Conversations

”Love isn’t a choice.” I’d said those words before, when Titus told me, confidently incorrect, he’d never fall in love with Anne. “Even Anne probably couldn’t tell you why she fell in love with you.”

“Could it have been the soulbond?” There was a bleakness in Dante’s voice I understood, having been through it myself, but that was lifetimes earlier. “If it hadn’t existed…”

Titus’s eyes met with mine. I knew what he believed. After what they’d been through to get to where they were it had to be the bond. Maybe, in their first life before the ritual, she’d been in love with him, but now, with her soulmate in Marren Vale… of course it didn’t make sense to him. He didn’t see himself the way other people did. With his focus entirely on Anne he’d never noticed the interest many had in him, while also being too blinkered to see how she felt, in part due to Thaddeus. Add into the mix Elias, and Titus struggled to accept the woman he loved, had loved for lifetimes, felt the same way about him for as long.

“Once I’d have made the same argument, but I’m certain now Anne would love Titus even without the soulbond there.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Even soulmates don’t always fall in love with each other, Dante. What you feel for her is normal. Had it not been the soulbond you’d have had a better chance of convincing Anne to give you a chance, but even then… I’ve seen the way Anne looks at Titus.”

Neither said anything as we walked up the path that led to both the Lockwood and Riordan houses. I didn’t expect them to, both thinking about what I’d said. Dante wouldn’t understand how Anne, blood sibling of Titus, could still be in love with him, because he had no knowledge of souls, or how the soulbond originally being created between two non-siblings had an effect. Thaddeus’s feelings about Titus being in love with Anne only made everything more complicated, thanks to the vow.

“I’m sorry.” Both Dante and I looked at Titus. “You deserved a chance.”

Dante might have one, but that meant bringing up Thaddeus’s theory of other Marren Vales, and that had also been a contentious topic with Titus. Only he hadn’t promised Anne he’d stay. That didn’t mean to me what it meant to her, and I studied Titus, wishing I knew the man he’d become better, although I couldn’t imagine the bond getting the better of him again. Not when he’d made the choice to draw me into the conversation. Knowing Titus there was a reason for it.

“What did you See?” Titus blinked at me. “Us, Titus?”

Silence followed. “You know I don’t See other Seers, or the dead.” I raised an eyebrow. “There were Possibilities, until Anne told Dante to leave. Now I’m less certain of what might be, but what could have been made this the logical choice, because working together to find a solution is far safer for Anne… and Marren Vale.”

“You aren’t who you were.”

“After Elias I can’t be.” Titus sighed. “She knows it wasn’t how it seemed, but I can’t tell her anything more, because then I break the vow. What I said told her enough, and she doesn’t want me to put myself in any more danger than I already have.”

“Learning the truth from Celeste might mitigate it, so the two of you can have an actual conversation.”

“Potentially, but I don’t want Celeste to feel forced into anything, Jules.” Titus didn’t seem to notice he’d fallen into old habits, the nickname one he’d stopped using when he started to lose control to the soulbond. “She is Leonora’s daughter.”

“Be honest with her, and she’ll give you a chance, Titus.” I stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “For Anne.”

Everything was for Anne, the way it always had been, and Titus studied me. We’d both made choices, because we loved her. Finally, he nodded, he knew I was right, Celeste caring about Anne almost as much as we did, albeit in a different way. Dante was the one who’d have to ask her, so we could talk through what it meant for Anne to be what she was, Celeste having probably already seen it. Fortunately she’d chosen not to say anything, although I didn’t think Titus would ever have actually harmed Celeste, or the Riordans, now he was in control of the soulbond. A momentary reaction wasn’t a choice.

Glancing at Dante, who looked between us, I gave him a smile. “Celeste is able to see more than most Riordans, so it’s likely not just for Anne she’d make the choice. It will be easier for you to understand when we know whether she is open to joining us. At the moment it’s more cryptic clues, because this isn’t going to be an easy conversation, for any of us. The reality is we need to put Anne first, and there’s no doubt in my mind who she’s going to choose.”

Nodding, Dante raked a hand through his hair, eyes on Titus, who had his eyes on where we were going for the first time. “This would be so much simpler if you hadn’t chosen to be kind.”

