Luykas looked at his brother, his jaw-dropping. A thousand questions ran through his mind as he stared at Alchan’s equally shocked face.
How did this get out? Who else knows? I didn’t tell them, did you? Brother, we can’t ignore this. How do they know?
It was Alchan who came to his senses first.
“We are going to sit down, and you will tell me what you think you know and how you know it,” he said softly, pointing to the seats in his main room. “Now.”
Everyone moved quickly. Luykas fell back into his seat, his heart pounding hard enough to worry him. Nevyn and Varon found seats beside each other, their tails curling together as they settled in. Alchan went to get something from the kitchen, then came back, holding a broom out to Luykas.
“Get this off the floor,” he ordered, pointing down to the broken glass.
Luykas went to work, everyone silent as he cleaned up the mess, then found his seat again and waited.
“Maybe we should go back to the beginning, love,” Nevyn said as Alchan pointedly glared at them.
Varon nodded, silent and unconcerned. It was unnerving how at ease Varon seemed, especially since Nevyn didn’t seem the same. He was hiding his fear under humor like Nevyn always did. He hid everything behind a layer of humor.
“Well, everyone knows how Varon and I got together. We met in a temple of Amonora, things went down, and Varon made a…sacrifice that nearly cost him his life. It put him in a short coma, and when he woke up, he was different. Instead of being blind, he was a mute. Amonora can’t create something out of nothing, so she had to make it an exchange. His eyes for his voice. For the beauty lost when he became mute, he gained eyes better than any eagle. He’ll never miss a shot, and he can see things none of us will ever be able to. But…” Nevyn looked at Varon, stopping as if he was unsure. “You…you would tell this better than me, love. It’s yours to tell.”
Varon nodded slowly and reached out, touching his husband’s cheek for a moment before pulling away and closing his eyes.
Nevyn’s face went blank, and his eyes glazed over.
“Nevyn can still hear, but…this is much faster,” Nevyn’s mouth said, but the inflection was wrong. The speed and cadence were different.
“How?” Luykas asked, sputtering.
“When someone has been bonded to an Avatar for three thousand years, the bond changes,” Varon answered as if it seemed obvious. “I’m considerably more powerful than the typical Andinna, so it was not a normal blood bond to begin with.”
Luykas nearly fell out of his seat. He leaned back, trying to breathe as he looked at the priest in a new light, trying to make sense of what he just heard.
“You are the Avatar of Amonora,” Alchan whispered. “Why…How…”
“I kept it a secret from everyone except Nevyn, my priesthood, and…your grandmother,” Varon explained. “My priesthood kept the secret for the most part, but someone here in Anden told one lonely female. I know where she is, and I know she won’t tell anyone. As for how? Nevyn was getting to that point. Amonora…she’s considered a bit of a wild child compared to her sisters and for good reason. Only she would pick a broken male to give the gift of power to. She didn’t think the trade was fair and thought I would do well representing her, so she made me her Avatar that night.”
“How does that explain you knowing about the royal family?” Luykas asked, frowning.
“Like calls to like,” Alchan answered. “An Avatar will always recognize another Avatar. You saw my grandmother and knew immediately what she was.”
“And she knew what I was. Because of Nevyn and my situation, she told both of us the whole truth, and we told her the whole truth about our relationship and how we came together.”
“So, she told you everything?” Alchan snorted. “Then you would have never thought to ask me—”
“For a thousand years, I have watched you struggle and fight. You have become the best king I could have ever hoped for and more. You have brought us, all the Andinna, from the brink of total annihilation, and given us something new in Olost. You have also tried your best to win us the freedom and peace we deserve. But we are losing, Alchan. The path we are on leads us to the end.”