Page 38 of The Lands Defying
I walk over to it, gesturing for Edward to take a seat. I take the one next to him, feeling Darius at my back.
I look at him over my shoulder, and he spares me a quick glance as he watches Edward with a scary amount of focus.
“You have news?” Josh asks, and Edward nods.
“I think—”
“Start at the beginning,” Darius commands as his Elites go to the opposite side of the table, not one of them sitting.
“The tension is hot in here,” Seb says, smiling as Damian scoffs.
“He is a Higher,” Leo growls, fingers twitching at his side.
“He’s my guardian.”
“We all know titles and words don’t mean shit,” Damian says, and I say nothing to that.
“Why did you call yourself Edward when your name is Warden?” Darius demands.
“As I help others in the lands, I thought it better to go by Edward, which is my middle name, rather than the name Warden, which is well known as a Higher. I wanted to separate the two. The Male who wanted to help, and the Higher who unknowingly helped put a monster as the ruling authority.”
He sounds so sad as he tells the Elites his reasons.
“Talk,” Darius spits, and I growl at him.
“Would you stop it? He won’t hurt me.”
“It’s okay, Rhea,” Edward says. “I am glad you have others who are protective of you. Who can protect you like I have been unable to.” He clears his throat. “Rhea’s mother appointed me her guardian, along with Charles. We were friends for a very long time, all of us were.” I can feel the sadness pouring off of him and I grab his hand on the table. He gives me a small smile, even as Darius releases a rumbling growl at my back.
We both ignore him.
“We all helped Charles become a Higher. I wanted to help the lands, to better lives. I also wanted to help put this ridiculous notion that Heirs were dangerous behind us. I thought Charles wanted the same. He did for a while, or he made it out to be that way. When he was appointed Lord Higher, I soon realized my mistake in helping him.”
“You didn’t know,” I say.
“I should have known, I should have never let him become what he is. Others have paid dearly for my mistake.” He shakes his head. “When I was told of Catherine’s and Derrik’s deaths, Rhea’s mother, and father, I went straight to their home. Only to be told Rhea was also dead.” His voice shakes with emotion and my throat clogs up. “Heavy with grief, and regret, I tried to help the lands in any other way I could. One day I found Rhea stealing some food, and then I took her to Eridian. Having known her story, what she had been through,whohad put her through that… we have tried over the years to find a way to get rid of Charles with no luck without killing ourselves, and I won’t risk Rhea. She will not die by their hand,” he growls, and I sense his power rising within him, causing the Elites to tense.
I squeeze his hand and he takes a few deep breaths.
“With me being sent all over the lands, I get to talk with the people, see what others may not see. After some time, I started to send others who needed to escape with the help of others I had spoken to along the way. They took them to The Deadlands to then be taken to Eridian.” He looks up at the rest of my pack who nod and smile at him.
“And we are grateful,” Taylor says.
“We would be dead.” Seb says next.
“I tried to put some good into the world, and then I found out that Charles was stealing children, using them for his sick experiments.”
“What does he want exactly?” Darius says.
Edward sighs. “He has an obsession with Heirs, their power they gained from the Gods. I’m not fully sure, but he won’t stop.”
“We have the memory crystal that was shown when I was at Wolvorn Castle, it shows Charles as being the cause of the rogures, and my mom… maybe you can figure out something.”
Edward sits up straighter. “Can I see?”
I nod, and Darius asks Leo to go and grab it. A moment later, Edward has his hand on the crystal, his eyes glazing over.
I wait until he is done, kicking myself for not mentioning the rogure in there.
