“I am glad that you did not die,” Gabriel announced as soon as we found privacy.
“Thank you,” I laughed.
“This is the right thing; your brother is much better than you were at leading us,” Gabriel continued and all I could do was smile at the complimentary insults I had forgotten about. “But you are also much better where you’re at.”
“Thank you,” I repeated, not sure where this was going.
“There are certain people we would like you to look for and feel out where they stand,” Silas took over, his gray eyes narrowing into serious slits while talking strategy. “For instance any of the officials that might be invited to the palace. Word has spread about you and you need to be careful of those that visit the palace to learn more about you. We are rescuing prisoners often, but Lucan has started to round up more and more of our people every day. We are in a race; it seems, to see who can reach the Shape-shifter colonies first. Those that visit you might not always be your friend; you need to use discretion. And you cannot use Charles Lambert anymore, since he will be joining you at the Citadel; his position in our ranks has become very precarious. He must be utterly precise with his behavior.”
“All right, anyone specific you want me to look for?” I asked, crossing my arms and memorizing every detailed instruction.
“Not yet, but if we need to give you a name, we will have Avalon communicate with you,” Gabriel spoke up, his thick Peruvian accent marking his tone with passion. “There is another thing. You need to start convincing the Titans in the palace that you and your brother are the rightful heirs. Although you are becoming quite famous all over the kingdom, the fact that you have a twin brother remains relatively unknown. You need to find a way to prove that is true. The Titans have to believe you belong on the throne if we ever want to end this war; otherwise we will fight each other till the end of time.”
“That’s going to be easier said than done; the Titans hate me,” I confessed. I sighed, wondering at the impossibility of the tasks ahead of me.
“We know, they despise you because you seek to uproot their king, so they must learn slowly that their allegiance belongs to you,” Silas explained. I bounced on the balls of my feet nervously.
“Ok.... Anything else?” I asked, just waiting for them to add to my already staggering list.
“Yes,” Gabriel nodded his head seriously. “Have you figured out a way to kill Lucan yet?”
I wanted to laugh out loud at the idea, but I held back politely. “No, he seems to always have the upper hand,” I admitted and a fury burned in my stomach so hot that I thought I would be sick for a minute.
“I know that it is hard for you to imagine taking a life, Eden,” Gabriel explained gently. I remembered the conversation we had in the car after I failed to kill Kiran the first time and the compassion in Gabriel’s eyes when he asked me if I had ever killed anyone before. “His life is an abomination; he cannot be allowed to go on living.”
“I know that,” I agreed and felt the power to kill him already spreading roots in my veins. “When the time comes, I will be ready.”
“You and your brother are the only ones capable of carrying it through,” Silas reminded me and I nodded my approval of the idea.
“We won’t fail,” I vowed and I thought I noticed both men relax a little.
“There is one final thing,” Gabriel announced and looked to Silas.
“He will get to your parents before the end of this,” Silas explained and an ominous chill turned my blood cold. “You will have to decide if you are fighting for your people, or your family.” Silas’s Jamaican accent had a happy lilt that betrayed the severity of his words.
“What are you saying,” I gasped, unwilling to believe him. I knew the ancient Shape-shifters could prophesy, and there were rumors of Silas and his ability, but this was too much.
“You faced this truth before, child,” Gabriel reminded me, “but in the past both goals held mutual outcomes. It may not be so simple in the future.”
“Will I make the right choice?” I asked, hoping for some future encouragement.
“That is not for me to know,” Silas admitted softly.
“Eden,” Gabriel demanded my attention that had begun to drift from this conversation to a future nightmare. I looked at him, his eyes flaring to life in flames of bright orange, “You are the Oracle. You will make the right choice because it is your destiny.”
“Sometimes I forget all that,” I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
“No, never forget that!” Gabriel commanded and I nodded my head in obedience.
“And now you must go,” Silas declared and if I didn’t know better I would have been offended.
I left the barn and said goodbye to Lilly who promised to call Syl for me, too.
“Tell your parents hello for me,” I instructed, pulling her in to a tight hug.
“I will,” she promised. “Um, Eden.....” She started and then turned bright red.
“Yes?” I asked, curious about her sudden bashfulness.
“Could you give this to Talbott for me?” She passed me a sealed envelope with a folded piece of paper inside and my hands itched to know what her note said.
“Absolutely not!” I teased. “I cannot have you fraternizing with the enemy!”
She blushed even redder and tried to grab the envelope from my hand when Kiran stepped in, “I’ll give it to him!” he snatched the note from me and tucked it into his pocket. “But I might need to go over it first, just to make sure my faithful Talbott isn’t turning into a spy.”
