Bloodflowers Bloom (The Astral Wanderer Book 2), D'Artagnan Rey [essential reading .txt] 📗

war stories and memorable battles and both quickly earned the respect of the other.

Devol used this time to tell his friends more stories of his youth and his father’s exploits as a guard captain and Jazai did the same of his father’s travels. It was not until he unfastened his sword and placed it against the table and the ethereal glow seeped through the covering cloth that there was a sudden shift in his father’s jovial demeanor.

“So, Devol,” he began cautiously, rested his arms on the table, and pointed at the sword, “were you able to find out much about that blade during your stay with the Templars?”

“Hmm?” The boy swallowed a mouthful of cheese before he nodded. “Oh, right. I guess I never mentioned that in the letters.”

“Are you serious?” Jazai muttered as he was about to take a bite of an apple. “I would have thought that would be one of the first things you told them about.”

“I guess I was still getting used to it. It’s not like I could tell them more than what I knew, which wasn’t much,” Devol pointed out with a shrug and looked at his mother. “But your hunch was right, mother. It is a majestic.”

Lilli’s joyful face fell somewhat and he recognized the look from the day in the Emerald Forest when the sword had first appeared. She nodded. “That’s good to know, Devol, but…it was more than a hunch.”

“What?” He looked at her in confusion. Victor and Wulfsun shared a look of silent communication and the Templar nodded. Devon’s father returned the nod and sighed in response.

“So you didn’t tell him?” he asked the other man.

Wulfson shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. “It didn’t seem like our place to do so.”

The parents nodded and looked briefly at each other before they bowed to the Templar captain. “That was thoughtful, thank you,” Lilli said quietly and took the boy’s hand. “It should probably come from us.”

Everyone felt the mood shift immediately. Both of Devol’s parents seemed rather tense and Victor gathered himself before he sighed heavily and looked him in his eyes “Son, we should have been… We were aware of what the sword was. And we knew why it appeared to you.”

“You did?” he asked, not so much shocked as curious. “Then why didn’t you tell me right away?”

“We were hoping he would return to claim it since it…” Lilli began but her words faltered. “That majestic is tied to you because it is half of the majestic known as Achroma.”

“Achroma?” Devol looked at the sword. “So it does have a name.”

“It does, together with a long, many-storied history,” his father added. “One that is still being written. As your mother said, that blade is tied to you, Devol, because your father tied it to you.”

The young swordsman looked at him, his expression blank as he observed Victor, whose eyes misted slightly along with Lilli’s. “Devol…the man who holds the other half of that sword is your real father. We…we are your guardians, not your parents.”

Jazai and Asla shifted uncomfortably and glanced at their friend. His parents and Wulfsun kept their gazes fixed on him and awaited his reaction to the beginnings of the truth. Would it be sorrow, utter shock, or anger? None of these came, at least immediately.

Instead, Devol nodded, stretched with his other hand, and took a piece of white and orange cheese. He looked at it for a moment before he took a small bite as he simply nodded. “Yeah, I knew that.”

Chapter Fifteen

The shocked and confused reaction did eventually come but from everyone except Devol. “Wait—what?” Victor gasped, now out of his chair “You knew?”

“Well, I had a good idea anyway, probably around the…ow, Mom! Your nails are digging into my hand,” he cried. His mother was shaking with what seemed to be a mixture of sadness, relief, and a trace of terrifying anger.

“You knew?” she demanded. The shimmering magenta of her mana began to flare and the group noticed that several objects now hovered above the table. Most concerning were the pointy ones. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“For a while, it was only a theory,” Devol explained in hopes of calming her but it didn’t help much. “It was when we were cleaning the house a couple of years ago during the dawning moon, remember?”

“Calm yourself, Lilli,” Victor interjected. “Let the boy say his piece before you kill him.”

“More assistance, Father, more,” Devol demanded and finally wrenched his hand free. “I wasn’t trying to string you along but as I grew up, I began to notice things.”

“Like what?” Lilli asked and folded her arms as she stared at her son through long strands of hair.

“Well…first, we didn’t look that much alike,” he began and pointed at his face. “We share a couple of things like nose and face shape, but my auburn hair, my silver eyes…neither of you have either of those.”

“They could simply have been recessive traits,” Jazai pointed out and Devol looked at him with honest anger.

“Would you hold off for a while, please?” he asked and turned to the adults. “But that time when we cleaned and I was going through crates in the attic, I found an old book—a journal or something—and inside was a picture.”

“A picture?” his mother asked and her mana paused enough that the objects fell slowly onto the table. “What picture, Devol?”

He took a deep breath and relaxed slightly. “Here, I’ll go and find it.” He stood quickly and dashed up the stairs, leaving the rest to look awkwardly at one another.

“I am…sorry for that outburst,” Lilli apologized and straightened her hair. “I usually have better mana control than that.”

“Ah, no need to worry,” Wulfsun stated with a casual wave.

“You have impressive vello control, all things considered,” Jazai remarked and finally bit into the apple as Asla glared at him. A few thumps issued from above before Devol raced down the stairs holding a dusty red book and an old