Return by A.J. Messenger

Author:A.J. Messenger [Messenger, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Six

Declan

We sit down across from Edwin and Soren.

“What consequences?” I ask again, holding back the panic surging within me.

Edwin peers down at his hands. “When Alexander managed to return, he tore an opening in the fabric of the universe.” He’s silent for a moment and then he looks back up. “Unfortunately, Malentus found that opening, too.”

“I led him back?” Alexander’s voice is hoarse as he utters the words.

Edwin nods almost imperceptibly.

“All of them? Avestan, too?” I ask with mounting horror.

Edwin shakes his head. “Avestan and Alenna transformed fully.” He looks up at us. “I’d like to believe it’s because she saw the folly of her betrayal in the end and she did it to save Mira. Regardless, Alenna’s actions caused their transformation, and Avestan and Alenna no longer exist as they once did.”

I nod, silent. I’m not sure why I feel a pang of sadness for them, but I do. I glance over at Alexander. He’s also silent regarding the news of his brother. My eyes stray to his temple which no longer bears the scar that he kept to remind him of Avestan. In my heart I hope it’s because he left that pain behind in his last life and he’s not as haunted as he once was by his brother’s betrayal and fall to the dark guardians.

“Where is he?” Alexander asks, breaking the silence. “I need to put it right.” His voice is sober and stern.

“Malentus?” Edwin replies. “That’s the problem. We don’t know.”

“How do you know he’s back?” I ask.

“There’s been talk,” Edwin says. “And signs that can’t be explained otherwise—tremors, if you will, in the force of darkness.”

“So he’s been in touch with his brothers?” Alexander asks.

“Yes,” Edwin replies. “But the disdain they hold for one another runs deep, as you know.”

Alexander nods.

“What does this mean for Mira?” I ask. “Is she in danger?”

“That’s what we need to discuss. I’ve been doing some reading,” Edwin says. He glances at Soren next to him. “In fact, that’s how Soren and I came to cross paths. He shares my affinity for ancient texts.”

Soren nods. “When Edwin and I met, we discussed Mira and it called to mind an obscure fable I once read about the fruit of two guardians.”

“And you think that’s Mira?” I ask. “But she’s the daughter of a guardian and a sprite.”

“Some fables reflect forgotten history,” Edwin replies. “Others have proven to be prophecies. And they’re not always exact.”

“In the story,” Soren continues, “this unique and impossible fruit they manage to grow requires a quarter century to ripen fully.”

“And?” I ask.

“Mira is turning twenty-five in two weeks.” Edwin says soberly.

“But a lot of people are turning twenty-five this year. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

“Would you deem it a coincidence that you and Alexander both found your way to San Mar now, and worked out who you really are, only two weeks before she turns twenty-five?”

I have to admit Edwin has a point. I was bouncing around from place to place for years prior to six months ago and Alexander was firmly rooted in Australia until he came here last month.

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