“Queen of all the gypsies?” I asked, trying to find her magical current. Nothing about her felt human, her secret knowledge of things, her violet eyes, but at the same time, nothing felt Immortal about her either. She was a puzzle to me.
“Not all the gypsies!” She scolded, “Only queen of my gypsies!” She flung her arms forward enthusiastically and then her outstretched hands swished back and forth in time to the music.
That was not an explanation for me, but I smiled along as if I understood, assuming she meant just this village. People had started to dance near the music, and I watched as Sebastian and Kiran found partners to join them in a cultural dance that was expressive and fast. They swung their partners around, clapping on beat and then passing them off to another man just as eager to receive them. Talbott reluctantly was pulled in also and soon all three boys were laughing, breathing heavy and dancing the elaborate steps like experts.
“And so you would like to ask me a question,” Ileana broke our silence and my watchful stare of Kiran who had just lifted a young girl in a long peasant skirt by the waist, twirling her in a circle and then set her down only to pass her off to Talbott.
“Well, I guess, I do have a question....” I hesitated, not wanting to offend the Gypsy Queen. “I cannot feel any magic in your blood, Ileana, but still I know you’re not.... human.”
She let out her crackling laugh that rang with ear-piercing pitch through the village. “No, I am not human and I am glad that you noticed!” When I blushed in embarrassment, she continued, “I am not Immortal either, I am both.” She let the novelty of what she said sink in and I turned to listen to her, hoping she would explain. “My mother was a gypsy princess, and my father was an Immortal Witch. So you see, I am both.”
“I didn’t know Immortals married humans,” I said with rapt attention.
“They don’t,” she snapped and her face tightened into an expression of hate totally out of character for her and absolutely terrifying to me, before relaxing back into the woman I recognized. “My father and mother met in these mountains and fell in love. Their relationship was, of course, forbidden, but they had fallen for each other. There is nothing a man will not risk when he falls in love, isn’t that true?” She turned to me, her violet eyes dancing in the firelight, and waited for my answer.
“I wouldn’t know,” I mumbled. I shifted uncomfortably under her direct stare and still she waited. “It was true for my parents,” I finally conceded having the terrible feeling she wanted me to acknowledge Kiran.
“That is true,” she answered happily. “So, my parents, much like yours, married in secret, and my father left the Citadel. At that time, he had been at school with your king. They were happy here. They were free. When your king found my father months later, the Guards killed him. In front of this village, they killed him. But they left my mother alone, for it is not intended that Immortals kill Mortals, even your monstrous kings believe that. She did not know she was pregnant at that time. And when she birthed me, half human, half Immortal, she raised me here. I am close to both people here, but I only belong to one. Just like you, Eden, you feel more human than Immortal, I think, but you do not belong in this world. No, child, you are an Immortal.”
I sat back and thought about her words. She was right, I felt more human than Immortal. Thrust into a world I hardly understood and expected to live a fairytale life I could barely take seriously, my feet stayed grounded in the human world. But my blood resonated with magic and my heart beat in tune with a people I scarcely knew. I would be their leader one day, it was time to let go of my bond with humanity.
Well, my bond with everything but Aunt Syl.
“Does Lucan know about you now?” I asked, wondering how he would treat her if he did. I knew he did not hurt humans, no Immortal did. As far as Immortals were concerned we shared the same planet, but their existence was sacred and our destinies never needed to intertwine. Well, until me.
“I’m sure he’s heard rumors, and I cannot be the only one out there like me, but he leaves this village alone now. He got what he came for more than a hundred years ago; there has been no reason to come back. I am half human after all,” she admitted sadly.
“If Lucan hasn’t been back, then how did Kiran come to know your village so well?” I questioned as I watched in disbelief as he danced with an elderly woman who was keeping a very fast tempo. He pretended to struggle to keep up with her, and at the same time treated her very gently, with the absolute care and respect.
“Amory started bringing the prince and his bodyguard here when they were just little things, barely up to my knees. After Lucan released Amory and they signed their truce, Amory visited the castle and our village often. When the prince was born, Amory made regular journeys to spend time with him and as he grew, Amory included him in everything he did while he stayed in Romania.”
“Do you mean my grandfather? Amory?” I gasped in disbelief. Neither Kiran nor Amory had ever mentioned that they spent so much time together or that their relationship existed before Kingsley.
“Yes, your grandfather, of course!” She slapped my knee as if I were being ridiculous. “Kiran grew up worshiping Amory, following him around like a shadow when he was here. This village is as much a part of Kiran’s childhood as that old castle is.”
“That can’t be true!” I argued, forgetting my manners.
“Now is the time to get to know him, Oracle,” she answered me with patience. “There is much to learn before you decide how to end this. Much to discover.”