Ora’s POV
We took the children to the small apartment I had rented and settled them on makeshift mattresses. They were still cold and weak and it would be a while before they woke up. I used my magic to create a thermostatic enclosure around them.
Then, I sauntered over to Sandy who was seated in the living room. Sliding to the couch beside him, I let out a long, drawn sigh, “I have no idea how you are feeling right now. You must be filled with anger and hatred but… I am glad that you are here.” My voice got choked with the sudden swell of emotions. “I would probably have been shattered if I had to deal with this alone.”
Sandy clasped my hand, cocooning it between his, “I don’t hate you, Ora…. I was upset, yes… maybe even angry but I never felt hatred towards you.” His eyes bored into the depths of my soul, “When you tracked down all the children and handed them over to the grand magus, I wanted to hate you, despise you… but, I just couldn’t… Do you know why?”
My breath hitched and my face flushed. He was leaning closer now; his lips mere inches from mine. With a sharp intake of breath, I rasped out, “Why?”
There was a prolonged spell of silence as we looked into the eyes of each other. Something flickered in Sandy’s eyes; uncertainty but it was soon replaced with clear reason. He cupped my face; the pad of his thumb caressing my cheeks gently, “I couldn’t bring myself to hate you ‘cause I have fallen for you…. I don’t know when or how these feelings developed… But, I think I….”
A blinding flash of light interrupted his confession, startling us. I raised my hand, intending to defend myself when Evaan’s voice sounded in the room.
“If you are listening to this, I am probably dead and so is Valence. I had conditioned the magical message to be relayed only after both our hearts stopped working.”
Those words hit me harder than a large rock. My grip on Sandy’s arm tightened until I couldn’t squeeze anymore. The air in my lungs escaped with a strong gust; suffocating me.
“My fate was set in stone the day I was born. The golden band around my wrist symbolized that I could never have a complete family like a normal child.
Even if I found my father, I couldn’t meet him. So, I never even dreamed of having a complete family. But, Aunt Ora you made that possible….
The three precious days I spend with both mom and dad like a normal family gave me such happiness, so much joy, it is indescribable.”
Tears started flowing down my cheeks like torrential rainfall as I heard his sweet words filled with gratitude. I swear, if I could turn back the time, I would exchange my life for his.
“On the fourth day, I asked my father how he found us. He gave me some vague answers. So, I used the peeking spell and found out how you saved him and helped him recover his memories.
I felt this intense urge to thank you. When I came here, you were in the library. One glance at the spell and I knew what you were planning to do.
At that moment, I figured out the perfect way to figure out your kindness. I would replace you in the ritual so that I am the one dying instead of you. That way, I would be the one to kill Valence and I would also fulfill my duty as a son.
I don’t know much about death or life for that matter. I am just a small boy after all but I am not afraid. I have already seen heaven on Earth and have no desire for anything else.
If I had told you or Uncle Sandy about my plans you would have tried to stop me. So, I didn’t get to say goodbye in person. I hope you will forgive your willful apprentice….”
Hearing Evaan’s words something broke with me. The ache that developed in my chest was so intense that I felt I would die.
I was gripping Sandy’s hand so hard now that they had turned pale like a ghost. I raised my head slowly to see tears rolling down his cheeks. That acted as a trigger and I burst into a peal of ugly sobs; screaming and tearing my hair hysterically.
“Sandy… Evaan…. I….” My heart was so full of misery that I could speak.
Through the sobs and whimpers Evaan’s final words drifted in the room, “Now, you must be wondering how I managed to find you; given that you had wiped off my memories.
I know that we should not boast but since these are my final moments, I will gloat just for a little.
Though you wiped out my memories of meeting you, my objective remained the same: finding my father. I couldn’t help but wonder if something lying in the recess of my memories could help me find him.
So, I found a way to obtain the frost of mystical dew that enhances memory, and guess what: I suddenly remembered everything. I remembered that my life source was linked to you and that it enabled me to practice magic.
I was about to come looking for you but the same day my father turned up at my doorstep. What is more, the cursed golden bracelet wasn’t present on his wrist.
I can’t even describe how I felt the moment he lifted me in my arms and pressed me to his chest. For the first time in a long long time, I cried in front of my mommy.
It was all like a dream for me, Aunt Ora; one I didn’t wish to wake up from. That is the reason it took me so long to come and find you…
How I wish, I could have hugged you too but I guess that was not meant to be. I hope you will keep your apprentice alive in your memories….
Sandy pulled me into a hug and we both cried at the unfairness of everything; at the loss of someone brighter than sunlight….