Endless Magic (24 page)

I sat there stunned. It was very possible Kiran was closer to my grandfather than I was. He certainly knew him better than I did. I wanted to question him further, to demand an answer to his betrayal but I felt moved by his story and the perfection of the day and so I stayed silent.

After several more moments of silence, Kiran turned to me and I knew without a doubt that whatever he was about to tell me was the truth, “Eden, I never meant for Amory to die that night, you have to believe me. I loved him like a grandfather, maybe even more like a father, and if I would have known that my father was going to kill him, I would have fought to stop that. I would have done anything to stop that from happening. Honestly, I didn't think anything or anyone was capable of killing him. I was shocked by his death.... devastated. Please believe me,” Kiran insisted, his eyes big turquoise pools of sorrow. He reached across the table and took my hand in his. I felt his magic then, sincere and desperate, destroyed by his own loss.

“I believe you,” I whispered, hardly able to keep my composure.

“Will you forgive me?” he pressed. I watched his eyes want to look away, ashamed to even ask me for forgiveness, but he bravely kept them focused on me.

“Kiran, there is more to that night than Amory. There is more to your.... betrayal than the death of my grandfather. And I cannot forgive you for that night, or what has happened since,” I confessed. I broke the gaze, shifting my eyes to the uneaten dessert growing warm in the summer night.

“Of course there is,” he resigned, pulling his hand away from mine. “But if it means anything to you, I was naive, blinded by my love for you. I never meant to hurt you or take away your family. I was just trying to find a way for us to be together.”

“Trust me, I get all that. I was naive too,” when Kiran flinched, I continued quickly, “I mean about love. I know it was not even a year ago, but honestly it feels like a decade has gone by since I fell in love with you and I am not that same girl. I was just as blinded, just as..... immature. We fell in love too fast; it couldn't have all been real. Obviously, it ended worse than anyone could have ever imagined, and in the worst way possible, but we're both better off now, don't you think?”

“Eden,” Kiran sobered a little, the traces of remorse and regret replaced with cold honesty, “how are things better now? We're in the same position we were then only now we don't love each other.”

“But it's different now, I think we've both become different people.... better people. I was lost and painfully immature. I've grown. I know what I want now, and I didn't before. ” I explained carefully.

“And you want Jericho,” Kiran stated, misunderstanding my point.

“No, I mean yes, I am with Jericho, but what I mean is that I know where I stand in this war, I know where my place is. I belong with the Resistance. I belong fighting against your father.” I looked up at him then, so he could see the sincerity in my eyes and read the determined expression on my face.

“You're wrong about that,” Kiran countered and his face reflected the same honest sincerity that mine did. “Of course you're fighting on the right side of this whole thing, but you do not belong in some covert safe-house, running missions and taking orders. You belong in the palace, where you can interact with others and convince them they're wrong, that what they believe is wrong.”

I blushed at his belief in me. His words moved me, his complete sincerity that I could actually make a difference with others stirred my soul and I knew that he was right.

“I hope you're right about that because it's the only place I can be right now,” I mumbled humbly.

“Eden, look at me,” Kiran demanded gently and when my eyes met his, he continued, “You are right about all that other stuff, we fell in love too fast, I was painfully immature as well, but what you have to understand is that you are not just someone I fell in love with. You are a belief system, a theology all of your own that demands faith and loyalty. I am not the only one helpless to follow your call. Everyone who meets you is moved to join your cause because you call them to it. You find that moral, innate responsibility in others and draw it to the surface. After meeting you, there is no choice but to seek the same truth that you do.”

I sat speechless for a minute, not knowing how to respond. Kiran smiled at me in a sheepish version of his smirk and then looked away before clarifying, “Was helpless, I
was
helpless before, but I'm not anymore. I know all you're tricks by now....”

“How long before the rest of the kingdom figures them out too?” I joked, glad he lightened the mood.

