The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (45 page)

Eoghan leaned over to
stoke the fire
,
but Bre jumped up and backed away from him. “I can’t handle
this anymore!” Bre protectively wrapped her arms around
herself
as she shook her
head uncontrollably. “I can’t do this.”

Eoghan cautiously stood
up, staring at the frazzled princess, hands out defensively.
“Whoa
!
Do what?
What’s wrong?”

“This. Us. Whatever this
is. I cannot do it. I can
feel
you inside me,” she pounded a closed fist over
her heart as she spoke
, “taking over my
emotions. I can’t handle it anymore.”

“I’m not sure I understand, but there
has to be a magical solution for a magical problem, right?” Eoghan
forced a positive tone and a smile to calm her.

“No
.
I am barely strong enough now. I
cannot hinder or damage my powers because of you.” Bre’s whole body
shook with
a
raw
mixture of fury, lust, and love.

“What do you want me to do, Bre? I
will do anything,” Eoghan pleaded.

Please don’t do anything
crazy, I can’t lose you. Oh the gods, I can’t lose you,
Eoghan thought
,
but Bre heard him.

“Stop
. Please, just stop. No more thinking,” Breanna sobbed,
holding her head in her hands. “No more feelings
.
I can’t bare these emotions. I
can’t tell whose is who’s anymore,
you’re
invading my soul!”

Eoghan choked back tears; it was now
or never. He pushed his chest out and grabbed Bre’s arms. “Tell me
you don’t love me. Tell me you don’t love me and I will find a way
to get rid of my feelings for you.”

Breanna stood
quiet,
shivering, afraid
to answer.

“
Tell me,” Eoghan
demanded, slightly shaking her.

Bre stopped
shivering
,
her
face clear of
emotion
as she stared into Eoghan’s eyes.
As
Eoghan stared
back,
her eyes changed from hazel to
silver. It broke his heart to know that she had to call upon her
powers just to speak to him
.

“I cannot love you,
Eoghan. It is not my duty to love you,
nor
my destiny to be with
you
.
We will
never have a future other than a fellowship. You are my soldier and
subject, nothing more.”
Her words felt
like a dagger shredding his guts.

Tears swam in Eoghan’s
eyes
,
but he
blinked
them
away. He sighed and bowed his head, “As you wish, Your
Highness.”

Without another word,
Eoghan turned and walked down the hill towards the practice field.
For the first time, Breanna did not feel the need to follow
him
;
pushing him
away was right for both of them.

A smooth rock on the ground caught the
firelight and Bre’s attention. She instinctively picked up a small
jet-black rock and turned it over in her hands. Not knowing or
caring why, Breanna put it in her pocket.

Leora
transmitted
a calming sensation as
she and Clover laid their heads on her lap. Aurora curled up on
Bre’s feet
, while
Whisper loudly chomped on oats in the
background
.
his
carefree crunching made Bre laugh. Even after the draining
emotional conflict she had with Eoghan, the night had a sense of
normality.

Do you want us to follow
him?
asked Clover.

“No
.
He needs to find a way to separate
us. It is what’s best for the battle…what’s best for him,” Bre
answered with a sad smile as she pet the large wolf.

Sitting and relaxing with her animals,
Bre realized, “I’m not going to make it through this
war…”

She
gazed up at the sky and smiled as a shooting star passed
through the clear night sky. She closed her eyes as the night air
gently caressed her skin. The crickets, owls, and the whispering
wind seemed to hum a melody just for her.

Smiling blissfully, she scratched
behind Clover’s ears and relaxed under the peaceful lull of Aurora
and Leora purring.

“…
And I’m ok with
that.”

Chapter 34

Acceptance

T
he clanging of metal and the
laughter
of men woke Breanna up. At
least two
hundred soldiers surrounded
her,
and
none
of
them
paying
attention to the sleeping girl by the fire.

Bre scurried to her feet
and backed away from the herd of men. The morning sun shone
brightly
,
blurring her already sleepy vision
.
Not only was there nowhere to
hide
,
but there
was also no way she could grab her sword undetected. Even if
she
could
get
her sword, she could not fight
two
hundred men on her
own
, no matter how good she was. In order
to
save her and her
friends
, she
would
have to use
her powers.

She forced her power to
swell in her chest. She remembered Cole directing her to feel
her
powers’
warmth take over her body and soothe her nerves. All fear
disappeared as The Power filled every crevice of her body. The
irises of her eyes turned silver and her hair pitch
black.

Bre’s voice changed into multiple
voices as she said, “Earth and air bend to my will. Destroy those
who threaten your protection.”

The air around her swirled and the
skies turned grey. Thunder rang out and crashed to the ground. A
deep rumbling from the earth got the attention of the strange men
in the camp. The men fell silent as they stared at Bre opened
mouthed, in awe.

Before she repeated her
spell, Brian grabbed the side of her face. “Bre look at me. Stop
it
.
Stop it now.
They are
not
our
enemies.
Breanna!
”

“Oh, let her go! This is
entertaining,” a man’s voice laughed. “Besides
,
uncle will have some more soldiers
to use against the demon woman.”

