The Fire Immortal-Book 5

Chapter 9

So sorry for the major delay in the update! I'm in the middle of my school exams right now, so that's why there was the really long delay in my updates. Right now, though, I'm in between exams (I've got about a week interlude), so that's why I'm updating. I hope you guys like it and please vote and comment and share it with your friends! :D (Fingers crossed that you do that, haha). And I really hope you like the update. :D Picture of Luna on the side! (A very different looking shot of her haha)

Chapter 9

                          Arulan's jaw fell further and further with each word that Troy told them. He recounted their escapade to Varmer's castle and Benjamin's betrayal. Although he related Kayla's sacrifice with Helen pitching in at parts, both of them neglected to mention that Jenna was actually Kayla and Benjamin's daughter.

                          It wasn't that they didn't trust Arulan, Raven and Cedric, for they did. Raven already knew that Jenna was their daughter; she was one of the few magicians whom Kayla had confided in. But the Flarehill siblings had promised Kayla to keep Jenna as secret and safe as possible. They had already revealed her existence to far too many people for their liking; the less the magicians knew about her, the better.

                           When Troy got to the part about leaving Dahlia, Tamarak and Hunter behind at Varmer's castle, Raven gasped audibly, biting her lip so hard that a bead of blood appeared; Cedric dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands until half-crescent welts appeared on his hands. Arulan closed his eyes in pain, although his physical reaction was far milder compared to Raven and Cedric.

                           "How could you leave her there?" Cedric asked in a low tone, his voice shaking with a combination of rage, fear and pain. "I thought you love her!"

                            There was just enough pain in Cedric's voice to make Troy's heart shatter. He tugged at his hands in anxiety until Helen could hear the bones popping his hands; he didn't know what he was doing anymore. Helen laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezed the ball of muscle there.

                            "I do," Troy muttered, his voice cracking on the last word. "I do. I tried to save her... but she didn't let me."

                            "Didn't let you? Didn't let you?" Cedric shrieked, his voice an octave higher than usual. "You know how stubborn she can be! Why didn't you just take her back whether she liked it or not? Why did she stay? Did she want to be killed?"

                             "It's not Troy's fault," Helen snapped back, leaping to her brother's defence. "I made him leave. I... I entered Dahlia's mind and she and I charmed Troy into leaving. We had no choice. If she hadn't made us leave and destroyed the portal, Varmer's army would have overrun the Isle of Avalon by now."

                               At Helen's words, Cedric slumped into an armchair and pressed his hands hard against his head. He pushed hard, nails raking across his scalp, scraping his hair painfully out of the way. Helen grimaced; he was punishing himself physically as much as Troy was torturing himself mentally about Dahlia's predicament. Arulan watched Cedric, only just realizing how much the other boy cared about Dahlia. But all of them knew that Cedric would not get his happy ending for all of them knew that Dahlia had only ever cared about Troy and he would probably be the only guy she ever loved.

                               "So what now?" Arulan asked Troy, feeling uncertain and unknowledgeable about everything. "You went on that operation to see if you could rescue the immortals and Jenna, but you lost three of our magicians in the process, left the immortals behind and saved Jenna. What's the next phase in your plan?"