“Hopefully not until you've destroyed my father,” he was serious, more serious than I had ever seen him and he silenced me as I mentally chewed on his words, trying to make sense of them. When I opened my mouth to speak, he continued quickly, “Don't ask me, Eden. I can't give you an explanation.”

“You can't, or you won't?” I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from him.

“I won't,” he replied with finality. He raised his hand for the check to be brought to us and after he paid he stood to leave, taking my arm and leading me to the curb where he hailed a taxi.

Earlier today I was terrified of where he planned to take me tonight, but as we climbed into the backseat of the taxi I felt nothing but peace. He answered more of my questions today than I believed he ever would and at the end of it came real answers, real truth. I knew our relationship was over, the love between us died months ago and now with honest communication opened we could continue a friendship. Or maybe not a friendship, but a relationship not built on past feelings or lies. I didn't love him. And he didn't love me. That much was clear.

It didn't even matter that I just spent the best day of my life with him, or found him charming and perfect when he was away from the palace, away from his title. We both moved on months ago.

The cab left Paris and drove into the country while the sun set low on the horizon. Kiran and I sat in the backseat in pensive silence. The sunflowers were in full bloom this time of year and they drooped their golden heads, saying goodnight to the world and falling asleep with the sun.

“Kiran,” I broke our silence, wanting to express my gratitude for the day, “thank you for today. I had the best time and I appreciate what you did for me.”

“You are welcome, Love,” Kiran turned to me, his face marked with that look, his eyes deep blue and heavy with some emotion I couldn't for the life of me figure out.

“It's easy to be with you like this,” when his face twisted into confusion, I continued, “I mean, away from everything, away from responsibility and.... fate I suppose. But life isn't really like this, is it?”

“I suppose not,” Kiran agreed. “Although if you're going to talk about fate then there is no real way to know if this day was part of Fate's greater plan or not.”

I smiled at him, knowing he didn't expect an answer, knowing that neither of us believed that was true. “No, this is just a vacation,” I replied anyway.

We drove farther into the country and I started to feel like I recognized this area. Eventually we pulled off the main highway and onto a little country road. At the end of the road was a farmhouse obscured by the darkness and surrounded by sunflower fields that went on for miles. A large barn sat to the side of the house and a paved road that looked a lot like a runway led out to it.

Finally, it hit me. Gabriel's house. We were at Gabriel's. I grabbed Kiran's arm roughly, squeezing it excitedly in my grasp. And then I tuned in to Avalon and realized he was in France, in that very house.

“Kiran, is he here?” I asked, needing confirmation.

“Yes, they're all here,” he replied, his cheeks burning with embarrassment from my exhilaration.

As soon as the cab pulled up to the house, I jumped out, racing for the door and bursting it open with magic. Avalon was on the other side waiting for me with arms open. I threw myself at him, hugging him close and letting the tears fall. I couldn't believe he was here, that I could touch him, and talk to him face to face.

I had plans to kill Lucan and be reunited with my family again. I plotted and thought things through constantly. Still, every time I left Avalon, a part of me always said goodbye to him forever. We went through too much, there was too much pain in our life for me to confidently believe I could win this war and keep intact everything that I held dear. I had lost too much already to believe that.

Each time I saw him again ever since he was first taken from the farm, was a miracle. Tonight was a miracle. The tears fell hot and fast against my cheek, knowing when I left here in the morning I would say goodbye again. My heart would silently memorize his face and let go of him to the path we both separately chose and I would hold on to my plans and plotting, knowing they had to be worth all of this, in my very soul, until I met with him again.

“You know you could just talk to me more. Then you might have some idea of what is going on....” Avalon mumbled into my hair which only made me cry more.

“I know,” I sobbed in a not at all pleasant voice, “but I can't help it, I forget! You know I was raised-”

“Human!” a chorus of voices rang out behind Avalon and then dissolved into all different voices declaring over-dramatically, “We know, we know....”

