Chapter 699
[ 1,260 words ]
Liseli was eager to take charge, but Talia didn’t want to do anything rashly. They came here on a FRIENDLY visit, damn it!
However, Liseli had a point. Was there any use in talking to Evanora if Talia couldn’t trust her?
Evanora said how she was not lying, but what if that was a lie? And what if Evanora bluntly rejected Yasmin as a way to distract Talia so that she can’t tell truth from falsehood? Ah, all this was stressful!
‘Let’s try talking first’, Talia said to Liseli.
Talia could feel Liseli’s hostility and it was hard to pacify the ancient spirit.
Liseli disliked Evanora since the mate-for-mate deal. Sure, Axel ended up jumping into it, and then Evanora gave up on cashing it in when it was confirmed that Axel and Yasmin were mates. However, if not for Axel, there was a chance that Talia would be facing the choices of Damon (and Sapa) being free and not remembering Talia (and Liseli), and the other choice of Damon regaining his memories, but being forced to stay with witches. Unacceptable!
‘What is there to talk?’, Liseli hissed. ‘The old hag can lie her mouth off. And what’s the deal with Yasmin not being able to hear it?’
Again, Talia agreed with Liseli’s points. It was strange. Was Evanora insisting for Yasmin to stay out of it because Evanora wanted to lie (or worse), and she didn’t want to do it in front of Yasmin?
Talia steeled her resolve and spoke to Evanora.
“I want to use my deal with you on discussing the portals. I expect that you will tell me everything you know about them. And I want Damon, Axel, and Yasmin to be present. You are welcome to add more people from your side if you wish.”
Evanora shook her head. “Not Yasmin. You don’t understand. This impacts our family.”
“Then, more so I should be there.”, Yasmin said. “Mother, you said how the written documents are gone. Knowledge will be preserved by sharing it with other members of the Coven. Or do you plan to take it to your grave?”
Evanora sucked in a breath. “Are you cursing me to die?”
Yasmin rolled her eyes. “I’m just stating the facts, mother. We all come from nature and we will all return to nature, eventually. No one lives forever.”
“I will get some other witches to join. Serena and…”
“Me.”, Yasmin interrupted Evanora, this time she was visibly angry as her pregnancy hormones fanned her temper. “Information about portals is sensitive. Who is better to carry the legacy of the Coven than me? Or are you saying that Serena is more important than I am?”
“Of course, not. But…”
“Then, it’s settled.”, Yasmin said. “Let’s go to mother’s office. No one can eavesdrop there.”
…
No other witch joined them, and for the next hour, Evanora was talking about portals.
Evanora didn’t know the details of setting up a portal, because the blueprints were missing, but she was familiar with the theory about runes, diagrams, and materials needed.
Talia listened attentively, and she was glad that Yasmin was taking notes because Evanora’s explanation sounded esoteric to Talia’s non-witchy brain.
When Evanora ended her explanation, she asked, “Any questions?”
“Yes”, Damon said right away. “Based on what you’ve said, the prerequisite for a portal to open is that these things need to be set up on both entrance and exit. If that was true, how were initial portals created?”
Evanora looked at Damon like he was an ignorant child. “There are legends which talk about ancient creatures who were able to cross great distances at will. The portals we have are their legacy to provide lesser creatures with the convenience of travel.”
Damon eyed Evanora suspiciously. “Are you talking about Gods? Do you believe that such creatures existed?”
Evanora stifled a laugh, noticing that he spoke in the past tense. “As a werewolf, you should believe in the Moon Goddess. If she can decide on your soulmate from the moment you were born, bless you with powers and the ability to shapeshift, why is it difficult to believe that she can cross realms with a thought? You believe in the Moon Goddess, and we worship nature. No matter what you call it, nearly every creature believes in existences that are above them. Time and retelling changed the original stories but the fact is that all legends were based on truth.”
Damon’s brows came in a frown. She was right. All legends were based on truth. Even the silly belief that there are mermaids at the bottom of the lake next to Darkbourne started because of the unusual movements down there. Damon wondered when will Talia mention that phenomenon to Evanora.
Yasmin raised her hand, like an obedient child in school. When Evanora waved at her to go ahead, Yasmin spoke, “Portals twist the space between two points. If we don’t know how to set it up, the portal can work in reverse and increase the space.”
Evanora cocked an eyebrow. “Was there a question in there?”
Yasmin pressed her lips into a line and glared at her mother.
Over the last hour, Evanora said a lot, but it was useless.
It all looked like a pile of Legos without instructions on how to put them together. Oh, and there was a chance that some of the pieces were missing. Axel had an impressive collection of Legos at home, and Yasmin was playing with them in her free time so she knew that the same pieces could create different shapes, depending on how they came together.
Sure, they can use this information to start experimenting, but even if they manage to open the portal, going in there would be suicidal. What if one gets in and exits on the other side a hundred years later? Yasmin remembered how James mentioned drones, so maybe they could use that.
Yasmin pushed the useless thoughts to the side because one thing was bugging her.
“Mom”, she called. “Why was this something I couldn’t hear? You said it’s a family thing. Is it related to my father?”
The way Evanora lowered her gaze, told Yasmin that she hit a nail on the head.
“Is father’s disappearance connected to the portals?”, Yasmin asked. “Part of the deal was that you will disclose everything related to the portals.”
“Do you really want to talk about it in front of outsiders?”
“Yes!”, Yasmin exclaimed. She feared that if she gives Evanora a breather, she will find a way to wiggle out of it. “Besides, Axel is family, and so are Talia and Damon.”
Evanora pressed her lips into a line while sorting out her thoughts. She didn’t tell Yasmin much about her father because Evanora feared that Yasmin will go looking for him. Was he alive? Evanora was not sure. The connection between them was gone, but she never felt the ache that came with losing a soulmate, so she believed that he was out there… somewhere.
Evanora hoped that he will return when the time was right, and then he will explain what happened and make it up to them after centuries of separation because Evanora didn’t know much, and she had a bunch of questions of her own.
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