Queen of Summer's Ice (Book 2)

Chapter 29

     "Don't tell anyone," I said in a whisper, as if the tree's would send word to my enemies. "No one can know about it yet. This... its," I was at lost for words. One half of me wanted to get my hopes up, but the other half - the logical one - told me that no matter what words were coming out of Alagan's mouth, didn't matter that he stood here showing me that he was the exception, that it wouldn't and couldn't happen.

     "This is just a theory, what if you're just...special. For as long as the seasons have been in place there were royals who had and didn't have the lands power. Now you believe that every royal can have it if they want it bad enough?"

     "It's not just a theory Evie," he said. His hands went to his pockets while his eyes wondered the surrounding as if he too feared that someone was listening in on us. No one was though, I could feel that it was just us two alone in the woods.

     "Don't you think just one, one, royal without any powers would have tried their hardest to reach their power? That they were in a live or die situation and died because they didn't summon their powers - because there wasn't any power to summon?"

     "Evie, I've seen it done. On my island," he confessed. The words that left his lips caused the mist of coldness to form and evaporate in the wind.

     "What," I said breathlessly. "Who. There wasn't anyone there with you when I went there." It was just him on the island. Unless he had them hiding in some underground tunnel or living quarters to keep them a secret from Nazim and I. Maybe this is the reason why he wasn't as crazy as everyone would believe he could be. Because he was never truly alone on that island as he made it seem.

     "A few lesser royals, and a human from summer." His turquoise eyes were shifting in color from blue to green just as fast as his emotions. Hands now out of their pockets and by his sides he created a ball of rock the size of his palm. And with it he continued to form and deform its structure.

     "A...A human?" I had to have heard him wrong.

     "Yes."

      "Woah, woah, woah - what." It was hard for me to not just stand there with my mouth open and my mind blank. I've seen many impossible things, me being a majority, but what he was saying... It was beyond anything real. "You need to elaborate - Now Alagan. A human can have powers too?"

     "No, no, not entirely. It's a lot to take in Evie. Trust me, it took me a good couple of years for the information to come to me, while you're getting it in a poor and quick summary. So let me just start from the beginning." He shifted his body and with little effort he created two stone chairs, similar to the ones on his island, and a table in between us. He sat down with a stiff back but that rock still in his palm. I followed his movement to sit and kept my shaking hands flat on the table.

     "For, too many years to count, I was on that island without much happiness. Every time a stray sailor would find me and decide to stay, they lived and died their mortal life. Leaving me just as alone as I was before I met them, but then three women came to my island. No money, no food, no ship, but they were the most beautiful women I have ever seen. I cannot tell you their names because it was their only request for me in exchange for their knowledge." Alagan took a steady breath, and never have I seen him so ... vulnerable. It was like this memory made him into a nervous child telling me his deepest and darkest secret.

     "One tried to kill me the moment she saw me, when I tried to fight back with my powers I noticed that I didn't have them. It didn't stop me though, and just as soon as I was close to dying by her hands, the next woman stepped in. She just looked at me and all my wounds were healed, faster than if I did have my powers. The next woman then came into my view, she actually came up to me, kissed both of my eyes and placed her hand on my chest. When she did that I felt something open in me. That sadness, that grief, that longing for it to all end... were gone," he snapped his fingers, "just like that.