I laughed. “You’ve met the real Titus.”

“One of the real Tituses.”

“We’re not going to get into that now.”

“Honestly, I think we need to.” Titus glanced at Dante. “Papa believed there was more than one Marren Vale, because he… through the lifetimes I’ve become stronger, but there are still limitations. He had none, if what I read in his journal is actually what he Saw, and there are Marren Vales where there’s been more than one Titus. Your arrival, to him, was a Certainty, although I will say he was biased. He wanted you to be the solution, Dante, because he hated the very thought of his children being in a relationship.”

“Anne said you were a foundling.”

“Papa took me in when my own family abandoned me in the forest, because I was a twin. Silas introduced me to the Blackthornes on my tenth birthday.” Days later Titus came to me, devastated by the truth, desperately needing someone to talk to, even though he didn’t want to tell me anything. “It wasn’t meant to happen. Later on Papa told me if I’d said something sooner he’d have kicked Silas out. He chose me, so I was his son, and nothing else mattered. At the time I felt I had to prove myself, leading us to where we are now.”

“Thaddeus did say it was always going to happen, because of Anne.” I raked a hand through my hair, half relieved to see we were already at the Riordan house, so the conversation needed to end before we started talking about the birthplace of magic without Celeste. “Are you ready, Dante?”

“Julian, I don’t think I could be ready for this.” Dante breathed in deeply. “However I am going to do it.”

“Go with him.” I looked at Titus. “Please.”

“Celeste will be able to see me.”

“I know, but I think Dante needs the support more than I do.”

When I looked at Dante he shrugged. I had a feeling it was more so Titus could have some time alone to work through what he’d learnt, because accepting Anne was in love with him wasn’t going to be simple. As we walked toward the door I glanced back, to find Titus looking at the Lockwood house, the mix of emotions in his face entirely understandable. I turned back to Dante, who stilled for a moment.

“He just needs time.”

“Everything would be so much simpler if I could hate him.” Dante sighed “He truly didn’t know?”

“You’re asking a very complicated question, Dante. I think there might have been suspicions, on both sides, but you have to take into consideration the choices they’ve made up to this point. Titus didn’t want to accept it, because Anne being in love with him meant he’d failed Thaddeus, while Anne deeply believed Titus made the decision to be her brother if his own free will, so she didn’t want to make anything more complicated than it already was. Now… well, she’s furious with Thaddeus, so we’ll see what happens next.”

“She’ll tell him?”

“As you’re here she probably won’t think she has any other choice, because she’ll understand why Titus made the choices he did, and that… it won’t make her any less upset with Thaddeus.”

Nodding, Dante turned his attention back to the Riordan’s door. We both stepped through the wards, which likely set off some alarm bells for Leonora and Celeste, so all I could hope was it would be Celeste who opened the door. If it was Leonora it was going to be far more complicated. Dante knocked. Then we waited, for longer than I anticipated, until the door slowly opened, Celeste slightly in front of Leonora. Leonora’s eyes met with mine, eyebrow raised.

“Who are you?”

“Julian Riordan.” She blinked. “Phoebe’s never mentioned older brother, and, yes, I am here with Titus, because he needs to talk to Celeste.”

Leonora shook her head. “No.”

“Mama, it’s not your decision to make.” Celeste looked out at where Titus was. “He’s not the person you think he is.”

“His soul is covered in scars.”

“One of them was created by my death.” Both Celeste and Leonora stared at me. “I understand better than either of you do what Titus is capable of, but I’m still willing to work with him, because he’s not the person you think he is, Leonora. Those scars exist for a reason, because Titus has done everything to protect Marren Vale.”

“Fine, but I’m coming too.”

I didn’t know how Titus would react, but I wasn’t going to argue if it meant we had a chance to speak with Celeste. We needed her. Dante stepped back first, likely feeling unnecessary, so I reached out to grab his arm, to keep him from disappearing before he had a chance to learn why Anne reacted the way she did to his arrival. He gave me a look that told me it was exactly what he planned to do. Clearly I was the important one, when the reality was he was just as important, for different reasons.

All Titus did was stare at Leonora when we reached him. “Start at the beginning.” Her voice wasn’t exactly what I’d call gentle, but she seemed a little more understanding than before. “Before magic.”

