“I knew from the moment I met your mother, I would follow her anywhere,” his father told him.The firelight made the stone on his father’s joining bracelet spark and shimmer as he braced his arms on his knees.He peered at Connor with a serious gleam in his gold-flecked eyes.“Nothing could keep me from her, Connor.Not even death.I know that’s hard to understand and to forgive, but some choices are about the soul, not the mind.Never regret a choice your soul makes, Connor.Even if it means leaving parts of your heart behind.”
At the time, he thought his father had been referring to how Davina had saved his life when they’d met, and he’d left his home realm behind to follow her to Calderre.He’d been too young to comprehend the very real bond his parents shared.With his mother’s premonition ability, they had to have known what would happen.Had an inkling, at least.
“It wouldn’t be the first time someone chose to follow their mate into the beyond,” Connor said, a rasp catching in his throat.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Ryan agreed.
He’d reconciled that truth but hadn’t thought about it in a long time.His heart clenched as his mind reached for images and memories of Daya.Even if there was a way forward for them, he would never get to fully bond with her.The mountain would never allow him to have a stronger hold on her soul than it did.
Chapter 31
Zamyran Greenhouse, Growing District, Realm of Calderre
Headbowedinthedarkening greenhouse, Connor pressed his hand to the twining bark.Rich amber filled his lungs as he breathed in as much of the warm velentha scent as he could.
Comfort and peace wound through him on the sweet fragrance.Throat swollen with emotion, he cried out in his mind, letting the pain out.
After doing the final interrogation with the men they’d recovered from the fortress, he’d desperately needed something to soothe his soul.The velentha grove had called to him, and he’d found his feet taking him into the growing district where all the specialized greenhouses were located.
He’d entered the Zamyran greenhouse, ignoring surprised and confused looks from workers as he walked intentionally toward his destination.It had been a long time since he’d found himself in the rainforest growing house.
The first time had been to pick up Celina after she’d been spending time with her friends, one of whom was the adopted daughter of the greenhouse master.The girls had liked to spend time trading secrets among the plants, and Alayna in particular loved the Zamyran greenhouse that grew plants and food from the southern realm.
Nestled toward the back, the small grove of velentha trees glowed softly as dusk settled, inviting him to drop his burdens at their roots.
He’d personally spent the past few days interrogating the two prisoners who had held the children captive in Eldridge.
Moreso than Alison, he wanted the two men dead for their treatment of the children they’d rescued.They’d broken quickly, but the information they’d spewed had wrenched his stomach into a permanent state of illness.Caused waking nightmares of Opal and Veda in danger, crying and screaming at their hands.
Destroying someone else in the process of questioning took a particular hardness.Interrogations were always draining.He'd witnessed and participated in some dark things over the years during his undercover missions, as well as during interrogations.But knowing the children who’d been abused made the situation completely different.
After all the years he’d spent doing exactly this, something inside him had finally broken.His time on the mountain, with his memories shadowed, had changed him more than he cared to admit.It had allowed him to unveil part of himself that was always there.The part of him that wanted to protect and defend, not attack.
He had to wonder where he would have ended up if his parents had lived.What truer path he might have followed if he hadn’t felt the driving need to keep his mother’s legacy alive.
In truth, her legacy was never at risk of dying.Morgan and the others who were running the refugee program were keeping it alive and well.He’d do what he needed to protect it.To protect his family.And then… then there would be a reckoning inside himself.
“Connor?”A soft, lilting voice spoke into the nearly dark room.
The muscles in his shoulders strained in protest as he straightened.How long had he been standing there?The quiet and the darkness told him it had been longer than he realized.
He turned to find Alayna standing a few feet from him.A talented plant mage, she had taken after her adoptive father and was now responsible for many of the specialized greenhouses.
“Alayna, hi,” he greeted.“Sorry for invading your territory without asking.”
“It’s okay.”She brushed off his apology with a flutter of her fingers.“I just grew worried when you went without moving for so long.”
“It’s dark, you probably need to lock up and get home.”
“I don’t mind.Stay a little longer.”She started to walk away but paused to turn back to him, face cast with worry in the low light.“Are you sure you’re okay?The plants are… distressed.”
His mind cleared a bit as he puzzled over her statement.He hadn’t been around her much in recent years but remembered her as being Celina’s quietest friend.The soft-spoken girl had a tendency to speak oddly when she was younger, if she spoke at all.
“Distressed… because of me?”
Alayna rolled her lips as if she were debating her words.“Not because of you, exactly.But emotional energy is still energy.They… absorb it… in a way.It’s hard to put into words.”
“Having spent the last few months trying to teach Opal and the other children about their magic, I can appreciate that.Magic doesn’t always translate into explanation well.”
