Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(103)
“The letter reads:
If these words are being read to you, you may very well already know what has been left unspoken for so many years. Donalt was seeking a bloodline, my bloodline. Donalt knew I was a direct descendant of Guardian, and he believed that Beth and I would bear Guardian. I was allowed to go home only to defuse any turmoil. Donalt knew my love for Beth would call me back day after day. Years later, Beth was with child, and we knew that the love of our son would keep us prisoners of Donalt’s for the rest of our lives, and we would bear that burden.
Donalt knew he only had half of the prediction; you see, a man is never whole without the heart of the one he loves, this heart would be the power to move so many. The girl was to come from Chara as well; eight months and three days from the birth of the son, Aliyanna would return as well. Willow was the only girl born in that eleventh month.
I asked Jason to keep her hidden, knowing that if she were brought home Donalt would know exactly where she was. I did not realize it was Landen, not Drake, who was born with the power to love Willow until Landen showed us his gift six years later. I planned to take my son and Beth and come home as soon as Donalt had found the fault in his stars. That day never came.
Last November, Drake and I seemed to see eye-to-eye for the first time. I told Drake that soul mates did not need anyone to guide them to one another. If Willow were the one to complete his soul, he would find her without the help of Alamos. He was confident that Willow was meant for him. Drake refused to allow Alamos to invoke the dreams. Beth and I were proud of him; we were both sure that he would find the one he was really meant to be with and leave Willow alone.
With the last new moon, Drake once again refused to dream. The following morning, Donalt and Alamos came to him. They told him before he gave his reign to another man he should first see where my alliances were held. Drake followed me that night to Chara. He saw me in the field with Landen and Marc. He ran to Beth to tell her I had another life. Beth told Drake that it was he that was the secret – not his family in Chara. The next night, he submitted to the desires of Donalt and Alamos and allowed the dreams.
All I could think to do was make sure Willow was safe in Chara. I sent Ashten to warn Jason, but by then it was too late; Willow had been marked, a star that will always serve as a beacon for Drake.
You must know that the priests helping Drake are powerful. My son’s sole ambition is to win Willow’s heart. If he does, the power given to Landen will be moved to him. Donalt believes that Preston, my fourth son, is the innocent one meant to lead Drake, a prediction that was made with Landen and Willow’s birth. Preston is just a child and spoke of Libby days before I knew who she was. Bring him home if you have not already; he and Libby are an undeniable part of this and have a power equal to that of Landen and Willow’s. I love all of you, and though you may never see it, somewhere deep in the soul of Drake is the love that Beth and I gave him.”
August folded the letter and put it in his pocket. The room seemed to stand still. No one knew what to say or do.
Landen looked down at me and pulled my wrist into his view. This star was a brand; for the rest of my life, each time I saw it Drake’s face would pass through my thoughts. From the time I told Landen that Drake had placed that star on my wrist, he had avoided touching it.
Landen stared deep in my eyes. As he gently raised my wrist to his lips, I felt a rush soar through me. He was telling me, and everyone else, that he would never let Drake take me from him.
My father made his way to the front porch and stood silently, watching the rain. Rose left to make arrangements for Livingston. Felicity took a weary Brady home. My mother took an uneasy breath before she stood, and as I hugged her goodbye she whispered, “Thank you for being the daughter I raised you to be.”
Aubrey followed my mother to meet Preston.
The room was quiet. We were waiting for an explanation, for someone to explain it all further.
“We didn’t know,” Ashten said as my father was walking back into the living room. “I mean, he was different after Beth went missing. He never talked about what had happened, and we never pushed him to.”
“You didn’t know about Drake?” Chrispin snapped, raging with anger.
“No. Livingston did everything in his power to protect Landen and Willow. Landen, if you’d followed Drake into that dimension, you wouldn’t have survived,” Ashten said. Trying to clear Livingston’s name even further than the letter had. I shuttered at the thought of Landen being hurt. Landen pulled me close to him.
“He loved all of you. I’m sure if Drake was his son, he loved him, too. He only wanted peace,” Ashten finished.
Landen settled onto the couch, making room for me next to him. We were both tired and weak, but we weren’t leaving there until we understood everything.
Landen looked at his father. “Why did you keep me from her?” he asked in a solemn voice.
“I didn’t think you were strong enough to protect her,” Ashten said as regret coursed through him.
“And exactly when were you planning on deeming me strong enough?” Landen said in a harsh, hushed tone.
“When your fate would not seem forced upon you,” Ashten said quietly.
“What does the time that I was born have to do with this?” Landen asked.
“Everything in the universe moves minute by minute, even twins don’t have the same alignment…a moment would have changed everything,” Ashten answered.