Fated, A Timeless Series Novella (A Timeless Series Companion Novel) (19 page)

I flashed a sidelong glance to Callon.

See,
I told you there was more.

“
That is an unfortunate risk I’m willing to take,” Callon answered coldly. “
I don’t think you
quite understand
the danger
now. It might have started with a few stray Tresez but now I’m on the verge of having the front lines of the war shifted to Idaho.”

“But Callon…”

“Does
Bailee
’s sacrifice mean nothing to you
?
!
” Callon snapped.
He couldn’t hold back any longer.
“
She almost died
, and she’s Timeless
!
If that had been
Cheyenne
,
her heart would’ve stopped immediately and not even a miracle would’ve brought her back
!
You’re just being…
”

I spun around
. I had to diffuse the situation.
My fingers brushed
Callon’s arm and
we
jumped
i
nto the forest.
As we landed, h
e flung off my hand, h
is eyes burn
ing
fury
.

What the hell do you think you’re doing
, Daniel
?
!

You need t
o take a step back and cool off!
I shot back
. You’re the acting
clan
regent, you need to be level headed about this and you’re
getting way too emotional
ly involved
.
I
paused, letting my words sink in
.
Gene’s not the only one
hiding something
, is he?
I know
y
ou saw something in Cheyenne’s room that night that’s got you worried.
Not to mention
you’re str
essed about going home yourself…

Callon
scoffed,
and started back towards
the cabin
.

I know you vowed never
to
return to the e
state
, I went on
. He didn’t turn to face me
.
You don’t have to face the past anymore, Callon. It’s
time to move on
.

He
still
didn’t answer. Frowning,
I jumped
to catch up to him.

Fine,
I
’ll do all the preparation
. I’ve been taking care of the place anyway.
But I can’t do everything by myself…

Callon’s pace quickened
.

I don’t want to hear any more
, Daniel
.

I rolled my eyes, but kept quiet.

As we returned to the porch,
Callon
stood tall. He
climbed
back to the front room
, then
stopped before Gene and Alexis. Gene’s face had hardened and
his arms were crossed
.
Callon
,
though
,
seemed indifferent.

“
I want you to pay close attention
, Callon
.
” Gene
’s
voice was
deadly
.
“
You might be the acting
clan
regent, and we are certainly grateful for everything you’ve done to protect Cheyenne
so far
. But w
e’ve
raised her since she was a baby
. Adopted o
r not, she is our own daughter,
and we’re going to do what we think is best for her
.”

“I agree
completely
,” Callon replied.

Gene’s
expression faltered
.

“You agree?”

“
Of course I do,” Callon said
.
I raised a brow, wondering what had caused his sudden
mood swing
.
“
We both have Cheyenne’s interests at heart. It wasn’t my intention to get so worked up, and for that I’m sorry
.”

“
Apology accepted
,” Alexis
said
.

“
But if you’re absolutely convinced there’s no way she can move,
we’re going to have to add more Timeless to our watch
,” Callon answered
.
“
Sagle
will have to
become our next outpost
in
the war
.
”

Gene’s eyes widened.

“Whoa now, Callon. I think you might be going a little overboard.
With so many people around
,
Cheyenne
will
quickly figure this
all
out.
And you should know by now how
she hates
meeting strangers.
”

“
That’s a
chance I’m willing to take
,” Callon went on. “I can’t use enchantments here like I can ar
ound the manor. This
will be the only way I can guarantee her safety.”

“Enchantments?” Alexis questioned.

“I’d heard about those,” Gene
murmured
.
“Do they really work?”

“Yes,” Callon said. “
Daniel can vouch from experience.
”

I blinked, finally understanding
what Callon was up to
.
Wow,
h
e could really be sneaky
sometimes
.

“
Yeah, t
here’s an
ancient
enchantment around the
O’Shea
estate
,” I
explained
.
“I
t
definitely
keeps unwanted company out
.” I would know; I’d been locked there for several years.

Gene nodded slowly.

“
If that’s true, then
Cheyenne wouldn’t be so overwhelmed
with new faces
,” Alexis said
.
It seemed the scales were tipping.
“
Perhaps...perhaps this would be for the best, after all
.”

