„That was...", Gaisgeil shook his head in astonishment. His loving eyes trailed my tired face as I washed Conor's blood from my hands.
Ai handed me a towel. „You have all the right to be proud of Callida. She is an incredible surgeon. I couldn't have made it without her."
I smiled at her. We did it, I was so happy, we saved Conor. Now he can live a normal life, even without a spleen.
Suddenly two strong arms embraced me from behind. Gaisgeil was peppering kisses on my neck. „How could I be so lucky to have such an incredible destined?", he said in wonder. I blushed hard, hearing his praise.
I turned around to face him.
"You saved my brother's life - you and Ai. What you both did is unbelievable to watch."He scanned my face in awe.
"You put your hands inside his body, took something out...and he still breaths and lives...!!??!"
Chuckling, I embraced him. "So I won't be burned, Mylord?", I teased him in a husky voice. His eyes darkened, lust clouding his gaze.
"Hellooooo!? Go get a room, I am still here!!!", Ai scolded us in a friendly tone.
I snickered in Gaisgeil's chest and he groaned. "We won't see much of our bedroom, not until Conor is out of danger and Nefaria' future secured."
"Than I am happy to help you out, eradicate one of your worries", a pain distorted voice joined in.
Our heads whipped to Conor, who was lying peacefully on his bed with closed eyes. Gaisgeil was the first to reach the bed, hovering over his brother.
"Hey, little brother, how are you? Are you in pain?"
Conor snorted, smiling and coughing at the same time. "What do you think? Your destined cut my guts open and played with my insides."
Gaisgeil exhaled, the worryline between his eybrows vanished. You could really feel, that he was releaved that his brother survived and was joking around.
Conor smiled softly, seeing his big brother cared truely about him. But suddenly his smile faded away, being replaced by anguish.
Why the sudden mood swing? Something was bothering him. Perhaps something, that he wanted so desperately to tell us before the surgery?
"Hey Con, what's torturing you?", Gaisgeil asked in a careful and calm way. For the first time he used a nickname for his brother.
My face must have betrayed my inner feelings, that I was deeply touched. Ai's arm went around my shoulders in reassurance. Together we watched the heart-warming scene in front of us.
I still couldn't fully comprehend, how the cruel Lord of Desa transformed into this sensitive and loving man. It was a miracle! Was I really the cause of all his reformation, like he said?
Conor tilted his head in shame. He wanted to avoid his brother's gaze. Why? Was he hiding such a terrible secret? In anticipation, Ai and I listened without making a single sound.
"Brother, I...I am ashamed to confess." Conor wiped a tear from his face. "How will you forgive me?!"
"But...it has to be done, your lives depend on the truth."
Gaisgeil immediately stiffened but remained composed. "No harm was done, Con, you can tell me, I won't judge you."
Conor trailed Gaisgeil's face showing regret. "I was all an act", he whispered.
Ai watched me with a big question mark plastered on her face. We told her and the others the story of Amarin and Consilius, how Gaisgeil killed his half-brother without knowing.
But I didn't know, where Conor was heading, so I only shrugged, waiting to see, what would happen.
"My uncle....Consilius is a clever manipulator who planed a big scheme on you. As soon as you would have arrived in Bertaèyn, you would have been killed. The whole time, Consilius was the really danger, not that fool Keallach. There is one thing, creatures will never be: such good deceitful liars like humans."
To say we were baffled was a big fat understatement. That conceited, self-overestimated asshole Consilius planed an ambush? But as I thought about it, it made sense.
Gaisgeil stayed mute, still trying to connect the dots with furrowed eyebrows. I walked the few steps to Conor's bed.
"What did he plan, Conor?"
I remember that Consilius had an evil gleam in his eyes as we confronted him in his house, where we met Conor for the first time. Now I know, that he mocked us.
"Tell us all about the ambush he planed, Conor."
He nodded weakly. "Please, help me up. I want to face all of you, when I explain the connections behind Consilius scheme."
Ai came on the other side of Conor's bed and helped putting him sit in an agreeable position.
Conor suddenly grabbed my hand. "Callida, I am so sorry", he whispered, his face a plead for forgiveness.
"Consilius planed everything the way he did, because he knew you well enough, and he used his knowledge to manipulate you."
I pressed his hand as a sign to procede. "Think back, Callida, think back and remember: Who spoke to you about Bertaèyn and the archives for the first time?"
My mind tried to evoke the memory. We were at Consiliu's house and he...HE told us about the awereness, the bunker in Bertaèyn, the folders: I remember his words:
"Our... clan lives on the outskirts of Desa. We live hidden in the mountains by ourself. We...our people call themselves Bertaèyn. We are pure, simple people and we are human.
Our ancestors build the bunkers for two reasons: First for safety in case of a war. Second to keep things safely hidden from prying eyes. We use the space to live a quiet and safe live.
...
You search for the key to our world because you want to understand, why we became what we are now", he grinned viciously. "You want to break the reign of the Lord yourself, to free humankind and to destroy the regency of those monsters"
Consilius WANTED to lure us to Bertaèyn He wanted us there for one reason...
