Page 90 of Unseen Eye
“Then what are we waiting for?” I stand but notice all three of them are staring at me, still sitting. “Okay, what am I missing?”
“Eva,” Cal says, his tone suddenly serious. He speaks slowly, as if making sure I don’t miss a word. “What I’m about to tell you is... sensitive. I trust you, undoubtedly,” he adds, his voice softening, “but no one outside this room knows. For the sake of everyone involved, it needs to stay that way.”
I open my mouth to protest, the familiar sting of hurt creeping in, but I see the severity in his eyes. In theirs. They’re not joking. I sit back down, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Is this the secret you mentioned that one night?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “The one you said I’d have to accept if I wanted to be with you?”
“Yes,” Cal says quietly. He jumps off the table and crouches in front of me, taking my hands in his.
“The night Catalpa was attacked,” he begins, locking eyes with me. “Drystan ordered us to stand down, to not aid them.”
“I knew that,” I whisper. “That’s not a secret.”
“Well,” he continues, “We couldn’t bear the thought of those people perishing because my father was too cowardly to act. So we went ourselves. By the time we arrived, most of the kingdom was in ruins, but we found some survivors among the debris.” He pauses, and I can feel my heart pounding.
“And?” I urge, desperate to hear more, hoping he’s the hero I believe him to be.
“We blinked as many as we could to safety until we were exhausted. Tens of thousands died that night, but we managed to save a hundred and two.”
“But where are they now?”
“Remember the story in your journal about Valtris and the minor gods that betrayed him?” he begins. “It happened in a city on the outskirts of the kingdom, near the northern mountains—Ardu. After the attack, it was believed to be gone, destroyed bythe drakos’ fire.”
He pauses, letting the weight of his words sink in. “And it was, for a time. But Valtris’s followers rebuilt. It wasn’t much, but it was something. The best part? No one knew. Everyone, including us, thought it had been wiped off the map. So we took the people from Catalpa there, to a place where I knew they’d be safe. Using the ley lines, I crafted a shield around Ardu that’s still in place today. It keeps anyone with ill intentions out.”
It takes me a second to remember to breathe.
Izzy and Theo both nod in agreement, their expressions filled with a mix of pride and sorrow.
“Cal,” I say softly. “What you did... what you all did... it’s incredible. You saved so many lives.”
“It was risky,” Izzy adds, “but we couldn’t just stand by. They deserved a chance.”
“I wish we could have saved them all, but we were too late,” Theo says, his voice heavy with defeat.
“I have a question,” I say, breaking the silence.
“I would be shocked if you didn’t,” Izzy mutters.
“How did you know about the city?”
“Believe it or not,” Cal answers, “we stumbled across it when we were younger.”
“And dumber,” Theo chimes in with a wink. “We wanted to see the ruins for ourselves, obsessed with seeing a drakos in person. So we blinked as far north as we could, then hiked the rest of the way. Only to find the exact opposite of what we were looking for.”
“Were they mad?”
“I wouldn’t say mad, more skeptical,” Cal continues. “Especially because of who my father is, but as you very well know, no one can deny my charm forever.”
“Gag me,” Izzy mumbles.
“Anyway,” Cal says, shooting her a look, “we helped themrebuild as much as we could, taking as many supplies as we could from here. Food, weapons, medicines—as much as we could take without drawing too much suspicion. So after the Catalpa attack, it was the obvious place to take them, plus we knew they had the room.”
“You make it sound like it was so easy,” Theo says, then chuckles. “They were royally pissed off at first.”
“Well, yeah,” Cal says, matching his chuckle. “But like I said, they came around. They couldn’t deny the survivors a second chance at life.”
“Or a chance at a shield and protection,” Theo adds.