“Silas Lockwood was willing to manipulate a child.” Titus shrugged. “He came to Marren Vale to search for the birthplace of magic, and when I became a part of his life he believed he’d found the solution – what he actually needed was a Blackthorne, as we were the ones who’d originally dreamed of it. Papa believed it was more closely linked to Anne. She’s the one who wouldn’t have survived had magic not transformed Marren Vale, because she’s the Heart, so tightly entwined with it neither can exist without the other.”

“There is more to it.” I put a hand on Titus’s shoulder. “Other souls had been touched by magic, and Thaddeus believed we would fade too, although it would take longer. What we don’t know is how it came to be, because…” Sighing, I raked a hand through my hair. “A break in time existed. Even Thaddeus couldn’t See past it, and it happened just before Thaddeus married Francesca.”

“Papa warned me never to try, but I didn’t listen. It didn’t matter. Getting past it isn’t possible, even now, and it was caused by an event. He believed it was whatever moment created Anne. We will never know for certain.”

Leonora’s eyes didn’t leave Titus. “Can it be changed?”

“No, it’s an impossibility.” Titus sounded more certain than I expected. “I’ve explored the option, because I thought it might be a way I could save Anne. Unfortunately it’s a true break, so I can’t See or get past it, and that’s not an easy task to begin with.” He sighed. “The only time that was even possible it too two Seers, and Jacob…”

“What happened?” Celeste took a step closer when the silence continued longer than any of us expected, eyes also on Titus. “He disappeared.”

“Jacob knew from the beginning it was dangerous, but he wasn’t willing to take no for an answer, determined to find out what happened when magic first changed Marren Vale. Anne tried to talk him out of it multiple times too. I went with him, because it truly did take the power of two Seers, and we were about half way there when I felt us disconnect. There was nothing I could do in the moment. When he didn’t arrive I waited for a time, knowing I couldn’t be there long, my very existence in the past potentially already changing the future. Returning meant using the soulbond, otherwise I’d have been trapped too. Until I travelled back through time I had no way of knowing that.”

“You had no reason to, before Jacob or after.”

“He was going to try no matter what, and I knew Anne cared, so l tried to protect him, only to fail miserably. She begged me to search for him, but I didn’t know where to start. They did have a connection, albeit a weak one, I thought I’d be able to use. Unfortunately it was gone.” Glancing back at me, Titus raked a hand through his hair. “It was then I started to think Papa might be right about there being more than one Marren Vale. Jacob could have done more than travel through time – I think he travelled to another Marren Vale.”

“Anne mentioned Jacob, but she didn’t say very much.” Dante seemed uncertain, and uncomfortable, eyes travelling from one person to the next. “Who was he?”

Titus turned to Dante. “I should be more understanding of your lack of knowledge, and I apologise for that.” He then looked at Riordans. “As well as completely forgetting my manners. Leonora, Celeste, this is Dante, Anne’s soulmate, and, I believe, Gabriel Diaz’s… great-great-grandson, if I’m getting my generations correct. Dante, this is Leonora and Celeste, two Riordan soulmages, with Celeste being one of Anne’s closest friends this lifetime.”

I blinked at Titus, who shrugged. Everyone knew, yes, but he was being far more open than I expected. Maybe he’d just grown tired of dealing with Thaddeus’s mess entirely alone, especially now he knew how Anne felt about him.

Celeste crossed the distance between them, gently kissing both his cheeks. “Pleasure to meet you, Dante. I wish it could be under different circumstances, but…” She glanced at Titus. “The soulbond was always going to be too strong.”

“Even though he might not want to admit that he knew.” I rested a hand on his shoulder. “We talked about it, a lot. Accepting the truth was far more complicated.”

“Papa believed so deeply Dante was the solution I couldn’t let myself think otherwise.” Titus turned back to Dante. “Jacob was a Redfern, who ended up being the last of the bloodline, as his younger brother… that’s a complicated story, I will tell you when we have time if you choose to stay in Marren Vale. Anne feels a lot of guilt for not being able to stop Jacob, so I’m not surprised she didn’t say more.”

Dante looked down at the ground for a moment, and then looked back at Titus. “Could he have gone through both time and space? Or another Jacob travel here?”