I lifted my head off Avalon's shoulder and took in the rest of the group gathered. All of the boys were here, Titus, Xander, Xavier, Gabriel and Silas and then Lilly too, standing next to the tall men as petite as ever, her red hair burning as if on fire in chin-length ringlets. I left Avalon's arms and found Lilly and held her close to me. She started crying too, and then it was all over. I noticed immediately that Jericho was missing but I was so grateful to see everyone else that I didn't want to spoil my joy by asking where he could be. I turned my head and saw that Kiran had stepped inside the door and was already deeply involved in a conversation with Avalon. I tilted my head at him, asking if he minded if Lilly and I went into the other room to talk and he waved me on.

Lilly and I found a place in Gabriel's living room. Xander, Xavier and Titus followed us, taking their own seats while Gabriel and Silas stayed with Avalon to talk with Kiran who had moved into the kitchen.

“Oh, my gosh, I cannot believe you are here!” I gushed, mostly talking to Lilly, but including the boys too.

“I know! Sometimes I think I'm never going to see you again. I missed you so much!” Lilly said softly, trying not to let her concern weigh too heavy on her words.
“I feel the same way,” I admitted and watched Xander roll his eyes.

“Girls are so sappy!” Xavier crowed. “Guys would never say anything like that!”

“Oh really?” I turned on him. “Ok, what do guys say when they haven't seen each other for a while?”

“Well, we don't really say anything....” Xander admitted. I remembered what they were all like when Jericho and I showed up at Mr. Lambert's townhouse last spring after they thought he was dead and I knew that wasn't true, but I let them have their side of the argument.

“Except maybe, we would want to know what's going on with the mission or something like that,” Titus answered, his voice overly gruff as if trying to prove that although they would ask questions, it would be of the very manly variety.

“Oh, I see,” I consented, trying not to roll my eyes.

“So how are things going in the palace?” Xander asked seriously and his eyes softened with concern for me.

“Awesome, as usual,” I lied and Lilly took my hand and squeezed it. “Hey, that reminds me, is Mr. Lambert like on our side or what? Because if he's not, he has definitely been getting a bunch of weird visits from people sent by me.”

“No, he definitely is,” Titus confirmed. “Yeah, he's sent them along to Avalon. Whatever you're doing seems to be working. After the Summer Solstice Ball last week we had a record number of people join our cause. It seems like putting you out in the open is making an impact on the kingdom, E.”

That was the highest compliment Titus had ever given me and I blushed with gratitude. “Glad, I can help,” I smiled, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“So what's happening, on this side of everything?” I asked the group and Xander launched an in-depth account of how Solomon Camera had approached Charles Lambert at the engagement party and almost blown the whole cover. Suddenly I was distracted by Avalon's conversation in the kitchen. Now that we were so close, I was having a hard time separating our thoughts.

“He is coming, isn't he?”
Kiran was asking Avalon. Kiran paced the small kitchen obviously irritated.

“Yes, he's coming,”
Avalon reassured him.

“He’d better be,”
Kiran grumbled.
“I'm risking a lot here, Avalon, and he needs to understand that.”

“Relax dude, he'll be here,”
Avalon promised.
“Why are you doing this if you're risking so much? She seems to be doing fine; it wasn't like she was begging to see us or anything....”

“Can't you guess?”
Kiran sighed. He stopped pacing to lean against the counter and run his hand through his hair.

“I'm afraid to guess,”
Avalon mumbled. I tried to push deeper into Avalon's thoughts to find out what he was thinking but I didn't want to alert him that I was eavesdropping.

“I don't blame you,”
Kiran muttered.
“If he's not here soon, I'm going to break his nose.”

“N,o you're not,”
Avalon commanded, and Kiran looked up letting Avalon know there was no way Avalon could stop him.

“Who's side are you on Avalon?”
Kiran demanded.

“Her side,”
Avalon growled in a low voice that sounded very much like a threat.

The front door opened and I left Avalon's kitchen conversation and lifted my eyes to Jericho who was standing in the entryway looking at me with a mixture of disbelief and veiled hope. I jumped to my feet, not even pretending to pay attention to Xander anymore and ran across the room throwing myself at Jericho.