Evree wrapped her flower-free hand around his arm and glanced up at him, her cheeks colored. "I changed my mind. You tell her."
Inara appeared in front of them faster than a rabbit darting away from a wolf. "Tell me what?"
Her eyes suggested she already knew, and though he enjoyed teasing her with suspense, Eramus cleared his throat. "Evree has agreed to marry me."
A loud squeal filled the cottage. Eramus winced as Yelene joined his mother in complete exuberance. Inara hugged Evree so hard that flower petals littered the floor. Evree chuckled. At least she could handle his family's antics.
Aldeth placed a firm hand on Eramus's shoulder and smiled. "Congratulations to the two of you." His eyes fell on the bouquet in Evree's hand…or what remained of it. "Oh dear. Perhaps we should fix those."
He waved his hand through the air, and a green aura followed. The flower petals on the floor rose and swirled around the sad bundle in Evree's hand. Pieces reattached to stems, and the blooms opened with full beauty, a perfect display.
Evree's eyes rounded. "Oh, my! How beautiful magic can be! It amazes me every time. I still can't believe there are more people who can use it. I thought Eramus the only one until the man in the meadow said otherwise."
"Man in the meadow?" Aldeth's forehead furrowed, and Eramus's heart stopped. He still hadn't told his aunt and uncle about Morzaun and Zeeran. Something told him they would not react well to the information.
Evree tilted her head. "Has Eramus not mentioned him? He's been teaching him how to use magic. His name is Morzaun."
His uncle's reaction wasn't what he expected. Complete horror flooded his expression and Yelene gasped. Aldeth rubbed his hand over his chin. "You've met Morzaun? He's here? In the village?"
Eramus shook his head. "Not exactly. He comes to train me and then leaves. Came about a week before you and Yelene arrived."
Aldeth planted both hands on Eramus's shoulders with a tight grip. "Listen to me, Eramus. You must stay away from him. Morzaun is dangerous. You don't know what he's capable of."
Although his instincts agreed, frustration grew inside him like a noxious weed. “What exactly is he capable of? He said someone stole his magic from him. What possible threat could he be?”
Lowering his hands, Aldeth sighed. "I don't suppose he told you how he lost it? Didn't tell you who he is or what he's done?"
Eramus swallowed hard. Since the moment he'd met Morzaun, he had known the man kept secrets from him. After their last encounter, Eramus suspected Morzaun was more than just bitter about losing his power. There was something dark about him.
"Morzaun is responsible for the deaths of thousands," continued Aldeth. "He used his magic to murder the innocent and planned to bring all of Virgamor under his subjugation. Yelene and I faced him. She learned a spell that would eliminate a person's ability to use magic, and we used it on Morzaun to stop him."
Eramus shook his head. "How did he get magic in the first place? He told me the Virgàm only granted power to three children. You, Yelene, and my—"
His pulse raced. It couldn't be. His father had married a princess. He had held high rank in the king's army. The guards from his dream had called him a traitor, and Sytal had banished him when he refused to engage in war. None of that sounded like a man who would murder for power. He had to be wrong.
The sympathy in Aldeth's eyes was enough to confirm. Tears streamed down Yelene's face. "My brother was once good, full of life and light." She wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed. "But after Sytal killed your mother, he lost himself to the darkness. Revenge was all he could think about. I begged him to stop, but it was as if he became a completely different person."
The room spun. A mixture of panic and rage bubbled inside him. Everything made sense—the gentleness with which Morzaun spoke of his mother, the reason he desired to train him, and his reluctance to disclose his secrets.
The words fell over Aldeth's lips with one last whispered confirmation. "Eramus, Morzaun is your father."
