The Opal Witch: Prophecy (Book Two)

Chapter Eleven

Declan

Three hours had passed since Declan sank his fist into Percy's face. The skin across his knuckles was mottled pink and purple, proving just how hard he'd struck the Guardian. Of course, with their fast healing, the redhead looked as if he'd been hit days ago. Damien offered to call for a healer, but he refused. By tomorrow morning all outward signs of injury would be gone from Percy's face, and Declan wanted some sort of reminder.

The men sat in Damien's private chambers. Not only was it located far from the dormitories, but it was heavily warded against those who excelled in eavesdropping. Not that much had been said so far. Mostly scowls and unpleasant grunts had been exchanged between the four with a few whispering sprees between the Guardians.

"Look," Percy said, breaking the latest stretch of silence with his booming bass, "I didn't know. I'm not that kind of guy. Naomi never said she was pregnant."

"So you just slept with her and ran off?" Declan demanded. He knew things were different in this day and age- people slept around often- but he was talking to someone whose sensibilities and morals should be more ancient than his own. "You could've checked up on her."

Percy gave Calum a look of exasperation. "We didn't exactly leave on the best of terms."

Declan started to speak and then stopped. As his anger faded, pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, and he recalled some of the stories he'd been told as a child. Stories he'd told Travis about Naomi and her friend who was murdered. A girl named Adrienne.

"Naomi's Adrienne was your Adrienne, wasn't she?" he asked Calum.

The pain in Calum's eyes was as bright and fresh at the sound of her name as it would have been all those years ago. He could empathize with the man. If he lost Lux, he would never stop mourning her loss.

"They were good friends, and Naomi and Percy met through me. She was supposed to be in our wedding, but Adrienne was murdered the week before the wedding. We fell under suspicion, and her father threatened to cut her off if she didn't end her relationship with Percy."

Percy picked up where his friend left off. "I never thought what we had was serious. Hell, she had another lover when we met. Perhaps, it could've been if things had happened differently, but I thought I was doing what was best when I left with Calum. She could move on and marry someone who could give her a normal life."

Declan heard the sincerity in the Guardian's voice, but it didn't stop him from twisting the knife deeper. "She was cast out as soon as they found out she was pregnant. Wouldn't even speak to her son- your son- when he went back to meet them."

Color leached out of Percy's already pale complexion. The big man looked very small then, staring into the fire with his shoulders hunched while he curled and uncurled his fingers on his thigh.

"A boy." His voice cracked. "Shit."

"What happened to his son?" Calum asked, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezing.

"Grew up. Got married. Had kids. Died an old man."

Percy snapped his head up, some of the fire back in his eyes. "How? Even with a human mother, he should've lived a longer than average life."

"Not necessarily," Calum responded. "If he never used his Talents, he might not have activated whatever it is that gives us our expanded lifetime."

Damien rose from his chair and started pacing in front of the fire. "This is all well and good, but I'm not sure your bastard offspring are of much consequence right now. The children living are so far removed from you, you might as well not be related. We've got bigger things to focus on. Like what happened this afternoon during the fight between Calum and Declan."

Three pairs of eyes turned to focus on the sorcerer. If he noticed the ire snapping in Percy's, he didn't appear to be affected by it. Calum rubbed the bridge of his nose, causing the scar running across his face to pull tighter.

"Damien, that can wait just a minute."

"No, Declan, he's right, but I think this is all tied together somehow."

Declan peered at Calum, not bothering to hide his confusion. "Percy's illegitimate offspring has something to do with what happened earlier?"

"Well, maybe not that specifically. But think about it. You just froze, and your eyes started darting back and forth rapidly, like you were speed reading. Then, your pupils blew, and you went down hard. The last word you whispered was Alina. I'm sure of it."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Declan insisted. "All you've said about Alina is that she was the sister of your fiance, Adrienne. She would be human. What part does she have to play in this?"

He waited for an answer, but it was slow in coming. Percy and Calum shared a look filled with meaning, and then the redhead sighed, scrunching his nose with outright disgust. "Alina was difficult. Where Adrienne was sweet and kind, she was a sniping-"

"Percy."

The man didn't look contrite when he shrugged. "She always seemed jealous of her sister. On more than one occasion, she would pretend to be Adrienne to cause trouble, but Calum always knew before her temperament could give her away."

"After Adrienne died, I went half mad, and I was determined to find out who killed her. But the trail went cold until one day I found something that pointed toward Alina. Like she may have been involved with the murder, but by then she was long dead."

"So you think whatever happened to me has something to do with the mystery around Adrienne's murder?"

"It makes sense," Damien murmured. "You're from the area she lived in, and there were still people alive who knew her when you were born. What if you have something buried in your subconscious? An answer. I didn't tell you then, but I've seen something like that happen to another person before. It's a spell that wipes an individual from someone's memory. Eradicates them completely."

He thought of how he'd felt in the moments after the spell. That strange awareness that something was missing.

"You think I was targeted specifically?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't know why Percy and Calum would recall her and not you."

"That's it then. We have to go back to Sweetwater."

Damien frowned. "Are you sure you're not just looking for an excuse to meet your descendants?"

"He might be," Calum admitted with a bit of smirk as he nudged his friend's shoulder with his own, "But I think it's necessary. Before we left, we found evidence that Morgan le Fay was very interested in that area. There were rumors even that Arthur had been spotted there, and where Arthur goes, Morgan is not far behind. She hates him more than any other Guardian."

"Freaking King Arthur? I thought he was on Avalon."

"It's never been confirmed, but if Morgan needs something in Sweetwater, then we need to be there to stop her from getting it. And even better, it gives us each something we want. Percy his family. Justice for Adrienne. And you can finally be with your soulmate again, Declan."

"Declan can't leave," Damien protested. "The Council wants him here. They're not to see each other until after he completes his course of study again."

"Remember what I told you Declan. If you're supposed to be at her side, don't let anyone stop you. Tell me you don't feel like this is the right course of action."

Declan studied Calum, and then examined his own feelings. Did he want to agree with Calum just so he could see Lux again or was there truth in the man's words? It didn't take him long to arrive at a conclusion.

"Calum is right."

"Declan, you're going to cause trouble. The Council-"

"Screw the Council. I have better things to do than deal with the squabbles of petty children, jealous children. It's time for me to go back to my Circle and prepare for the war that's coming."

"Declan."

"I'm sorry, Damien." Declan clasped his nephew's hand. "I'm going home."