AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry for what happened,” Erol blurted out.
Mom smiled. “All is forgiven. We won’t think of it again. Now, Hazel tells me we’re expecting guests?”
I glanced at Zita, who joined my mom. When Erol nodded and looked at her, she held out her hand to shake his—she’d forgiven him, too. It took a big person to do that, but Zita had always been just and fair, and we’d all been through hell and back together, more than once.
We could do it again.
“I sent word to my mother and sister,” Erol confirmed. “They’ll arrive before tonight.”
“I can’t wait to meet them,” I said with a smile.
“We’ll take good care of them,” Mom promised Erol.
“Do you think you can? This is much bigger than anything we’ve had to face before—lives hang in the balance, and if we fail…” He let his voice trail off before his emotion showed through. Through our bond, I felt his uncertainty, the worry that he would lose his family. What if everything backfired, and instead of saving them, it blew up in our faces?
I sent him good thoughts through our bond, hope and calm. I wanted him to trust me. I had faith in my mom, and in Terra. We could do this, and we were all on Erol’s side.
He glanced at me, and his expression was a mixture of panic and hope. At least, hope was there, too.
Erol’s family arrived not long after. We were still gathered in the living room when a servant announced them, and a warrior brought them in.
One of the women ran to Erol and threw her arms around him.
“Oh, little brother, it’s a treat to see you again so soon!”
Erol hugged her and grinned.
“You thought you were rid of me for a while, eh, Aggie?”
She laughed and turned to me.
“I’m Agatha,” she said. Her long brown hair had been braided, and her hazel eyes were warm. I held out my hand, but she pulled me into a hug instead. “My brother chose wisely.”
I gasped. “You know we’re together? How?”
“I have a bond with him, too. A sibling bond isn’t nearly as intense as a mate bond, but I can sense your connection to him. You’re beautiful, and you’re filled with light.” She took both my hands in hers. “He needs that. Thank you for taking care of him.”
I didn’t know what to say, but Erol came to us with an older woman who looked so much like him, there was no mistaking who she was.
“This is Marilla, my mother,” Erol said.
Marilla stepped forward. “Hazel,” she breathed. “I’m so glad to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine,” I said. When I held out my hand once again, Marilla hugged me just as Agatha had.
I didn’t know what I’d expected, but Erol’s family was nothing like it. They were warm and bright and happy, smiling easily, and they were so positive. When Erol had told me they were Luminescent, it had been a surprise, but seeing them now, I could see where the spark of light, the goodness in Erol, had come from.
We all sat down, and the servants brought us hot drinks made of cocoa beans and cream, with cinnamon, cloves, and an almost citrus aftertaste.
“I’m going to take the recipe for this back to Jasfin,” I said after taking a few sips. “I don’t think I’ll drink anything else ever again.”
Erol chuckled. “It’s addictive. I only have it on special occasions, or I wouldn’t ever drink water again.”
“He’s always loved it,” Agatha said. “I remember making pots and pots full when he was in the house.”
She and Marilla laughed, and Erol smiled, but I could sense his unease through our bond. He didn’t like looking back at the past, thinking about what he’d lost.
We would give it back to him. We just had to break through the darkness to bring him home. It wasn’t a small feat; I was aware of that. From what Erol had told me, and the bit I’d felt with the other Conjurites, Cyrene wasn’t happy about letting the Conjurites go, letting the people escape the darkness. Erol was the farthest gone.
