Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (27 page)

“Perhaps you might marry that nurse you were complaining about earlier. I bet she could handle you just fine.”

Graely’s wild eyes darted toward the door. “She frightens me more than Vindrake. You wouldn’t believe what she attempted to do before I fought her off—I’m afraid to go to sleep.”

Charles laughed until there were tears in his eyes.

*****

“I need to go back to my father’s room and speak with him for a moment.”

“Go ahead,” said Alora. “I’ll wait here with Jireo.”

“I’ll return in a blink.” Kaevin slipped out the door, leaving them alone. The smile on Jireo’s face faded, and he turned his head away. An awkward silence descended over the hospital room. The slight tension she always felt around Jireo was now palpable, and her stomach knotted in response. She studied the balloon bouquet on the table by his bed, running her fingertip across the glittery letters that spelled ‘Get Well Soon’.

“You don’t like me, do you?” She spoke the question and cringed, waiting for the answer she knew was coming. He gave an audible sigh.

“I don’t
want
to like you. But you saved Arista’s life, and now you’ve saved mine.”

“So now you feel obligated to like me, but you still don’t?”

He nodded, flexing his jaw and keeping his eyes focused on the blank television screen.

“Why? What did I do? Is it because I haven’t promised to move to Laegenshire? Because I’ll move eventually; I know I have a duty.”

“I don’t wish you to come to Laegenshire at all. I simply wish everything to return to normal.”

“You don’t want a bearer to help in the fight against Vindrake?”

“No. I simply wish to have my best friend back. That’s all.”

“Oh.” The uncomfortable silence fell again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t plan it, you know.”

“I’m well aware you’re innocent. I realize you had no intention of stealing Kaevin from me, but that doesn’t change how much it hurts.” His voice was steady and emotionless, but she could read the pain on his face.

“But, what can I—”

“There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. And I realize I’m a fool to be angry with you for something over which you have no control. But, I miss Kaevin.” He met her eyes for a moment before turning his head back. “Before you came along, we did everything together. Now, he does everything with you.”

“But that was bound to happen eventually, right? I mean, you know, you grow up and get married?”

“Eventually, yes. But in Tenavae, we don’t marry until we have at least twenty-one years. And Kaevin and I promised each other—we had a secret ceremony—to support and defend one another. That’s a lifetime promise.”

“A ceremony?”

“Yes. We had only six years when we did it, but you can still see my scar.” He stretched out his palm, indicating a tiny white line transecting all the others on his hand. “Though we were too young for the ceremony to be binding, we always treated each other as if we were truly bound… until he met you.” He looked like he’d swallowed some bitter medicine.

“Look, Jireo. I don’t want to squeeze you out of Kaevin’s life. I know you have a special friendship, and I’m not ready to get married or anything. I haven’t even finished high school yet, and I planned to go to college.”

“Unless they discover a way to remove the soulmate bond, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Yes I can. I can make sure the two of you spend time together every day. I’ll be really honest with you. I need my alone time, and I’m kind of going crazy with Kaevin around me all the time. I really like him, or maybe I even love him, but I don’t want to spend every waking moment with him.”

He shrugged.

“Jireo, please look at me.” When his gaze met hers, she saw tears glistening in his eyes. “I mean it. I’ll do everything I can to help. I don’t want to come between you. Besides, I figure if Kaevin’s my soulmate and you two are practically brothers, that kind of makes you my brother, right?”

“Great. One sister’s enough trouble, and now I have two.” The corner of his mouth twitched in a half-smile.

“So, we’re okay, then?”

He rolled his eyes. “I suppose if I must have another sister, you’re not too dreadful.”

“Gee, thanks.” She grinned and held out her hand. “Shake on it?”

As he shook her hand a sense of relief flooded her. But when he pulled his hand back, she held on, squeezing harder. His eyebrows rose as he accepted the challenge, increasing the force of his grip. She put everything she had into it, holding her breath and squeezing with all her might. But her fingers throbbed, and she knew she was beaten.

“I give up!” She pulled her hand back, shaking it to get the blood flowing. “I thought I might be able to beat you since you’ve been in the hospital for over a week.”

“You actually thought you could out-grip me?” He laughed, and a genuine smile lit up his face. “You have a competitive spirit; I admire that. I’m sorry, Alora. I think I misjudged you.”

“I totally understand. This has been an emotional rollercoaster for me, too. My life is turned upside-down, and I’m just trying to cope right now. But I hope we’ll be good friends.”

He gave a sharp nod. “Good friends.”

*****

Alora almost jumped for joy when she saw Beth’s name on her cell phone caller ID. “Beth! I was afraid I’d never get to talk to you again.”

“Me, too! I’m still grounded for life. But Mom told me I could call and let you know we’re coming to the meeting with your uncle.”

“You realize Graely and Jireo and Raelene and almost all of the council are going to be there, right? I mean, I thought your Mom didn’t buy the story about us transporting to Laegenshire.”

“She didn’t, and she still doesn’t believe it. But I guess she’ll have to believe it after tonight.”

“Yikes! This could be really interesting.”

“Are Wesley and his parents coming?”

“I haven’t talked to him at all, but Uncle Charles says they’re coming. I think Wesley would have been better off if he’d just pretended he’d gone with us on a long camping trip. Uncle Charles said his mother was kind of hysterical about the whole thing.”

“This is going to be so awesome.” Beth’s giggles echoed in Alora’s ear. “See you later.”

