The servants brought out the first course, a green salad with a citrus dressing, and the delicious Indian bread I had come to love.
After we were alone again, Lucan spoke directly to me, "My son is quite taken with you Eden. I'm quite certain you have bewitched him." He stared at me, his deep blue eyes searching mine; I didn't know what to say. He didn't seem angry, but I felt like he was still accusing me of something that should be wrong.
"No, no, not at all," I glanced at Kiran, hoping he would help defend me, but he was suddenly very interested in his wine. "Kiran is betrothed," I finished weakly.
"I know," Lucan snapped, but not unkindly.
"Of course. Forgive me. What I mean to say is that, Kiran is too respectable of a man to mistreat Seraphina," A deep blush crawled up my neck and onto my cheeks.
"Is that so? Well, my dear," Lucan continued, turning to Kiran's mother, "at least their feelings for each other are mutual," he smiled at his beautiful wife who nodded her agreement eyeing me over with her turquoise eyes.
"I am Amelie," the younger girl introduced herself. "It is very nice to meet you." She smiled genuinely at me, her golden brown eyes sparkling from even across the table.
"Oh yes, Eden, this is Amelia, Sebastian's younger sister," Kiran smiled between the two of us.
I recognized the difference between how she introduced herself and how Kiran had said her name as the difference between the French and English pronunciations; at least French class had taught me something.
"Do you know my brother?" she asked excitedly, a look of pure pride in her eyes.
"Yes, I attend Kingsley with him," I smiled back at her, not wanting to go into too much detail on exactly how well we knew each other. Her excitement was catching, though, and I mused at how sweet and enchanting she was, especially for being Sebastian's sister.
"How wonderful!" she gasped, reaching out for Kiran's hand. "I wanted to join the boys so badly, but mother said I am too young to be that far from home." She pouted, looking up at Kiran with a mixture of hero worship and pleading.
"That you are, Amelia," Lucan scolded from behind his wine goblet.
She was instantly silent; her eyes falling desperately back to her salad. My heart went out to her; she had that kind of contagious personality that demanded empathy with every emotion.
"It won't be long, dearest," Kiran reached out for her hand again, and she looked up at him, her large golden brown eyes flickering with hope. "You'll be with us again soon enough," he smiled down at her and I saw that she believed him; there was complete trust between the two.
The servants appeared to clear the first course and then a second group of servants brought out a delicious-smelling soup. I was pleasantly surprised to find it sweet and a little sour, with apples, potatoes and raisins.
"Eden, I would love to hear more about how your Walk went," Amelia said happily. "I have to do mine this summer and I am so terribly nervous," She glanced at Lucan making sure she wasn't saying anything she shouldn't, before turning her bright eyes back to me. "Were you terrified?"
I cleared my throat, desperately wishing she wouldn't have even broached the subject. I didn't know how to fumble my way through a lie in front of Lucan because I didn't know how a normal Walk was supposed to go.
"Yes, yes I was absolutely terrified," I smiled gently, with honesty.
"Oh, me too," Amelia gushed, offering me the same trust that she had given Kiran.
"Whatever for?" Kiran asked, perplexed. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he said confidently to Amelia.
"Well, Kiran's right," I cleared my throat again, hoping to sound convincing. "There isn't anything to be afraid of really, but it's hard to know that before you've done it." I took a quick sip of my soup, hoping the conversation would end there.
"That's what I keep telling Uncle Lucan," Amelia glanced over at the King who had seemed to grow disinterested in our conversation. "I was hoping he would let me watch your Walk Eden, just so I could get a glimpse of what exactly happens."
"Eden's Walk wouldn't have revealed very much Amelia. I don't believe I've ever witnessed a Walk end so abruptly in my life," Lucan looked down at me from over his glass, I was suddenly very nervous, realizing how erratic I must have come across yesterday.
I blushed and stared down at my now empty bowl. I didn't know if Lucan was expecting an explanation or if he already knew I couldn't give him one.
The servants came in again, providing a much needed interruption to the awkward silence. They cleared our bowls and replaced them with a lamb sauce over long-grain white rice with more bread to eat with, instead of silverware. I watched Kiran expertly tear a piece of bread apart and fold it into a kind of scoop, bringing the rice mixed with sauce proficiently to his lips. I inwardly sighed, knowing this was not the place to attempt a finger food learning experience.
"Thank you for inviting me to dinner, everything is wonderful," I changed the subject, calling on propriety to cover my awkward silence. "I understand this usually only happens once a year," I tried smiling in the general direction of Lucan without actually looking at him.
"Yes. It does," he replied curtly. "But as you know your circumstances are.... unique."
"You have no idea how often I'm told that," I attempted a joke, but only Kiran laughed.
"Well, we are just happy you were so willing to cooperate," Lucan smiled at me politely, but his deep blue eyes were searching my face, waiting for me to react.
