On edge, Aerén waited.
Leya rubbed her temples as she continued. “I wanted to help, but I was too young. My mother said we’d only get in the way. I felt terrible for the girl trying to pull her parents from the burning wreck. The next day, we read in the papers they died instantly when the car went up in flames.”
Aerén didn’t speak, couldn’t as he stared at her.
“Hey.” She stroked his biceps, her worried gaze rushing over his face. “I’m fine. Suffered no severe injuries except for this cut.” She wiggled her thumb.
He nodded, his heart pounding with the impact of a sledgehammer at his discovery.
Everything pointed to Eve, the first Chosen, being the girl Leya spoke of. What the hell had happened for Leyanotto possess the blood magic when she was right at the source of the Stone shattering?
“What was wrong with your sister?” he asked instead.
A shadow crossed her beautiful face. “Hana developed one of those severe types of anemia when she was twelve, and it caused her to grow sicker.”
Empyreans didn’t get sick or bear any kind of illness, so he wasn’t sure what she meant. “Anemia?”
Her smile was wan, the single dimple on her cheek barely noticeable now. “It’s a blood disorder. Her red blood cell count was too low, but she’s okay now.”
“Your healers cured her?”
“Not exactly. Meds did for a time, but then it wasn’t enough. Only a blood transfusion finally helped her.”
Then he knew.
His gut twisted.By the dark stars!
“Yougave her blood.”
It wasn’t a question, but she nodded.
Hell!Heground his teeth and stalked to the waterfall, trying to get himself under control.
“Aerén?”
At her worried voice, he faced her as she drew closer. There was no way out of this, but it had to be done. “Leya, I need a favor, but first, there is something you should know.”
“Now you’re scaring me.”
“It’s not my intention.” He grasped her cold hands, warming them in his. “I know how the accident occurred.”
Her mouth formed a shocked O. “What? How?”
“I told you about the artifact and what happened.”
She nodded.
“After over two millennia of beinglost, the Stone of Light resurfaced and crashed on Earth a decade ago. We know because we felt its pull. But it collided with a car, causing the accident. The magic escaped and found those it wanted to house it and keep it safe.
Leya stared at him wide-eyed. “That’s what killed her parents,” she whispered.
“I know. Eve has forgiven us, but it’s something we regret deeply.”
Dark laughter escaped her. She moved away and sank on a large rock near the pool. “We all thought the cab driver had lost his mind when the newspaper quoted him as saying,a rock fell from space, causing the accident.But there was nothing to back up his story. Not even dust.”
“The magic would have done that to protect itself,” he told her. “It’s one of the ways our existence is shielded from mortals. They can never know who else lives on Earth. It would cause untold panic and chaos.”
“Whose stupid idea was this?”