“Breanna,” a sweet voice
whispered into
her
ear, “Calm down,
Amica
Mea
. Come back to us. You and I have
catching up to do.”

A hand stroked the back of her head
and Bre felt her powers retreating against her will. Her hair and
eyes returned to normal as she focused on Brian, distressed by the
sight of her. She turned to see the woman who stroked her hair and
gazed into the golden brown eyes of a beautiful woman dressed in a
red and black toga with a smile that made Bre smile.

“There you are, Princess.
My name is Rhea Silvia. I am your grandmother,” Rhea said and
grabbed Bre’s hand to guide her back to the fire. “This is your
grandfather, Mars, who apparently
,
after centuries
,
still
doesn’t know when to demote
violence.”

Rhea glared at Mars as he
laughed.

Lupa growled
and
bit Mars’ hand,
causing him to stop laughing as he grumbled in pain.

The
Men moved
out of
Bre and
Rhea’s way
as they walked back to the fire, fearful
of
the princess. Once
back to the fire, Bre’s heart
jumped
and her body released the
tension it
still
held from the day before.
Standing
next to Cailean was Lysandros.

“Lysandros!
” Breanna squealed and
ran towards him. She jumped into his arms and
tightly
squeezed
him
.

Lysandros laughed as she refused to
let him go. He gave into her bear-like clutch and held her, wrapped
around his neck.

When she finally let
go
,
she gave him
a shove. “Where in the worlds have you been?”

“He came to find me,” a
familiar rough
,
raspy voice answered.

The voice gave Bre
butterflies. She never thought
she
would hear that voice again. It instantly brought
tears to her eyes. She whipped around and gasped at a man who
looked and sounded just like her father. “Who are you?” she
demanded, taking a
startled
step backwards.

“Well that was a rather
dumb question,” Mars added. Rhea shoved him and pointed a
finger
to warn
him to remain silent.

“I am your Uncle Romulus.
I know we’ve never met
,
but I know all about you, Your Majesty.” Romulus
bowed his head in respect.

“We needed more firepower
to take on Elpis and Eversor. Since Romulus has a large kingdom, I
figured his army would be perfect to recruit,” Lysandros explained.
“I called Mars the night before last. I needed
divine
help to get to Roma and to
your uncle in time.”

“No
thank you
needed, just a good war in
repayment,” Mars wiggled his eyebrows
excitedly
and grinned at
Bre.

“Help to get to the man
who absorbed Breanna’s kingdom
by violent
conquest and
killing his own brother,”
Eoghan said as he strolled up the hill from the practice field. He
spoke evenly,
and
his face remained expressionless.
He
showed no fear of
Romulus.

“Eoghan, that’s enough,”
Brian warned, surprised by his rude
,
although
truthful
,
statement.

“Merely stating facts,” Eoghan
shrugged off the warning as he walked past Bre without a
glance.

Eoghan carried himself
with cold confidence. Bre sensed the intense feelings they shared
the night before were gone. The only emotions coming from him
were
those
of a
soldier
to
his
general. Even their close
companionship was gone. Bre winced at the harshness of his
demeanor, unsure whether she should be relieved or hurt at his
sudden change of heart.

“We need to prepare for
the impending battle
.
It is approaching much quicker than we expected,” Eoghan
addressed the group without looking at Bre. “I met with Andraste
last night
,
and
she showed me that Elpis and Eversor are on their way and will
arrive shortly.”

“You met with Andraste?” Bre’s anger
flared. “Why on earth would you meet with that hag?” she felt
nothing but distrust and anger towards the goddess for what
happened to her brothers.

Eoghan answered her
in the same
indifferent
tone, “You know full well why I did. I keep my
promises.”

Cailean and Brian watched Eoghan
closely, concerned about his change in attitude.

“
What did she show you?”
Cailean asked, deliberately stopping Bre from pursuing the
issue.

“The Morrigan performing a
location spell
,
and unfortunately, she found us. As we speak, The Morrigan is
working to bring down our protection charms. Once she does, Eversor
and Elpis will be here
in
seconds.” Eoghan’s face remained
impassive.

New Eoghan was an oddity.
He used to be full of emotion and life. Now he stood as if he cared
for nothing. Bre walked away. Eoghan’s stone heart
made hers sink
into her
stomach. The men continued discussing their battle plans without
her.

Rhea watched Bre walk down
the hill, struggling with her emotions. She leaned up and whispered
in Mars’ ear, “I have to go. She has no mother to
help
her understand and
answer questions.”

Mars looked over his shoulder at
Breanna, now clutching her chest as she walked. He nodded and
kissed Rhea on the head. Rhea warned him to behave in her absence
and then followed her granddaughter down the hill.

“You are the cause, aren’t you?” Rhea
gave Bre a sympathetic smile.

Bre lurched sideways at Rhea’s sudden
appearance next to her. She let her heartbeat slow down before
answering. “Eoghan or this war?” Bre replied
sardonically.