To my chagrin, I knew that I would have to tell the disturbing tale at some point. I dreaded it none the less. I sighed, breathlessly then took a deep breath.
“I was about to leave the ballroom to take a short break in the lounge. On my way there, Gerald, well Victor approached me. It was incredible, he was Gerald.”
I searched Evan’s eyes for a glimpse of anger or jealousy, and only found encouragement to go on. In fact, every pair of eyes was reassuring as I explained one of the most unforgettable moments of the night. They all seemed entranced as they listened.
“I didn't feel any danger. As I stated, I thought it was Gerald, a friend. He asked me to dance and I accepted. A minute or two after we began dancing, Gerald told me that he had something to tell me, and that it was too noisy in the ballroom. He then led me into one of the cloak rooms.”
I had to stop for a moment to gain my composure. The next part was still quite traumatic, as I recalled the moment of realization. Not a word was said as the mornings earliest light began to filter in from somewhere above the dungeon. My little audience waited patiently for me to continue.
“Once we were in the cloak room, Gerald shifted back into Victor.” I felt no need to include the part about the kiss although; I would never forget the power of it, the immeasurable intensity of the kiss. That information could never be divulged.
“I knew that I had made a major mistake, but it was too late. Just then, the floor beneath my feet opened up from under me, and before I could think another thought I was falling into pitch blackness, and then I was here... laying on the altar... bound in shackles.”
“When did you regain your powers?” Bethany inquired, anxiously. She wanted the nittygritty, as always – my sometimes overbearing best friend. Before I could answer her, I had to think, and they all seemed to wait with baited breath.
“I remembered who I was, and everything that had ever happened to me, before and after being sent to the future, after I recalled the last conversation I had with my parents. My father had told me something specific. It was the night of my fifteenth birthday, the night they were murdered.” I gulped and they all gaped at me, appearing to be in a trancelike state.
“What did your father say?” Evan asked, giving in to curiosity.
“I’m sorry, but his words were only meant for me to hear.” I sounded a bit hostile – protective. Evan seemed a little wounded, but healed quickly. I didn't mean for it to sound that way. But I couldn't worry about that right now. I just didn't feel that they should pry into something that was private. I wanted to protect everything about my parents right now.
“I believe I regained my powers the moment I understood Athena’s riddle.”
“Riddle?” Bethany queried, puzzled as I was when Athena had stunned me with her presence.
“My sister, Athena, advised me that I must free myself from what I know, meaning liberating my mind of everything of the life I led in the future.” I paused while my disciples let it sink in. “She also told me that it is within myself that I would find the answers, meaning what I have always known of my life with my parents is all that I needed to remember, and lastly, that I have the strength were I lack the aspiration, meaning that the power resides in me if I’m willing to call upon it.”
“That’s remarkable.” Evan said, nodding. Then finally the question I had been waiting for was asked. Not surprisingly, it came from Bethany.
“Where did you send the evil turd?” Bethany was not hiding her excitement over Victor's departure. She never hid the fact that she loathed him.
I didn't feel like pretending that I was satisfied. It wasn’t over. My mind was overwhelmed and preoccupied with the fact that my parents were dead. I never had the opportunity to grieve them. It was absurd that everyone in this town believed that they had decided to extend their stay in France. I was outraged.
“Let me worry about that.” I replied. Bethany seemed taken aback, but she knew the rules. Only a governing ruler could send a disciple into exile, and only the ruler would know where.
“We must know where he's been exiled.” Bethany demanded with an edge to her voice. I couldn’t believe that she was probing the issue.
“He's gone.” I eyed them all, with my gaze focusing on my best friend.
“Gone? He's not gone Cordelia. You didn't kill him.” Bethany almost yelled.
“He didn't kill my parents, and he doesn't know where they are buried. I didn't think it was necessary.” I countered, sounding annoyed. She had no right to question my sentencing.
“Well, we should all be privy to that piece of information, Cordelia. How else are we to stay one step ahead?” Bethany said in an octave that I didn’t much care for.
“He’s not a threat to the family or to anyone else.” I fumed.
