Amorysays to let Ryder take over the mission and come now. He says to bring Jerichoand two cars. And he says I have to get out of the country immediately. Iwas embarrassed to admit the last part.
Whatare you even doing here? Fine. Where are you? I felt his body turn in theopposite direction then he was originally headed and signal to Jericho.Whatever he was in the middle of he had dropped it instantaneously to followAmory’s orders.
“Where are we?” I asked Amory inorder to relay it to Avalon.
“He can follow your magic,” Amorysaid without giving any more details.
Followmy magic. I relayed to Avalon and felt him internally irritated, but hedidn’t ask any more questions.
“I want answers,” I demanded ofAmory again when I could sense Avalon on his way.
“I will answer any question youask,” Amory continued to stare off into the distance. I folded my armsstubbornly and opened my mouth. He’s damn right he would answer any question Ihad.
Chapter Forty-Three
“Ok, first of all, I’m glad wesurvived and all, but why on earth was that necessary?” I vented.
“You’re survival is absolutelyessential,” Amory was quick to respond. “I’m afraid this war can’t be wonwithout you and your brother,” Amory said firmly, although without actuallyanswering my question.
“Yeah, I know; at least I’ve heardthat before. But the question I am asking is why was my survival in question tobegin with?” I turned to face Amory full on. I needed answers.
“Well that answer is a little morecomplicated. The short answer is because you look exactly like your mother; I’msure you’ve also heard that before,” Amory paused for only a moment; just longenough for me to give him an encouraging look. “The long answer is because yourmother happened to be engaged to Lucan before she ran off and eloped with yourfather, Lucan’s personal bodyguard. He would like nothing more than to findyour mother and make her pay for a lifetime of sins.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise.That wasn’t exactly the answer I had been expecting. A million questions beganto swirl around in my mind, but Amory, sensing my confusion, continued with hischronicle.
“Let’s see, I suppose I shouldstart from the beginning. Lucan became King at a very young age because hisfather, Cedric, died suddenly from the King’s Curse. At that time Kings usuallywaited until they were 100 or so to choose a wife; Cedric had done exactlythat, fathered a son and planned on living a long life. When he died, Lucan wasonly a teenager. His advisors tried to guide him, but he has always beenstubborn. His personal body guard was a teenager as well, and although theRoyal guard advised him to choose an older, more experienced Titan, he refused.You see, a King’s personal body guard is chosen at birth; they are always thesame age so that they grow together and learn to trust each other. They arenaturally the best of friends. The same was true of Lucan and Justice, yourfather. Lucan at that time, not having finished school but not wanting to bealone, had a special group of students chosen from all over the world to studywith him at the Royal Palace. Your mother was one of those students and I’mafraid Lucan fell head over heels for her the moment he laid eyes on her; Isuspect Justice did as well. Your mother was a very special girl; beautiful ofcourse, talented beyond any other Immortal and smart, very smart. So naturally,Lucan pursued her. I’m afraid she saw his faults from the beginning andalthough she tried to persuade him to find someone else, he was persistent.When all of his attentions came to no avail he finally commanded her to be hiswife. You are so much like her in every way that I’m sure you can imagine howshe would react to a direct order such as marriage. But like I said, Lucan isstubborn, and blind to all reason, and so he gave her no choice.”
“But why didn’t Lucan try to findsomeone who actually liked him back?” I asked, confused why anyone would fallin love with someone who didn’t feel the same way.
“There are several reasons Ibelieve; you see Lucan was scared. His father had died suddenly, leaving himthe sole heir to the throne. Having no children of his own, and a fear of alsodying young he was pressed to find a wife and begin a family. Since the Curse,no King has ever been able to produce more than one male heir. I believe thathe is simply afraid of death; even still to this day. He is afraid of his preciousbloodline dying. I believe he hoped your mother would cure all of that. Yousee, she is a very powerful Witch; probably the most powerful of hergeneration. And I believe that Lucan thought with their combined bloodline theywould be able to save the line of kings.”
“What does her blood have to dowith anything?” I asked, trying to stay focused. I suddenly yawned and realizehow exhausted I was.
“She is the daughter of the lastremaining Oracle. If you remember, the Oracles were the most powerful Immortalsbefore the King’s Curse. Yes, that makes you the granddaughter of course.”
“But I thought all of the Oracleswere dead?” I was really confused now.
“One remains, but I believe hissoul died a long time ago,” Amory mumbled the last part, and I saw true sadnessin his eyes. But then he continued quickly, “So, with that kind of magic mixed,Lucan was hoping for a super-child. He was hoping to bring back the old magic;the magic that disappeared when Derrick cursed us. Unfortunately though, foryour mother, it was more than business that drew Lucan to her; he actually felldeeply in love with her. All of his attempts to win her over failed; andsometime during all of this Delia and Justice fell in love instead,” he shookhis head as if frustrated with the memory of it.
“Delia,” I repeated softly, sayingmy mother’s name out loud for the first time. “So, he killed them?” I asked,terrified of the answer.
“No, he didn’t. They outsmartedhim, but he hasn’t stopped hunting them to this day.”
“They’re alive?” I was shocked andstunned. My entire life I had been told my parents were dead. How was itpossible they were still alive? And where were they?
“Truthfully child, I don’t know theanswer to that question. Nobody has heard nor seen them since I received youand your brother on my doorstep when you were just infants, and even then youwere the only proof I had seen that they were still alive. In all likelihoodthey probably are dead. I don’t how anyone could still be hiding from Lucanafter this many years,” he looked at me with such sadness in his eyes that Iwas not sure I could bear to ask him another question.
“So how did they escape?” I forcedmyself to ask, remembering my interest in his story and accepting his answersso far.
“The same way we just did. Theyplanned it very carefully. They must have practiced for months, maybe years,but they were eventually able to dismiss their magic and survive. They were thefirst Immortals to ever be able to live without magic. They conditioned theirhuman bodies then to withstand the flight and one night they simply left. Thewedding was planned and preparations were made, and then one night, when courtwas being held here, without a word to anyone they just left. Justice’s motherwas a Shape-Shifter, one of the old ones, when she discovered her son missing;she shifted to look like your mother and played the part of Delia until shebelieved they were given enough time to escape. When Lucan discovered what shehad done he had as many Shape-Shifters as he could get his hands on, executedgruesomely until she finally came forward. Once she was dead, he lifted thedecree from execution to exile; but that is only part of the hell Shape-Shiftershave lived through over the millennia. Your parents seemed to have disappeared forever,when about one hundred and fifty years later, you and Avalon showed up on mydoorstep. Justice actually left you with Angelica and she brought you to me pertheir wishes, informing me that you were twins and that you were theirs. Atthat time they were still alive, but that was sixteen years ago. I do know shewas healthy enough to bare twins, something that hadn’t been done since beforeDerrick was King.”