They
exchanged an uncertain look
.
I
hid beneath my fedora, unable to stop my
smile.

This just might work, Callon.

Callon didn’t reply. He simply stood there, awaiting their decision
, though I could tell he’d already won them over
.
That was Callon for you. I was just glad he was on our side.

Eventually
Gene
let his arms drop to his sides
.

“
Alright, then. We will move Cheyenne to Ireland.
”

YES!
I had to hold back the urge to high-five my brother.

“But
our
condition
still stands
,” Gene went on. “
We will move
after
her
graduation.”

I heard Callon swear in his mind.
Seemed he hadn’t got his way entirely
. Still, at least we’d reached something of a compromise.

“
Very well,” Callon said.
“
We’ll need time to make the arrangements, anyway.
The easiest thing would be to introduce her to the idea gradually.
G
ive her a heads up at Spring Break. Whether you tell her the whole truth or n
ot, you’ve got to let her know
she’
ll
be moving right after graduation. Once
you’re with us in the manor,
you
can
explain everything
else
at your own pace
.”

“We can do that,” Alexis replied. “We’ll plan a trip for Spring Break
. In the meantime,
Gene and I can talk about what we want her to know.”

“Colt mentioned Cheyenne
suspects
something already,” I said. “She’ll probably be expecting
you to break some news to her
.”

“Then that
should make it all the easier
,” Callon said. He held out his hand to Gene. “
So we’ve reached an agreement?”

Gene nodded and
too
k his hand.

“So be it.”

“Flight B453 to
Chicago, final destination Dublin,
is now boarding at gate F15…”

I stood
from the waiting area and grabbed my case.
About time; the first flight had been overbooked and I’d been sitting here for hours
wa
i
ting
for the next one.
The
coming
few weeks were going to be crazy, and I wanted to be back home as soon as possible.
I’d called ahead and spoken to Ryan
Campbell
, who
se family
looked after the manor whenever we were away, and he’d made arrangements for my return.

My seat
was in first class
, so I
hurried through the departure gate, flashing my ticket to the attendant, then boarded the plane. I
shoved my case in the overhead compartment and quickly sat down.
It was unusually bright today, though I knew in Dublin it w
ould be
raining heavily.

I sighed, slouching and stretching my legs. W
hile I was looking forward to going home, I was disappointed I couldn’t help watch Cheyenne anymore.
Her world was about to be totally shaken up, and I wanted to be there for her.
Colt would be around, sure, but I wasn’t sure he’d understand. He’d never had his freedo
m taken away like me, after all.

The
overhead
speaker
crackled
, and the captain spoke. T
hey were about to show the safety announcements.
As the video ran, I closed my eyes. I’d
seen
it plenty of times before.
Still, my worries about Cheyenne wouldn’t go away.
Alexis was right—the news that she was a Timeless
would overwhelm her
, and I feared how she would cope
.
It wasn’t like with me and Colt. We’d both known we were Timeless from the moment we could understand words. So we’d been prepared for the change
when it had finally come.

Cheyenne, though, wouldn’t know what to expect. Heck, even we wouldn’t.
Callon had told me once that the most powerful Timeless
went
through the most life-threatening transformations. And since we didn’t know who Cheyenne’s real parents were, we’d have no idea what h
er transformation would be like…

The engines rumbled, and I opened my eyes. The plane was about to take off. It was going to be a long trip, with a
four-hour
layover in Chicago. I was expecting to land in Dublin just after midday
tomorrow
, where Ryan would be waiting to pick me up.

I smiled. I’d always got on well with him, just like his father. The Campbell
’
s had been the caretakers of the O’Shea estate for generations. Our family had protected them in the darker moments of Ireland’s turbulent history, and in return they looked after the manor for us. They knew about the Timeless and were sworn to secrecy. Only recently Ryan had taken over, as Robert, his father, had taken ill and couldn’t perform his duties. He’d been doing a great job, too.
He’d sounded surprised when I told him I’d be returning already
, and even more
so when I said
Callon and Colt would be joining me
later
.
It would be the first time since Dad’s death that the three of us would be there together.