“How could you know that?” She said loudly, stepping closer to me. Evan became rigid as did Nikolas and Julius. They all knew that Bethany could be passionate to the point of being offensive. They were anticipating her next choice of words.
“Victor is powerless. Where he is, he can hurt no one.' I said preparing to silence Bethany for the duration of this forum and preparing myself to lose a friendship.
“He’s not going to easily accept being a powerless mortal. He will seek another Ischeros family to gain his powers back.” Bethany warned.
“I have considered everything, and of course he will want to seek an Ischero although, he will discover that if he does it will be a futile task.” I replied coldly.
“No Ischero will acknowledge him and go against an empress’ wishes.” Evan said to Bethany, stepping into an argument that was getting to the point of no return. “It would be the end of an Ischero to betray the family in such a way.”
“We don't know that no one would help him therefore, we should all know his whereabouts at all times. We should dispatch a tracker.” Bethany suggested angrily.
“A tracker? Let me make sure that I understand your suggestion. You want to dispatch a tracker whose sole purpose is to trace the footsteps of an exiled and powerless mortal.” Evan challenged.
All eyes were on Bethany, except mine. As far as I was concerned, the matter had concluded, but it was obvious from the looks she got from Nikolas, Evan, and Julius that she was flirting with her own banishment. As far as I could tell, the rest were pleased with the fact that Victor was powerless and exiled. They didn't seem to think Bethany's plan of action to be necessary. Besides, trackers were only used to track a potential threat or a sequestered member for their own protection, as I had been in the future. Not a powerless mortal.
“Do you really believe that someone in the family would allow him back in after what he has done, or perhaps there is something else that you’re concerned about?” I challenged Bethany. Her eyes glared in my direction. She lowered the flame in them a notch after looking into my eyes, and was now on the defensive.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You will soon be begging for my forgiveness, child of Poseidon. You carry a torch to your father’s volatile tide. Ebb your tide, Bethany,” I said, calmly.
“I'm thinking of the family's protection and preservation.” Bethany protested, in a slightly subdued tone.
“I’ve just made that a certainty.” I said.
Bethany reluctantly backed down. Her fist which had at some point become clenched – now loosened at her sides. I didn't want this tension. I wanted answers. I didn't have time to waste feeding Bethany's need to control everything. She knew better as she always had, never to push me too far. I guess in the last two years I spent damn near lobotomized, she had forgotten her place in the chain of command.
“Delia, take all the time you need.” Evan said, knowing that I needed to finally be alone with my parents. He touched my bare arm. His touch had a profound effect on me. I was as delicate as a rose petal when he was near me.
“We should all head back.” Evan said to the others. The family is concerned and should be notified of the promising developments.
“Yes, I could use a celebratory drink.” Nikolas chuckled. He had been quiet for the strained exchange between Bethany and I. “This place has to be destroyed.” Nikolas added, anxiously and suddenly serious again.
“I'll take care of it,” I said. Nikolas nodded and smiled, forever cheering me on.
Evan must have felt that by leaving, he would be abandoning me. He was forever the boy who would never cease to play the rescuer in my life, although I had rescued myself tonight, but not to his lack of effort. He seemed worried and cagey, pacing the floor, and then finally asked me what had been at the tip of his tongue for quite some time.
“Would you like me to stay with you?”
“I want you here, but I need to be alone with them. You understand don’t you?”
I smoothed the softness of his cheek with the back of my hand. I could feel his heartbeat quicken tentatively as mine followed the pace he set.
“Yes, I understand” Evan bowed his face, and pressed his warm lips against mine, pulling me close as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his hands into the small of my back. I threw my arms around his neck, pressing my body into his, and parted my lips, kissing him back, opening up something in me that wanted him more than anything else in the world. After a few languid moments, he pulled away and looked into my eyes as if he wanted to fall into them.
“Óå áãáðw ãéá ðaíôá.” Evan spoke in Greek. My lower lip trembled as I repeated Evans’ profound words back to him, meaning every syllable.
“I love you, I am yours forever.”
