Page 69 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
“The Hawthorne family erased her from their records, calling her disappearance a tragic accident rather than acknowledging that she had chosen a Gyorian over a human. In time, tales of those history wishes to erase are lost.”
“Who was she?” I asked bluntly.
“Lady Evelyne’s son was my father.”
Issa’s jaw fell. “She, Lady Evelyne, was your grandmother? How did… but… Kael never told me.”
“Kael doesn’t know.”
“Why?” I asked, knowing how close the two were.
“My mother, Serapha, was a half-human and half-Gyorian healer. As you know, such unions were taboo, even more so then. Revealing it would have put Serapha in danger from both clans. While researching Balthor’s movements in connection to the Wind Crystal, I came across an old record from a Hawthorne steward in the archives detailing my grandmother’s life. My mother was not demi-immortal and died before sharing her past. Or perhaps she never would have told me.”
When Elydorians partnered and bore children, they could be demi-immortal, enjoying a longer lifespan than a full human, or not. That’s when it occurred to me.
“You are not thaloran?”
When I first noticed Adren’s gray hair and slight wrinkles, I assumed he had seen more than five hundred years. But he could not be thaloran based on his tale.
“Nay, I am not. My aging is due to a partial human ancestry, but few dare ask for specifics.”
“Is your father still alive?” Issa asked the question I’d been about to.
Adren’s sad smile was the answer as he glanced between us, as if wondering about something himself. “No,” he said. “My mother returned to her ancestors’ realm to find a human solution to her illness, and my father chose to go with her.”
It was not a common occurrence, but one with precedent. When an immortal left Elydor, they eventually would become mortal. Adren’s father had chosen to die with his mother. Which is when I understood the unasked question in Adren’s eyes.
Were Issa and I together?
It was the age-old problem for any Elydorian and human couple. Chances were, Mev would prove to be demi-immortal, so it was not a problem Kael would face for many years if they chose to remain in Elydor. Nerys and Rowan, on the other hand, were not so lucky with Rowan being fully human.
Like Issa.
How Nerys so easily resolved herself to the thought of the inevitability of losing Rowan, I couldn’t grasp.
“Adren,” Issa said, the mead seemingly going down easier now, “we are related.”
He reached to his belt, opened the pouch at his side, and slid a gold pendant toward Issa. “It seems we are,” he said. “This was my mother’s. She gave it to me just before she passed through the Gate with my father. Turn it over. The crest is faded but…”
Issa gasped. “Hawthorne.”
“I assume so. It is no Gyorian house I know. My mother was a healer, not a noblewoman. Or so I thought. So I never imagined it would be a noble house of Estmere.”
Adren and Issa looked at one another as if seeing the other for the first time. She handed back the pendant.
“I’m sorry her name was erased from our records. If Hawthorne survives, we will rectify that, if you wish it.”
Adren’s nostrils flared. “I am not ashamed of my human blood, Lady Isolde.”
“Issa,” she said. “We are family.”
“If you had not searched for the Crystal…” I stopped, our food having arrived.
Adren reached for a rib, but his hand froze midway. “If Hawthorne survives?”
Issa sighed. “Lord Draven. Lyra’s whispers. Dark magic… We have much to tell you.”
Adren turned the pendant over, looking at it one last time before returning it to the pouch on his belt. “I’m listening.”