"It should have been Amarin who led you both there and than...", Conor gulped.
"And than", Gaisgeil growled lowly with cold eyes. Conor's own eyes widened as he recognised the changing mood of his brother.
I laid my hand on my destined's shoulder to calm him down. "Let Conor explain everything, mo ghaoil." Hearing the endearment, Gaisgeil visibly relaxed but he was still on edge.
Conor took a deep breath. "My uncle informed his clan of your arrival. He told them, that the Lord of Desa was coming, that Gaisgeil wanted to destroy Bertaèyn and to kill all humans."
"That dirty old...", Gaisgeil seethed.
I thought about what I heard. "So, he wanted to stir his clan up against us, to frighten them, so they would do his dirty work and kill us. And their chances to succeed would have been good, if Gaisgeil hadn't send for his soldiers? "
Conor nodded, lowering his head. "There is more", he said subdued.
Gaisgeil rose from the bed, pacing the floor ruffling his own hair in anger. Conor watched him helplessly.
"What else? Isn't that enough?", my destined spat.
"Amarin, he wanted Callida. After your death, he would have taken her. That was the deal. Amarin would get Callida, Consilius Desa."
This statement let Gaisgeil halt in his steps.
"Amarin", Conor shook his head thoughtfully, "he wasn't in his right mind. He was obsessive in his desire to be together with Callida."
A dark rumble errupted from Gaisgeil's chest. "Why, tell me why didn't you just reveal everything to us?", he hissed.
Conor closed his eyes, twisting his face, like he dad been slapped. "Why do you think, did I keep my distance? I was ashamed and helpless. I didn't know, when to talk to you about my betrayal. Every time I gathered my courage, I held back, because I didn't want to see your disappointment, your anger...like now."
Gaisgeil watched his brother closely, listening. "I delayed the inevitable. After the Immaniter incident, I set myself a time limit. I wouldn't have let you leave Nefaria without talking about the dangers lying ahead", Conor stressed in desperation.
His eyes wandered from Gaisgeil to me. "You have to believe me. My uncle favoured Amarin and trusted him. I was only the second choice and I was happy, I was left out. But than, Amarin was killed."
We both watched Gaisgeil's reaction. To our astonishment, I remained calm and considered.
"Callida, I liked you instantly, like a sister. I ... am not Amarin. I don't seek power and want to rule. I just believed, that Gaisgeil was pure evil, that he had to be replaced in order to better the lives of the Daonnachd.
With his trembling fingers he smoothed out the lines on his forehead. "But after Amarin's death, I talked with my uncle and I understood... HE wanted the power. HE wanted to rule. Consilius wanted to use me to fulfill his plans. Amarin was dead, period. But I was alive. And I was also the brother of the Lord. Perhaps he would trust me as his brother?"
Gaisgeil kept his eyes on the wall, showing no emotions.
Conor sighed. "First I agreed. I wanted to rid Desa from the plague ...my own half-brother. Than I would face my uncle's crazy plans."
He turned to Gaisgeil, facing him. "I was in my uncle's house, when I first realised, that Consilius and Amarin knew more than me. Amarin knew, that you were our brother. They withheld many informations from me. I didn't know of you nor of Ailis."
"We were both misused, Gaisgeil: You, by your own father, I by my uncle and twin brother. I was torn. So I decided to go on that quest with Callida, and see, what happenend. I swore to myself, I wouldn't let something bad happen to you, Callida. Every day, it got harder and harder for me. My bad luck was, that I started liking you guys. Gaisgeil wasn't how I pictured him. So I distanced myself from you, because I began to drown in guilt. I simply didn't know, how to talk to you about the schemes of my uncle."
A calm before the storm, weighed us down. "Fact is, Bertaèyn is a trap. They expect us and they want to kill us." A sudden thought flashed in my mind, a realisation.
"Wait...everything went so fast...Amarin's death, my desicion to visit Bertaèyn? When did Consilius send a message to his clan, to wait for our arrival? A messenger would need weeks to reach there?"
Conor groaned. Tired he laid back on his pillow. Gaisgeil walked slowly to the bed, observing his brother's exhaustion.
"You are tired and done. Go to sleep, we'll talk tomorrow", he commanded in a compassionate tone.
Conor's eyes snapped open. "No, wait", he moaned.
I gave Ai a sign to prepare a sleeping drug for Conor, so he could rest until tomorrow. He needed to heal.
"There is more."
Ai stoped her doing. We all waited in anticipation.
"Our clan in Bertaèyn is special. Very special. They can communicate through the air."
WHAT? Is the pain causing him hallucinations? Gaisgeil and Ai were simply gawking in lack of understanding.
I was the first to recover. "Uhm, Conor...do you mean something like carrier pigeons?" I read about the pigeons. In former times they were trained as some kind of messengers.
He shook his head. "No, they have black little devices they call phones."
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Today a secret was revealed. I hope, you liked it. If so, please show your support and press the little star. I heard a lot of "The Weeknd" writing this chapter. Do you like his music?