Opal didn’t fully grasp the concept of mortality enough to understand that Daya and Veda would be much longer lived than she would, although he’d tried to explain it to her.She still insisted they—and Rogue—belonged there.
Ryan would eventually bring back news to his sisters, but it would be a long wait for them.
“I’m sorry, Cela.”
“Don’t be.I have a gift for you to solve that.”She picked up a small box and handed it to him.
What in the world could she possibly have to help that?He opened the box to find a glass orb.Frowning, he took it out of the protective cushion it was packed in to examine it.
Shock lit through him.It was a sound orb.
The glass sphere was a stunning piece of magic.Shadows and occasional hints of color shimmered in its depths.
Made to be keyed to an individual, they could be used to send messages back and forth or relay sound.He knew they existed because the Lightning Teams headquarters had one so that they could communicate with the royal palace.Unofficially, the Lightning Teams also used them for deep cover mission communications as well.
Magic antiquities were better than any modern devices currently existing.They were always on the lookout to scoop up more of the devices when they popped up on the underground market.A very specific magic ability was needed to create them—a magical skillset that hadn’t been seen in centuries.
“Celina, where did you get this?”
“Mother, actually.”
“Seriously?”He raised his eyes to see similar shock in hers.
Celina nodded.“Her private vault.They kept the matriarch suite clean, but nothing in her vault or office were ever touched.I’ve found a lot of fascinating things since I moved in, including a set of sound orbs.”
Interesting that both their parents had secret lockboxes hidden away that their children had refused to open until now.Connor shivered at the realization.
He’d thought a lot about what would happen to Opal if he died in his challenge with Hannelore.Had put as much as he could in place in Calderre to secure her future as a Blackwood, should she return.Holdings and accounts were set up in her name, with Ryan as her legal guardian should something happen to him.
Their parents had known and done the same for them.The similarities were unsettling enough to cause Connor some restless nights as he’d waded through potential consequences associated with his decision.
“There’s a note in the box,” Celina said.
Spying it, he carefully extricated it to see his mother’s script.He brushed his thumb over the words as he read.
Time and distance cannot sever bonds of the heart when love keeps them strong.
Bonds of the heart, not soul.A distinct difference.He touched the rock pendant he wore that pulsed with love.Celina had been right before, when she’d told him that love existed just fine without the tether of a soul-bond to anchor it.
He handed the message to Cat.“You keep it, as a reminder.”
“I wish I remembered them,” she said as she accepted the memento.
Connor locked eyes with Celina.“Me too.”
“So did you take after our parents and hide a bunch of weird stuff for me to find around the keep?”Cat asked, seeming to move past the nostalgia.
Connor laughed.“No, I didn’t.But there’s still a few hours before we leave.”
“Just don’t die.Then you can give them to me in person someday.I’m not going my whole life without seeing you again.”
“Deal.”He smiled at her and then at Celina.“Family sticks together, right, Cela?”
“Always.”
Chapter 34
Sacred Valley, Hannelore Mountain, Realm of Eldridge