*****

Charles stepped outside to cool his nerves and dry his sweaty armpits. He hadn’t been this nervous since the night he asked Lena’s father for permission to marry her. They had to have this meeting—it was the right thing to do. But after painstaking efforts to protect Alora’s identity for fifteen years, he felt as if he were now announcing the news in a press conference. He’d put off the explanation as long as possible, delaying until after Graely and Jireo had been released from the hospital and returned to Laegenshire. But he knew none of the parents were satisfied with the story as their children had told it. And there was a possibility they wouldn’t believe him, either.

Even though the only adults from Montana who’d be in attendance were Wesley’s parents and Beth’s mother, it seemed dangerous to let anyone else know the truth about Alora’s origins. The pact with Doc Sanders and Sheriff Mason had been secure for fifteen years. After all, each of them was complicit in hiding the truth and fabricating her birth certificate. But with an ever-growing circle of insiders came the risk someone might accidentally let some critical information slip. So he had to meet with them. To impress on them the importance of keeping her secret. To convince them to never speak of it. To plead for cooperation. To beg forgiveness for putting their children in danger. To do whatever it took to protect Alora.

Beth and her mother were the first to arrive.

“Thank you for coming, Janice…Beth. Come in, and make yourselves comfortable. Would you like some coffee or hot chocolate?”

“No, thank you.” Janice spoke through stiff lips. “I’ll be honest with you, Charles. I don’t understand why we had to come all the way over here to listen to your explanation. Why couldn’t you say what you had to say over the phone?”

“There are some things I’m going to tell you that need to be said in person. If you’ll be patient, you’ll understand soon enough.”

Beth made a grimace behind her mother’s back, shrugging her shoulders. Janice perched on the edge of the couch with a straight back.

“Beth, you can sit right here with me. You’re still grounded, so you’re not allowed to go off with Alora.”

Beth stuck out her tongue at Alora and crossed her eyes. Alora stifled a giggle with her hand as Beth joined her mother on the couch.

Charles wished he’d worn double antiperspirant.

Alora ran to answer a knock at the door and led Wesley inside with his parents, Brian and Karen. Brian returned Charles’ firm handshake.

“I brought a bit of cobbler.” Karen wore a warm smile as she handed a huge, heavy dish to Alora. “I figured you could always use some sweets.”

“Thanks, Karen. We haven’t had a good cobbler since Lena passed.” Charles tried to hide his surprise at her amicable attitude. Maybe she wasn’t as upset as Janice. Had Wesley really told his parents the whole story? And did they believe it?

“Wesley!” Karen’s smile vanished. “I told you to stay away from him.”

Wesley shook his head in a silent apology as he turned his back on Kaevin, taking a seat on the hearth beside the fire.

“Nothing personal, Kaevin, dear.” Karen’s scowl transformed into a sweet smile. “I know you don’t have a mother, so you haven’t had the best guidance. But we don’t approve of co-ed camping trips.”

“Mom, I told you we didn’t go camping. Why would I lie to you about that? The truth was worse than a camping trip.” Wesley’s tone revealed the frustration of a repeated conversation.

“Please don’t start this again, Wesley.” Karen crossed her arms.

“Karen, that’s why we’re here, right?” asked Brian. “To find out what really happened?”

Janice stood up. “I’m in total agreement with Karen. I think the kids are trying to cover up what really happened with this cockamamie story about zipping off to some other place where there were other adults.”

“Charles? Can you help us out here?” Brian’s expression held a bit of desperation.

Charles wondered if he’d be upset or relieved to discover the truth.
I guess it’s time to find out
. “Janice, if you could just sit down for a moment, I’ll try my best to explain. I’m not condoning the kids’ decisions, or the fact they lied to us about their plans. But the first thing you need to know is that the crazy story is really true.” He held up his hand to silence their protests. “Alora, Kaevin, could you come here please?”

Alora’s lips trembled a bit as she stood beside Kaevin, fidgeting with the button on her sweater.

“Okay, don’t go far away. Maybe just to the kitchen and back. Save your energy for fetching the Laegenshire council members.”

“Yes, sir. Now?”

He nodded.

They disappeared.

Karen screamed.

Janice slumped in her seat.

Brian jumped to his feet. “That was fantastic!”

*****

“Your dad seems to be handling this pretty well, Wesley,” Beth commented.

Alora peered around the corner into the den where the parents were still deep in conversation. Brian spoke with animated gestures, but he didn’t appear angry or upset like the mothers.

“Yeah,” Wesley agreed. “He already half-way believed me. I think he wanted it to be true. You know, it’s so cool and all. But he said it didn’t matter, I was still grounded because I lied and made poor choices.”

“Listen, I’m thinking all you have to do to win him over is to transport him somewhere,” said Beth. “He was so excited when Alora and Kaevin popped back into the family room. It was like he was at a circus or a magic act or something.”

“You’re probably right,” said Wesley.

“I think it will help when your mothers meet Raelene,” said Alora.

“When are we supposed to transport the council here?” asked Kaevin.

“They’re probably already waiting for us.” Alora took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she trekked back into the den. She waited until her uncle finished speaking and turned questioning eyes toward her. “Should Kaevin and I go fetch the others now?”

“The others?” asked Janice. “What others?”

“My grandmother and Kaevin’s father and some of the other council members from Laegenshire are coming to talk to you.”

“Go ahead, Alora.” Charles rubbed his temples with his fingers. “I think I’ve explained as much as I can by myself.”

*****

Alora didn’t kiss Kaevin when they returned from Laegenshire with Graely and Raelene. Her uncle’s scowl convinced her they could wait until they had a private moment. She’d discovered kissing wasn’t much fun when they
had
to do it, anyway.

“I thought more of the council was coming,” said Charles.