Chapter 33

chapter Thirty-three

Damion sat in the forest behind his house, staring off into the darkness beyond. If he didn't have bad luck, he'd never had any luck at all. He had been starting to feel differently, since meeting the Princess. Like he had a chance at something more. There was a lot he still had to tell her. Things he already should have told her. He was even more afraid to now. Creatures darted around in the shadows, and he wished they would come swallow him.

The crunching of debris behind him warned someone was heading his way. He wished they wouldn't. He wasn't interested in talking. He wanted to sulk and be angry and feel cheated. He frowned. "If I wanted company, I wouldn't have come out here."

"Yeah, I know. Things looked like they got a little intense back there. I wanted to make sure you were okay, at least to the point where you weren't trying to feed yourself to the beasties." Travion sat down heavily beside him. He said this in a joking manner, but Damion knew he was completely serious.

"Go away. I don't want to talk, Trey." Damion refused to look at him. Right now, it was difficult not to turn and punch him. Not that Travion had done anything wrong, just to take out some frustration and he knew Trey wouldn't take it personally.

"You know I won't. Come back inside the shield and I'll leave. Otherwise, I'll sit here quietly with you." He was good to his word. He said nothing but having him there didn't make Damion feel better. Just more annoyed.

After a while Damion finally scowled at his brother. "I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"I know."

"Then leave."

Travion just shook his head. "If you're going to talk, why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Damion leaned over and put his head on Trey's shoulder. "What should have been the happiest day of my life is overshadowed. Just like everything else." Travion didn't ask any questions. Figuring it would be best to just let Damion tell him what he wanted when he was ready. "Why can't I even have this one thing. One small piece of happiness?"

"I don't know brother, but I'm sorry."

"What if she dies like my mother did? What if my blood is cursed, and she isn't strong enough to survive what if the baby carries the same curse I do?" Damion sat up, putting his head between his knees.

"Good goddess Damion" Travion wrapped his arms around his brother. "You're going to be a dad?" Damion nodded, unable to prevent the tears that sprang upon him. "Why is this bad news? The princess is strong, we'll make sure she is okay during delivery. I mean you two look so happy together. It's early in your relationship, but you're clearly close."

Damion's shoulders dropped even more. "I didn't choose to be intimate with her. When have you ever known me to be the type of person who jumps in this quickly?"

"Whoa, wait say that again? How is that even possible?"

"The first day we met I can't remember half the night. She said someone took over my body and my eyes turned to swirling quicksilver. He said he had to borrow my body and was able to because of my magic. He slept with her. Not me, just my body."

"You've wanted to though, right?" Travion cleared his throat, "Gods, that doesn't matter does it. Fact is, you didn't shit Damion."

"How am I going to explain it? The-the thing? Wait until you hear the whole damn story from her about that night. It's so damn close to the creation story, it makes me wonder if gods are real, and you know I've never believed before."

"I don't know how you'll tell her, but you'll come up with something. Come on, lets go hide out in my house, have a glass of ale, and you tell me her story from that night."

"If Birna gives me a hard time I swear"

"She won't. We'll kick her out and she won't even get the chance." That's exactly what they did. He poured Damion a drink, and before his own glass was filled, Damion's was empty again. "Whoa, that's the fastest I've ever seen you drink." The second glass didn't go down as quickly. Damion told Travion about what he knew of Volencia's meeting with Ghost.

Damion was just about to finishing up the story as he finished his ale. "You should have seen me panic. It was pathetic. And then she tells me this heart wrenching tail of how alone and scared she'd been. I just couldn't stay mad. Not two nights ago, the night before we left to come here, I tried. We were alone in her room and I finally got the courage to kiss her. Then, like a knife in the heart, she gasps that she'd been waiting to for me to kiss her like that again, and I just-I got so damn mad. It all keeps coming back to him, and now this. I just feel like I'm drowning. All I keep seeing is me, falling head over heels for her, and following her into some flaming prison, and like a fool, agreeing to stay there for all eternity so that she can have her real lover back. I'll not only get to spend the rest of eternity there, but I'll be broken hearted and miserable too."

"Gods, Damion." Travion's head whipped up, and he slammed his cup on the table. "Don't you dare."

"What else can all this mean? Am I to stop her from getting the father of her child back? Am I more important than freeing the All Father and restoring Ephira to the world? Because this is starting to feel like what's been laid at my feet, and I'm absolutely terrified."

Travion poured another glass, "Don't drink this one too fast. You'll be in your cups if you do, and you know you don't handle drink well."

A knock sounded at the door, and all Damion could do was scowl at it. "Don't let mom or her in, please. I'm not ready to face either of them." Travion frowned at him, getting up to see who it was.

Princess Volencia was dressed in a beautiful blue gown, and she had her hair completely down. "Princess? How can I help you?" Damion felt his eyes close. After telling Travion not to let her in, he still wanted to jump up and take her in his arms. Tell her everything he already should have.

Volencia stood on her toes, looking past Travion. Probably trying to find him. "I wanted to talk to Damion. I was hoping he would come with me to the feast?"