Hidden Magic of Aldarae: Legacies, Chapter 6 (Epilogue)

The Cooper brothers came up with their story on the walk back to their charges. They had pursued Ciara into the trees, but before they could capture her, she had simply faded away with her magic.

The best lies are sprinkled with truth after all.

Lord Warranhall was beside himself with rage, convinced it was the maid who had called assassins down on them. His wife went so far as to suggest that it had been the girl who caused the rockslide and brought the wolves. Jorren seemed to be in complete agreement with his parents, and his youngest two brothers quickly followed suit.

Mina and Lisanna were just confused. Erryn’s heart ached for them, but there was nothing he or Gareth could do or say, so it was left to Elsya to try to explain as best she could why they would never see Ciara again. She, Jem, and Andre were quiet; Erryn couldn’t blame them—for all they knew, a girl they’d known from childhood had just betrayed them all.

Aiden was quiet too, though it was more thoughtful than shocked. All in all, it made for a very subdued party that resumed their trek as the sun began to set. Due to the “delays”, they once again had to camp in the open. Erryn was getting quite good at blocking out Lady Warranhall’s constant complaints.

He couldn’t sleep, so he offered to take first watch. About an hour into his shift, Gareth got up from his bedroll beside the dying embers of their fire and settled himself next to him.

“Restless?” Erryn asked quietly. His brother nodded.

“I just…can’t believe it,” he said softly, looking up at the moon.

Erryn snorted lightly. “Neither could I,” he muttered. He looked at the younger man out of the corner of his eye. “You should have found out first,” he said eventually. Gareth looked at him, eyebrow raised in a question. “You would have handled it better than I did,” he said, looking up at the sky. “You’ve always been more open minded than me. Smarter, too.” He couldn’t believe he was admitting that.

Maybe he’d finally grown up a bit.

Gareth shook his head. “No, it had to happen this way,” he said musingly. “I’m not sure why, but it did. Maybe so you could realize that you don’t have to be Da. Maybe so you could realize you’re just as smart as I am, no matter what you think.” He smiled slightly and bumped his shoulder.

Erryn bumped him back. “How could you just accept it so easily, though?” he asked. It had been nagging at him since they’d said goodbye to Ciara. “I mean—we were raised exactly the same. We both grew up with those stories, knowing—being taught that magic is evil. Why was it so easy for you and Dad to just let her go, despite everything we’ve ever been told?”

And why was it so hard for me?

Gareth shrugged, looking out into the darkness. “…I don’t know, Ryn.”

Erryn nodded, and they both fell silent. For a while they simply sat there, side by side, under the gray-blue light of stars and moon, listening to the soft rustling sounds of night creatures and the distant rhythm of choppy waves on a pebbled shore.

“The Warranhalls have asked me to stay on as a personal guard once we get to the manor,” Gareth said quietly after some time.

Erryn nodded. It wasn’t completely unexpected. “What did you say?”

“That I’d think about it. I wanted to talk to you.”

Erryn laughed softly, nudging his brother with his elbow. “You’re a grown man, you can make your own choices,” he said lightly, though he could feel his heart sinking into his stomach.

Gareth chuckled. “Well that only took you twenty-one years to admit,” he grumbled. Then his smile faded slightly. “I…want to say yes.”

“I know.” They were both quiet for another few moments. “Aiden?”

“Yes,” Gareth admitted easily, “but not just him. I mean, I really do like him. I think I could love him if we got the chance…but there’s more to it.” He smiled up at him sadly. “I never fit in Varcia the way you do, Ryn. I’ve always felt like there was…more, somewhere, waiting for me to find it. On the coast, maybe I could see some of it. Even just people coming in on ships from across the sea. I just…” His voice trailed off.

Erryn watched him, a strange mix of pride and grief warring in his chest. He’d always known his brother never felt quite at home back in Varcia, but he’d never realized it was this bad. If this was how he really felt…

Maybe this was it: this ache to know more that radiated from Gareth like a heat haze—how had he never noticed before?—maybe this was why he could so easily accept Ciara. Their father had held that spark too.

And if this was how Gareth felt, who was he to stand in his way?

“You should stay,” he said softly. Gareth’s head snapped up to stare at him. “Mind you, you’d best write every day, and don’t think you won’t be coming home to visit every time you get a week or so of leave.” He sighed, rubbing his temples. “Mum will kill me for letting you do this…”

“You—really?” Gareth asked. Erryn met his eyes, saw the hope and excitement, and he smiled.

“Yes, really.”

Gareth threw his arms around his neck in a quick, fierce hug. Erryn hugged him back, remembering the little boy he used to help back to his feet after he fell, fat tears rolling down dirty cheeks, the boy who used to cling to him very much like this.

They really were growing up, both of them.

“I…thank you,” Gareth said, breaking away with a grin.

I love you.

He smiled, ruffling his hair like he had when they were both just sprouts.

I love you, too.

Three days later, Erryn was on the road once again, this time riding and trailing a string of three other horses behind him. They had delivered the Warranhalls safely to their coastal home and he had stayed a night. Then, as the sun rose the next day, he’d bid his brother goodbye—with many promises of visits and letters, and a message for their mother—and set out back toward Varcia. The journey was much faster with just himself to worry about. And no sorcerers throwing roadblocks into his path. He should see the walls of the city in two days or so.

Home.

The thought filled him with mixed feelings. Varica was his home, it always had been… But after this trip, after Ciara, he wasn’t sure if he could look at the place quite the same way ever again. How could he pass the stone reconstruction of a pyre erected proudly in City Square as a warning to all sorcerers without thinking of Ciara standing upon it?

And he still had so many questions: about magic, about his father, about himself. How was he supposed to get the answers, who could he turn to, who would listen to him, who else knew what he now knew—?

“Hey.”

The familiar voice made him jerk his mount’s reins, bringing the animal up short with a soft snort of protest. He blinked at the barefoot hitchhiker standing at the side of the road, unable to believe his eyes.

“You heading to Varcia, stranger?” the girl asked, red-brown hair tied back in a kerchief, dimples flashing.

Slowly, he felt an answering smile spread across his face. “As a matter of fact, I am. You look like you could use a lift.”

Ciara beamed, eyes laughing. “Well, if you’re offering. And it’s always nice to have a companion when you travel, don’t you think? So many stories to hear.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve got a plenty interesting story of your own,” Erryn said, eyes dancing at her.

He reached out a hand, and she took it.

The surface of the water rippled, then went dark. The image of the sun-tanned and travel-dusty guardsman pulling the slight young woman up onto his horse disappeared.

The woman kneeling by the side of the pool gave a breathy sigh, rising to her bare feet. A waterfall of untamed gold poured down her back and framed her face. She pushed a few locks back, revealing a shimmer to her warm, golden-brown cheeks. “Thank goodness.” She smiled at the small faerie that hovered on the other side of the small pool. “I wasn’t sure he’d make the right decision for a moment there.”

The pixie fluttered over the water, her pale halo of light bobbing next to the young woman’s head. “At any rate,” she said, voice high and chittering, “I think they all handled it very well, considering. A sort of happy ending.”

The Queen—young in face but old in years, Lost to her people but Found to herself all those centuries ago—smiled softly and shook her head. “No,” she murmured quietly, watching the still water. “This is only the beginning."