“Magic means either of those are a possibility.”

Slowly, Dante nodded. “I think I might also be related to Jacob.” He bit down on his bottom lip. “Mama was born a Redfern. She even had an uncle called Jacob, which… it’s probably a family name.”

Rather than answering, Titus glanced at me for a moment, before stepped forward. “I need you to trust me for a minute. This isn’t an easy thing for me to do, but with your power it might be possible, if you want to know something about your bloodline. Being a Diaz is complicated enough, so I understand if the answer is no.”

“What does it change?”

“Bloodlines are important.” I answered for Titus, because it was easier. “More so now then they were when magic first changed Marren Vale, but even then we tracked them, to understand better how certain magics were passed down. Then there were those born without magic. We still don’t understand why, even after Titus spent lifetimes trying to understand, with Anne’s help. She worked with Maximilian to see if there was a solution. It was the best chance, but it still went wrong. If you are a Seer due to two different bloodlines…”

“One bloodline.” Leonora looked at Titus. “There would have been no Seers if Sybil had been Wolfgang’s daughter.”

“No, there wouldn’t, and I don’t regret what I did, because if Sybil hadn’t existed then I doubt you’d be as strong as you are now.” Titus shrugged. “When I ended Julian’s life I also broke the Riordans. Phoebe wasn’t anywhere near as powerful, and Sybil inherited my power, not her mother’s, with her children not being either soul mages or Seers. After that… well, I’m certain you know your own history, Leonora. Maximilian could have had the power, but he… Anne did her best. We didn’t think it would be enough when he wouldn’t willingly work with Isabella, who’d have been able to repair his soul when the ritual went wrong. I don’t know how Anne managed to hold him together as long as she did. From then it fluctuated a lot. Neither your mother or grandmother were particularly strong, so it didn’t cross my mind you would be. Instead you inherited the Lockwood power in your bloodline.”

Leonora sighed. “That isn’t what I meant, Titus. I understand why you’d think otherwise, but this is more a lesson for Dante, because…” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “Both the Riordans and the Lockwoods had unusually powerful magics, which some in the family have believed is due to the birthplace being close by.”

“Only Titus wasn’t a Lockwood then.” Leonora and Celeste both looked at me. “He was a Blackthorne, so it’s technically not a Lockwood magic. Thaddeus was a Seer purely due to his relationship with Anne. If Titus hadn’t survived the birthplace someone was needed to take his place, with the magic choosing Thaddeus. You’re right it wouldn’t have passed on had Titus not foolishly spent a night with my sister, but there’s more to how we had the powers we did than just being close to the birthplace of magic.” Running a tongue over my bottom lip again, not certain whether it was a conversation we should be having right then, I glanced at Titus, who nodded. “Both Phoebe and I had a connection to Anne. It’s hard to put into words, but…”

As I said that I realised Celeste was looking at me more closely than before, and I saw in her something I hadn’t seen in any Riordan for a very long time. “Most people have a limited number, but Anne… she’s in the middle of a web of connections, which I always thought was unusual. I’m one of them, Julian. Does that mean…”

“Souls are complicated.”

“That is not an answer to the question I asked.”

“He doesn’t have one.” Titus’s voice was gentle, as he put a hand on Celeste’s arm. “You might be Phoebe reincarnated, but your soul could have lived any number of lives, growing and changing as you experienced each of them. Leonora is more like Sybil than any of the Riordans have ever been, which is a compliment, because I was always proud of my daughter, whatever she might have felt about me. It doesn’t mean your mother necessarily is Sybil, although if anyone would have made that choice, to wait until the right time to try to bring a stop to the ritual, it was her, so anything is possible. Souls are complicated.”

“Do we need to worry about Anne?” I glanced over my shoulder at the Lockwood house. “We have been talking for a while now, and she wasn’t particularly happy last I saw her.”

“I convinced her to spend some time at the Gardens, to work through her emotions.” Titus looked at the sky. “We probably don’t have a lot more time, and her finding us here probably wouldn’t be good.”

“Come inside.” From the way Titus looked at Leonora it was clear he hadn’t expected that. “We do need time, Titus, and I misjudged you before. I think we might be able to work through that, if you’re willing to give me a chance.”