Page 80 of Dark Reckoning
“Oh, it was bad,” Aldéricsaid. “I saw the memory. Eventually, you'll see it too once you've gain all of the knowledge of the Echelon Imperial.”
I nodded and looked at Kakashi. “So, we just keep it secret.”
Kakashi nodded. “I think now, you understand the power that we have as well as the responsibility that we shoulder. We are the guardians of this strained peace that we share with humans.”
Yes, I did understand. The world might not remember what happened, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Thousands upon thousands of grotesque monsters charging toward us as we battled El-Kazir. A dozen times, I thought I was as good as dead. With the wounds I'd suffered, I certainly would have been if not for my link to Salino. And then there was my worry for Sage. Seeing him fighting for his life, knowing I couldn't help him because I was in the middle of my own battle, I just prayed that he survived, that we all did. One lesson this whole experience taught me was to be more cautious about the spells we do and to live every day to its fullest.
“I just want to go home,” I said. If it was all over, then I needed a nice long nap.
Sage took my hand into his. “Yeah, me too, baby. What about Xirsi and Kyla?”
“Their bodies will be cremated at the memorial service we'll hold for them tomorrow,” Kakashi said.
I felt that was good enough. At least we were going to honor them in some way. I did agree with Rene and Maryanne that we should. Sage and I stripped out of our bloody robes, then showered in the area Kakashi lead us to. Once finished, we dressed in our clothes and made our way to the Lounge where Shi was sleeping on the sofa. He released my hand and walked over to her, nudging her awake. She stirred, then opened her eyes. “Let's go home.”
“Finally. Took you forever... I think. How long have I've been sleeping?” Shi asked as she wiped her eyes.
“Not too long,” Sage said.
I wondered what did she remember. I guessed we would find out.
***
“Holy shit, you two learned how to teleport?!” Xavier exclaimed after he'd gathered his wits about himself when we landed in the living room.
“Yeah, and I see you two have gotten closer,” I stated as Sage, Shi, and I watched him and Jewel scramble into their clothes.
“Umm, yeah... shit,” Xavier stammered as he looked around for his jeans. Locating them bunched in a pile on the floor by the cocktail table, he scrambled into them.
“There better not be any cum stains on my fucking sofa,” Sage said.
Jewel blushed as she pulled on her top. “Sorry about that, my king.”
“Where's everyone else?” Sage asked.
I then remembered that he'd gathered all of his pride to his tower.
“Most are around waiting for the meeting you called. Some had to leave to get back to work. When's the meeting anyway? Is it to announce that you're on the Council?” Jewel updated.
Sage nodded and I knew that was the best excuse for a cover story. “Yes, but it can wait until tomorrow. Have those who can meet me be here and we'll just get the word out for everyone who can't make it due to obligations.”
“Sure thing, my king,” Jewel said.
“Where's Nadia?” Shi asked.
“She went home,” Jewel said.
Shi nodded. “If you don't need me anymore, Sage, I'm going to head home.”
Sage reached out, caressing her jaw lovingly. She may not remember that she wanted to be with Sage every step of the way, but we did. She only remembered that she was there while Sage and I trained. But I knew how much her devotion meant to Sage. “Go, get some rest.”
She nodded, then left.
Sage turned to Xavier and Jewel. “You two, out.”
“Yeah,” Xavier said, then looked at me. “Before I leave, how did it go at the Council meeting? It's been like what? Two days?”
“We had a lot to go over. Rules, rituals for initiation and as you saw, we learned how to teleport, which is both awesome as hell and necessary in order to reach the headquarters,” I said. It was the truth, just not all of it. Not knowing everything that had happened was a blessing. Right then, Xavier and Jewel were in a good place. I didn't want to ruin their happiness, especially not with something they couldn't do anything about. It was going to be a challenge for me to pretend like everything we went through never happened. A burden, indeed, but one that I would bear.
