Chapter 51

chapter Forty-nine

A pile of supplies were stacked beside the door, Damion counted off his mental check list to make sure there wasn't anything they were missing. "We good?" Trey asked, putting a plate of eggs on the counter with a large piece of fried bread. "It's not like mom or Birna's breakfast, but it's the best you're getting from me."

Damion chuckled, "Yeah, I know. Still one of my favorites though. You've always made the best eggs." Damion spread a healthy amount of jam over his toast before plopping both eggs on top.

"I came back here last night, but you were out in the first few minutes. So, I ended up back at mom and dad's with everyone. The princess never stopped smiling and had only great things to say about you. And this morning, you've been nothing but smiles. The two of you had a good day yesterday."

Damion didn't bother to try to keep the excitement from his face. If there was anyone who wasn't going to judge him, it was his brother. "Asking her to marry me was the best thing I could have done. Last night was the best night of my life. She's absolutely amazing." Biting his lip, Damion studied Trey's counter, and in his mind's eye, could still see her laid out before him.

"I'm guessing you mean that you both learned you are compatible in that area."

"For me, it felt like we were made for each other." Damion blushed. "It was even better than I imagined it would be. It didn't last as long I thought it would either. I couldn't control myself and I felt like I didn't satisfy her like I wanted to."

"I'm not so sure about that. You should have seen how happy she was. But, the first time for Birna and I was awkward as a two-legged spider. I had no idea what I was doing and neither one of us knew how to pleasure her. She walked away very disappointed. We just get too excited, and it pops too soon. The more the two of you explore with it, the better it will get. You'll learn what you each prefer and you'll both become more comfortable with each other. I wouldn't worry too much about it, and believe me, again, she didn't look disappointed at all." Trey finished the last of his breakfast, while Damion contemplated his. "You going to eat?"

"Yeah," Damion hadn't realized how hungry he was. Once he took the first bite, he couldn't stop.

"You need another? I know you didn't eat breakfast or lunch yesterday, and you barely touched your supper."

"I would actually love another." Damion agreed. "While you're cooking, is there anything else we need to prep?"

"Nah. I got most of it together last night while you slept. The rest? This morning, so we should be good. I even grabbed the craw bucket so we can get a few of them to roast." Trey turned toward their stove, which he had left burning, and had Damion's eggs ready in no time. "Your wife to be had some pretty interesting books that she brought with her too. I had no idea that being in hiding for a hundred years made us myths. We're now on par with the Sand Dragons, the Dark Hive, Crinchaw and to my amusement, Unicorns. From what I could tell, the book was spot on about the races themselves, but why in Ephira's name would anyone claim we're all myths. The book even said that it would be likely the dragon's themselves would soon be myth. The only reason I can come up with that someone would write such a book it's terrifying."

"Yeah. Just like the books they have written about the All Father and Necron being different gods. I have a feeling that the council is trying to change history in so much to prevent the All Father from being saved, and to keep Ephira from being awoken." As Travion placed a second helping in front of Damion, this time he didn't even wait for it to cool before starting. "If" he said with a mouthful before swallowing, "sorry. If they change enough of what we know, the knowledge needed will be lost in time and no one will ever be able to awaken them. Then, Locke and Keye would never have to worry about the revenge being sought. Finding true information to guide us isn't going to be easy."

"She has a whole history of the beginning, dad said. No one could read it though. He suggests going to the Library in the Isles to find a scribe that might be able to help."

"Right, but the Chiaro Isles are council territory it may not be safe."

Travion cocked his head, "It should be. I thought you said that no matter what, if you're there to gain information they have to help."

"They have to give us anything we ask for that will help. I don't think they have to do much else. They don't have to go out of their way to help us. And if they're an enemy, could we even trust what they say in that case?" Damion rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you mind if I grabbed a glass of milk or water?"

"I'll get it. You eat."

"There was one book, it was black what is it about? I'd never seen anything like it before."

"It's a book about Necron." Travion sighed, placing a cup in front of his brother. "I was incredibly excited about that one. But dad got angry that it was offered to Volencia from the temple. I guess it was one they considered dangerous and obscene."

"Why?" Damion asked, between bites.

"Because it's about the battle. It talks about Necron and why he created the night creatures. Even how he created them. The war between Father and Son, two gods who both did terrible things. There are spells that he shared in the book too. Apparently, written by Necron himself. Prophesies that dad said are too awful to imagine, and a timeline that they didn't want to believe would come to pass. Dad and Venron are two of the only ones left that could read the language in the book itself. And dad said he would sooner throw it in the fire than read a word from a single page. He wouldn't even tell us the title."

"Necron used nihility magic." Travion saw the flash of excitement in Damion's eyes.

"Yes." Travion nodded. "Dad asked me not to tell you. He looked scared."

"You told me anyway."

Travion nodded. "After I left them for the night, I had a vision. You found out about the book even though we didn't tell you. You were angry, because it answered a lot of the questions you had about not only your magic, but about freeing the Father. In the vision, if we had helped you with the book earlier, there was a chance that we could have avoided the genocide of our folk. I can't take a risk like that with the lives of my family but I'm worried even more that dad still stood firm on not telling you about the book. So, I don't know if you should pursue it or not, but I didn't get the feeling that this decision should be left up to dad and I. I got the distinct feeling that you needed to know."

Damion sighed, popping the last bite of bread into his mouth. "That is terrifying. Did Volencia have a reaction?"

"She thought that if it could help you with your magic, that you should know about it. She also felt we were being irresponsible to not try to help the All Father return at any cost. He begged her not to tell you until they were both in tears and she finally agreed. So, I don't think she'll bring it up right away with you, but I wouldn't be surprised if at some point she decides that you really need to know and spills the milk." Travion cleared the plates from the counter. "Anyway, we can talk at the river, we don't want to waist the morning run."

"Thanks for getting everything together last night. I've been really off my mark these last few days." Usually, Damion was to one to prep everything and Trey was the sleep deprived dad who forgot things. They had changed spots in a flash and Damion hadn't realized it.

Trey laughed as he buckled his satchels of bait to his belt and slung his catch and poll over his shoulder. "When Birna and I first got pregnant and had Lenny, you were a godsend. Do you remember when I forgot to plow and seed the garden? You spent two days covering my mistake and brought home a doe, packaged it and made sure we had everthing we could possibly need. You were often the reason our hunting and fishing exploits were so organized, even though it was my job. I think it's only fair of me to step up now that your plate is overflowing."

Kumaris was just beginning to peek over the trees. It would be a good hour before the morning gretemp greeted the day. The morning was quiet. Not even the birds and bugs were singing the day awake yet. Just incase they ran into a beastie, Damion and Travion both carried their swords with them. But they usually avoided the river and pond where Damion and Travion were headed now. It was unicorn territory now, and the creatures avoided the area.