Becoming Magical [2]

C H A P T E R - 2 5

"It's not your fault," Elwin, Meredith and Tiergan both said in unison.

"It is."

Sophie looked at Alden.

Kind, wonderful, broken Alden. "It was guilt."

"Guilt," Tiergan repeated.

"But, what could Alden possibly be guilty of?" Elwin asked.

Tiergan knew, even before Sophie said the name.

"Prentice."

"That's crazy," Elwin argued. "The Council ordered that break—not him."

"Alden was the accuser, though," Tiergan said as he slowly crossed the room to where Alden lay. "And he was wrong."

He wiped a tear from his cheek and grabbed Alden by the shoulders. "Why didn't you just listen to me when I told you he was innocent? Was this worth it?"

Sophie choked back a sob. She'd seen the sadness in Alden's eyes as he'd watched Prentice in Exile, and the hurt in his features when she told him Prentice remembered him, and his sorrow and regret as he watched Wylie dance—but she'd been so caught up in her own plans and worries she never thought . . .

"If I'd paid closer attention, I could've gotten him help or—I don't know. Maybe he wouldn't be—" The room dimmed and her legs turned to rubber.

"Don't you dare!" Tiergan shouted, grabbing her arms and holding her up. "This was not your fault. It was his guilt that did this and it would've caught up with him eventually. You can't run from the truth."

"But maybe he—"

"Don't. Do not let any guilt cloud your mind—I mean it, Sophie. Not unless you want to end up like him."

The fear in his eyes was enough to clear her head.

"Good girl," he said, releasing her. "If any thoughts like that start to rear up, you must shove them away—immediately, do you hear me? Guilt is a treacherous thing. It creeps in slowly, breaking you down bit by bit. I'd wager Alden's been on the verge of a break since he learned the Black Swan were on our side."

"That was my fault too," she whispered.

Technically the whole thing was her fault. Prentice had been hiding her.

"If we're playing the blame game, it's just as much my fault," Elwin mumbled. "I should've noticed what was happening and stopped this."

Tiergan shook his head. "Mental breaks aren't physical things. There's nothing you could've done. And I need both of you to listen to me. The only one who could've stopped this was Alden. He let it fester. Which is why both of you must shove any guilt away—do you understand me?"

They both nodded, but Sophie was only half listening, too busy replaying her memories from when she was in the Room Where Chances Are Lost.

"Then, it's my fault. I noticed it a long time back. I could have prevented it." Meredith pipped up softly, her hands were trembling.

Everyone looked at her and then Tiergan said, "No, Meredith. It isn't your fault. Even if you had noticed, Alden won't have driven away from his goal. You know how stubborn he is. You should know better than to blame yourself Meredith."

The headache Alden had when they were down there—had that been a break too?

They'd been talking about Prentice at the time it happened, just like how they'd been talking about Wylie at the Ceremonies. And yet he'd pulled through that and came back to normal.