My heart wrenched to have him stay with me. The tears flowed freely as we pressed our cheeks together. The tears that moistened my face weren’t just my own. I smiled up at Evan, kissing him tenderly on the chin. My memories were clear now, and I remembered that Evan could be as fragile as a delicate petal as well. We held each other for another moment that I didn’t want to end, but that I knew had to. He pulled away, but not before he planted the most endearing kiss on my forehead, and then turned around and walked away. He sauntered gracefully turning back only once to look at me before disappearing into the beckoning horizon.
I stood by the altar where I once lay bound and paused. I picked up a portion of a broken shackle and it crumbled into dust through my fingers, no longer fortified by Victor’s plot for vengeance. Then the entire altar crumpled and left a pyramid of sand on the marble floor. I pursed my lips together and blew away the sand in the breeze I created. Then I finally stood before the altar that held my parents crystalized hearts.
My mind went to some of the most memorable moments in my life, all moments that my parents were a very large part of. Like when I first learned to ride a horse – Gypsy, my fifth birthday present. I had been so excited when my dad had brought her out of the barn for the first time. I wasn’t afraid of her, although the gorgeous mare was larger than life and whinnying uncontrollably. She had the most mesmerizing and calming brown eyes, hence the name Gypsy. I always felt that I was under her spell when I rode her.
My parents were strict with me as well, Mother especially. She had only been an empress because my father was the Emperor. She taught me to stand up for what I believed in, and made sure that I behaved like a lady at all times, even when I was learning to use and control my powers, saying that wielding my power should never circumvent the proper behavior of a lady. Daddy although an Emperor, always made time to be silly. This could steer Mother crazy at times, but she would always surrender to our games. Staring at their hearts – the loving symbols of the two most valuable people in the entire universe to me, strangely felt comforting in a saturating way. I was submerged in their love.
“I miss you both. Mommy... Daddy....?” I waited a second and hoped to hear their voices again. I broke down leaning over the altar, shaking with sobs. I didn’t even try to suppress my grief. Suddenly, their crystal hearts began to glow with an intense luminosity that spiraled around me.
“And we’ve missed you all the while, darling girl.” My Mother's voice said sweetly.
“I'm so sorry... I didn't know what happened to you. I... couldn't... remember you and I didn't understand. Please... forgive me.” I sobbed uncontrollably.
“You've done nothing wrong. You've shown great strength. We’re very proud of you. We’re here to guide you. Our death is through no fault of yours.”
Daddy's voice was tender, comforting as his bear hugs had always been, and I wished for one that moment.
“Where are you? I want to bring you back.” I pleaded.
“Our souls are in the Underworld. Unfortunately we don’t know where our bodies are buried, but we roam in the paths which you make.” Daddy assured.
“Am I shutting you out?” I asked, utterly confused.
“No, of course not, but my darling, you must let go of the anger and the rage. You must move on. You must prepare to reign.”
“Reign? Reign! I can't do that without you!” I shouted. I hated breaking down like this, completely helpless and weak, so uncharacteristic for a new empress but I couldn't help it. I needed their guidance in human form. I had no experience ruling an empire.
“Who did this to you? Please... please tell me. I have to know,” I pleaded, in between sobs.
“Revenge will not bring us back.” Daddy proclaimed.
“You don't understand. Don't you see?” I threw my arms up. “If I knew who did this to you, then I could find out where you’re buried. Please... I can't do this without you.”
“Of course you can. You must?” Daddy demanded, harshly.
“Don’t you know who did this to you?”
“Yes, and it won't make a difference. You can’t terminate them. It will only bring enormous pain to the other members.”
“I promise that I won’t terminate anyone. You have my word.”
“It was no secret that you would be the most powerful ruler and the giver of immortality. You were betrothed to the next in line of power, Victor. His family, the Iptian’s, was second in the bloodline.” Daddy explained.
“It’s true?” I asked, stunned, my head swirling. Victor had not been lying after all.
“The Iptian family was banished many years ago when you were a child, practically a baby, therefore the next family in line, the Capius family ascended in the blood line, second in power. Once one family is exiled by the governing Ischeros, the next family automatically rises and strengthens in power.”