane (Broken Ashes #6)
“Maybe one of you can call the whole herd rather than just their bonded kelpie?” Eamon surprises me when he asks.
Everyone looks at me and I nod, “Yeah, I accidentally called them all to me without meaning to. Fortunately, it wasn’t witnessed by anyone but us.”
Calia and Eamon grin as they share a look, and then they frown.
“Shit, the silencing spell,” Calia says. “We won’t be able to tell them.”
“If you mean the one that prevented you from talking to me about my parents, I think that you should be able to talk to me now. I know that they are the King and Queen of Trieneliea, I know that I lived there for the first five years of my life, and I know that my father came over here with me even though he wasn’t supposed to. ”
They both just stare at me in absolute shock for a moment before big smiles light up their expressions.
“I am so relieved that you know now,” Calia says immediately.
“We have been looking into how we can break the silencing spell so that we can fill you in on your parents and who you are ever since you left,” Eamon adds.
My eyebrows rise, “You have?”
Calia nods, her expression unimpressed as she replies, “We never agreed with the silencing spell lasting for so long, and if any of us had realized that it was going to last as long as it has, no one would have agreed to it. We wanted to tell you as soon as we could.”
I smile, “Thank you. I really appreciate that you wanted to tell me. I know that everyone has struggled with not being able to say anything.”
They share a look, and Calia nods in agreement to whatever silent question Eamon just asked her.
“What is it?” Evander asks them, narrowing his eyes slightly, and picking up on the same tension that I am.
“You should know that when you left, we knew that you would come back eventually, and that it was all part of the plan,” Eamon replies.
Evander stiffens, and the guys all glance at him with worried expressions, and I know I’m missing something.
Evander launches to his feet, “You mean to tell me that while I was panicking, nearly dropped out of school, spent every damn day fucking searching, thinking that the worst had happened to Neith. Became a SID agent so I had the resources behind me so that I could look for her,” he gestures at the guys, “convinced all of them to follow me, so we could be a team, and nearly drove myself mad because she disappeared without a fucking trace. After all of that, you knew that she wasn’t dead and that she was going to come back? ”
“I’m sorry,” Eamon says as Calia watches Van closely, regret shining in her eyes.
“Sorry!” he exclaims as he starts pacing. “I didn’t speak to you guys for four fucking years because I thought that you didn’t care and were being too fucking nonchalant about it.”
My eyes widen, I can’t believe that he’s gone through all of that to try and find me, and I really don’t understand why it was so hard for him to locate me.
Sure, I had things in place to make it more difficult to be found, but it shouldn’t have been as difficult as Evander is describing.
The way that he is describing it, he became a SID agent so that he could find out what happened to me.
I have never been more convinced that there is something going on that we don’t know about. That someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes, so everything happens in the way that it was meant to.
It’s the only explanation I have as to why he couldn’t find me, even with everything that he has had at his disposal.
Van is so worked up that his skin is rippling with scales, and water is beginning to be drawn to him, swirling around his legs as his eyes start to glow. He seems completely oblivious as he continues to pace the room.
“We couldn’t say anything,” Calia says, cautiously watching him begin to lose control.
“We really wanted to,” Eamon adds. “You have to believe that. We would never have wanted you to stop talking to us for any length of time, let alone as long as you did. It was like the silencing spell, except we didn’t have to take a potion in order not to say anything, we just couldn’t, no matter what we did. ”
“Van, you need to calm down before you flood your parent’s office,” Reed says cautiously.
I can see that he’s too wound up to hear Reed’s warning though, so instead I hop up and get in the way of his pacing. I’m hoping that my presence will be enough to make him reel in his magic.
Putting my hand on his chest, completely uncaring that he’s now gathered enough water to him that I am getting soaking wet and not in a good way, I begin to talk to him.
“Van, they would have told you if they could,” I repeat their words calmly, and he looks down at me, the magic pulling back slightly.
“I’m so sorry that you went through all of that to find me.
If I had known that you were still looking for me, then I would have gotten in contact.
You know that it wasn’t safe for me to do so for a long time, but I could have let you know that I was alive, and I am so sorry that I didn’t. ”
He searches my expression and sighs as he rests his head against mine.
“I would do it all again, without a single hesitation, because it’s you,” he tells me softly.
My eyes well with tears, that’s so fucking sweet, and I didn’t expect it, and I feel the need to explain more. I don’t care that everyone is listening right now, the guys probably need to hear it anyway.
“As much as I wish things had been different, that I didn’t run away, or that I got in contact with you sooner.
I can’t regret it because it kept you and the others safe.
My life became incredibly dangerous, and there were, hell, there still are, people that will take those that I care about away from me just because it will hurt me, I couldn’t risk that with you,” I explain.
He studies me closely, and then surprises me when he moves and kisses me gently.
Pulling back, he says, “I get that. I understand all of that, you’ve mentioned it before, but we’re not going anywhere, and you know that anyone who comes for you is going to have a big fucking fight on their hands with us.”
“I know that now,” I reply. “I didn’t then.”
“A good point,” he grins, and I chuckle.