The Wizard by Karen Ranney

Author:Karen Ranney [Ranney, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Karen Ranney

19

Derek had the impression that Grace’s calm was just a facade, that talking about Breanna disturbed her.

She was staring out into the backyard, her focus on a beautiful terra-cotta fountain. The plumes of water into the air were almost hypnotic.

Finally, she returned to the table.

“Only one man leads the European Meriduar. Your father. Jeffrey’s been in power for decades and I doubt he’s ready to relinquish that position any time soon.”

He didn’t want to talk about his father.

“You said that Breanna was commanded to meet me. Was she supposed to marry me, too?”

“No, I don’t think any of the Elders expected that. They must have been pleasantly surprised by that development. Everything changed, however, Derek. She fell in love with you. I hope you believe that. Despite the pressure she was under to keep up the pretense she wanted to tell you the truth. That’s another reason she came to see me. She thought that since I’d been an Elder I might have some influence over the others.” She shook her head as if to negate that idea.

“I should have seen that she was in danger.” She looked at him and there was pain in her eyes. “I didn’t see her death. I should have. If I’d warned her, she might have been able to protect herself.”

He needed to ask another question, one that had been haunting him ever since he’d gone into Breanna’s bathroom.

“Was she pregnant?”

Grace put her cup down and stared at him, her face suddenly pale. “Pregnant?”

He nodded. “Was she?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice tremulous. “She didn’t tell me if she was.”

They didn’t speak for a minute or two, the silence heavy with unspoken thoughts.

“I just wondered,” he finally said.

“Would it make her death worse if she was?”

“No,” he said, the answer instantaneous. “How can it be worse?”

“Then why do you need to know?”

He couldn’t articulate why he wanted — needed — to know. Maybe it was simply another truth that Breanna hadn’t shared with him.

Thankfully Grace didn’t pursue the matter. Instead, she leaned over and placed her hand on his. It felt as if it had been weeks since anyone touched him, other than those back slaps at the funeral and afterward at the Crow’s Nest.

“Will you promise to protect yourself?”

“Of course.”

“There’s no of course about it, Derek. There are two factions plotting against you. You need to understand both of them and you need to arm yourself against each.”

“There could be someone else, Grace. Someone I’ve annoyed or threatened with my reporting.”

She only looked at him. He was having a hard time believing that, too. Coincidences rarely happened. Why now? Why after he’d visited his birth mother for the first time?

“So who do you think the two groups are gunning for me?”

She took a sip of coffee, delaying answering him.

“I think the NASACA Elders wish you harm,” she finally said. “Because you don’t know what you’re capable of and could grow into your power. Then there’s either your father or someone attached to the European Meriduar who probably consider you to be too much of a threat to Jeffrey.

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