A/N: I've finally returned from being dreadfully sick and was also able to return to work yesterday. Thank you to those who sent me well wishes!! Now, finally, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!!
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Magic.
He'd heard about it in fairy tales, specifically the ones his father used to read to him. Descriptions of extraordinary people with enchanting powers used to assist, protect, or destroy anything around them.
As it turned out, they weren't merely people in stories.
They were real.
Henry stared right at the proof.
And he'd been best friends with another magical person his entire life.
"How?" he managed. Then he mentally chided himself for being so intrusive. Eldon's answer had to suffice. Henry didn't have to know any more or question him further.
Eldon fully turned around and shrugged.
Shrugged.
That did not seem like a good sign.
"I dunno," Eldon began. "I just found out some months ago 'bout magic and I'm still tryna figure it out. What I did just now, though? Didn't even know I could do that. But..." He pointed down to his leg with his index finger. "I knew already I could heal."
Henry's expression softened. "Oh. Goddesses, I should've known. That's why Elouise wouldn't allow Ivy or me to see you. You were—"
"Yeah. It doesn't work that fast, so it did take me a few days to wake up. But anythin' that heals glows. She kinda didn't want the two of you to see that."
Henry gasped as a sudden realization—and truthfully, one of the most obvious ones now that he truly thought about it—hit him. "And that is why you and Elouise are the only ones with brown eyes." He bent over, putting his hands on his knees, and focusing on calming his pulse, murmuring to himself not to panic.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Thankfully, the sound of the waves and the whispering branches from the wind were enough to push aside his nerves.
He stood upright again and sighed. "Do you know why it's only you and her?"
Eldon furrowed his eyebrows, dropping his gaze to his feet. "Kinda, yeah. But that's somethin' she can explain better than me. Maybe she can also tell you 'bout her magic if she wants to."
The first part of Eldon's statement felt like another bad sign. Henry would have preferred assuming Eldon and Elouise were fortunate ones. Considering Eldon's response, Henry feared something sinister hidden beneath the surface. Dark secrets concealed by the kingdom.
"You can't say nothin', Henry," Eldon warned him.
Henry gaped at him. "I swear to the Goddesses. All of this is... difficult to process. I've lived my life thinking a certain way. Now I have to come to terms with dragons still existing, magic being real, and... well, at this point, I don't think anything else could genuinely surprise me."
Strangely, Eldon smirked. Then he asked, "Well, what if I told ya that the only reason I ever left my village was 'cause a voice told me I hada meet Elouise?"
Henry had to sit. He chose the boulder closest to Eldon and put his head between his hands. After letting Eldon's question sink in, he looked up and widened his eyes. "You're haunted, too?"
Eldon sat beside him, chuckling lightly.
Henry blinked. "Am I missing something?"
"No, it's just I thought it was gonna be hard to say it out loud, but it feels... it feels kinda good tellin' someone else 'bout this."
YOU ARE READING
A Guardian's Fate (Book #2)
Fantasy(BOOK #2 in the Secrets of Aristol series.) It's almost been three months since Elouise's birthday. Although she's kept herself distracted by Beatrice's past, she's left with more questions. Perhaps she isn't concentrating hard enough. After all, sh...