"No, please," I smiled, genuinely. "You are the ones who have been so accommodating. I apologize for my negligence in the matter." I did my best to sound grown-up and sincere; I hadn't had a choice in the matter, or even been asked to cooperate.
"In the summer we hold a ball," Kiran spoke up with anxious enthusiasm. "The palace is really quite lovely in the summer, Eden," he smiled at me with more affection than I thought was appropriate in front of his parents, but some instinct deep in the pit of my stomach told me to play the secret lover a little more obviously.
"I would have loved a ball," I cooed at Kiran, swirling the wine around in my glass idly.
"Then maybe next time around, your parents shouldn't die and leave you in the care of a-" Lucan spit out suddenly with cool-toned hatred that sent chills down my spine. He paused only for a second on the vowel and I was certain he was going to say Amory before he continued, "a, a human," he set his glass down a little violently, spilling the crimson liquid on the table.
I didn't know what to say or how to respond, but luckily Analisa, Kiran's mother, reacted before I was given the chance. Very calmly and collectedly, she set her own goblet down, dabbed at her face with her cloth napkin and stood. She smiled at Kiran and Amelia and then at me, before leaving the table and walking out of the dining room without another word.
"If you'll excuse me," Lucan mimicked Analisa's every move minus the smiles and left the dining room before I could analyze the rhyme or reason for any of it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Welcome home," Aunt Syl opened the door for me before I could even walk up the driveway.
The December night was frigidly cold, I could see my breath and I was standing ankle deep in snow. The dark winter night was a painful reminder of the warmth and sunshine I left in India. The black sedan that had been my transportation from the private air strip drove away into the night and I let out a sigh of exhaustion that felt like a long time coming.
I dropped my carry-on and new backpack in the middle of the snowy drive and ran the rest of the way to Aunt Syl. I threw my arms around her and she reciprocated in the motherly hug I had always known.
Choked up with emotion, she whispered into my hair, "It's good to have you home."
"It's good to be home," I sighed with my own emotion. I hadn't realized until that moment how afraid I had been of not making it back to this house, and of never seeing Aunt Syl again. Pending revolution aside, this was where I belonged; this home held my heart.
"Well, look who's back," Avalon masked the relief I felt washing over him with mild sarcasm.
Jericho popped his head out of the door too, smiling at me with a wide grin, and waving silently in an adorable gesture.
"When did you guys get back?" I asked, hardly believing they beat me home. Weren't they supposed to be following me?
"Like seconds ago," Avalon replied, while Jericho maneuvered past the rest of us, picking up my discarded luggage and carrying it inside the house. "Once we were sure your taxi would be dropping you at home, we decided to race you here. We won by the way," he smiled at me, tugging at my arm, pulling me away from Aunt Syl and into a bear hug of his own. "We made it," he whispered and that close to Avalon, I couldn't distinguish his emotion from mine; but, either way, relief washed over both of us and we realized that a more strategic game was being played than we had wanted to believe. But for the moment, we were safe.
"Well, come inside you two and let's hear all about it," Aunt Syl ushered us inside and everyone took their boots off at the door. Avalon and I collapsed side by side on the overstuffed couch, his arm around me. We weren't usually so touchy-feely but the separation over the past few weeks had been rough; our twin connection needed some serious care.
"Is Amory coming over?" I asked, not really wanting to recount the story twice, even though I was dying to talk over the girly details of the trip with Aunt Syl. I knew Amory would hardly care about the color of my saris and all the different foods I got to try.
"Yes, he should be here soon," Aunt Syl smiled, intuition written all over her face. "How about I make some hot chocolate?"
"Sounds wonderful," I mumbled, closing my eyes and wishing I could just sleep for the next several months.
"I'll help you," Avalon stood up, patting me on the head a little roughly and following Aunt Syl into the kitchen.
The doorbell rang and I reluctantly made myself get up off the couch and answer it. I expected to see Amory, so when I flung the door open I was more than a little surprised to see Sebastian standing on the other side, shivering.
"Hello?" I greeted with a question, more confused than I felt emotionally prepared to deal with.
"Hello," he said confidently, smiling back at me. His golden brown eyes were sparkling; I remembered his sister with reluctant admiration.
"What are you doing here, Sebastian?" I asked bluntly, too tired to play games.
"Can I come in?" he dodged my question, fidgeting a little, but unable to stop shivering.
"Fine," I walked away from the door and let him enter. I stood, leaning against the staircase, not willing to let him further into my home, my sanctuary. I heard Jericho moving around upstairs and I was suddenly nervous and wondering where Roxie and Lilly were.
"Don't be so terse, Eden," he smiled mischievously at me, unbuttoning his black pea coat at the collar and loosening his scarf. "Am I supposed to remind you to use your magic for the jet lag?" he asked sincerely.
"No," I rolled my eyes as if he was completely out of line, but secretly used my magic to fix the exhaustion. I couldn't believe I had forgotten again.