“Don’t you dare!” Lilly gasped and if possible her face turned three shades darker.
“You wouldn’t!” I turned on Kiran, mortified that he would even entertain the idea.
“Don’t worry, Dearest,” Kiran addressed Lilly, “I have Eden to keep me honest. I’ll make sure that he gets the letter, unopened.”
“Thank you,” Lilly mumbled, not at all convinced.
Jericho cleared his throat behind us so I turned from Kiran and went straight into his arms. I was saving his goodbye for last. Or almost last, I still had a few more things to say to Avalon. He held me close to him, burying his face in my hair.
“Yesterday, I said some things I didn’t mean,” he apologized sweetly. “Despite what I might have led you to believe, I know you’re sacrificing for the cause and I want you to know that I trust you. No matter what you do, I trust that you are doing what’s right for your people.”
I looked up at him, moved by his words and wanting to live up to them. Most of the time I wasn’t consciously deciding to do everything for the good of others, most of the time I reacted on selfish impulse. But Jericho’s words settled on me like a calling and with the encouragement of his trust, I would walk forward and live up to them.
“I love you,” I whispered, staring deeply in his chocolate eyes and letting him face the force of my feelings.
“I love you too,” he whispered back and then dipped his head so that his lips met mine. He kissed me sweetly, his lips light and gentle against my mouth. It wasn’t a goodbye kiss, it wasn’t the longing of farewell; it was the promise that we would see each other again, that there was life beyond our separation. When we left each other, I felt confident in our relationship and encouraged by his belief in me.
I walked over to the cab where Avalon waited with Kiran. They talked in hushed tones with serious expressions on their faces and I had to wonder what they were always whispering about.
“You know, I’m going to start eavesdropping on these conversations you two have. What could you possibly have to say to each other?” I demanded, crossing my arms when I reached them.
“We were just wondering, if Jericho loves you like he claims to, why he is so willing to let you go?” Kiran improvised, successfully turning my attention from what I really wanted to know.
“We have an adult relationship Kiran, it’s built on trust and the belief that we’re fighting for something bigger than ourselves,” I explained, my voice elevated and snotty.
“Ah, an adult relationship. Is that why he kisses you like you’re his mother?” Kiran questioned, squinting his eyes at Jericho.
I slapped his arm, “Oh, that’s disgusting! Is that how you would kiss your mother?”
“No, I suppose not. But that’s not how I would kiss the woman I loved either,” he looked at me pointedly, and I knew from experience he was telling the truth.
I ignored him and stepped into another hug with Avalon, “Did you listen earlier, with Gabriel?”
“Yes,” he acknowledged, “they’ve said those things to me before.”
“Are you worried?” I asked, unable to dispel the anxiety building inside of me.
“No, not now. There’s nothing we can do now but be prepared and wait it out,” Avalon explained. “They’re right Eden, you and I both have to decide what’s more important, even between us.”
I squeezed him tighter, admitting that he was right. I love you. I said inside our heads.
I love you, too. He said back. Be careful.
You too. I demanded and then crawled in to the backseat of the cab with Kiran.
My white dress, definitely worse for wear, gave the appearance we were out all night. I tried to smooth out the wrinkles, afraid of what Sebastian's parents would think but it was no use. Kiran watched me from the corner of the cab and I wondered what he was thinking. I felt such gratitude for last night that I couldn't even take the smile off my face.
“Thank you, Kiran, thank you for last night,” I whispered hoarsely, sincerely. I turned my face to him and let his eyes lock on mine.
“You're welcome,” he replied with a seductive quality to his voice that I could not deny. “I'm glad you had a good time. Although the whole twin thing with you and Avalon is bizarre. I can see it now, when you're talking to each other inside your heads, and it is very off-putting.”
“Is it noticeable? We think we're very clever about it,” I smiled, hiding the disappointment because I really did think we were sneaky.
“Only now that I know about it,” he assured me. “If you only knew how jealous I used to be of him.... before I figured out who he was.”
I fell silent, remembering what happened after Kiran figured out who Avalon was, how he sold him to his father for my magic. I played with a wrinkle in my dress trying desperately not to ruin the moment or start a fight.
“Eden, I've apologized for that, Avalon's forgiven me, why can't you?” Kiran read my mind.
“It's not that simple, Kiran. Please, I don't want to get into it right now,” I pleaded, refusing to meet his eye.
“It is that simple!” He argued further, “If Avalon can get over the fact that by some act of blinded ignorance I handed him over to my father believing that you and I would be able to save his life later, once we were together and married, when our magics were combined and nearly invincible, with the help of your grandfather who was not supposed to be capable of dying, then why can't you? Bloody hell, Eden!”