Disclaimer: I do not own Tortal

Chapter 24

(summer 468 HE)

Samara looked out at the sea as the ship glided across the water.

"A Gigit for your thoughts" said Gwydion as he came up behind her and leaned on the rail.

"It was too easy to get Aleda away from my brother. Eryk knew who she was so why did he let her go? Unless we were… but no we couldn't have been that wrong."

"Maybe he had a change of heart or he was never part of the conspiracy."

"Or maybe something's going to happen, there's something just ahead I can feel it I just can't figure out what it is."

"Don't worry, Rhian has a stronger gift than both of us and she isn't up here pulling 'Leda down below so I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"'An is such a mystery you're her cousin what's with all the secrets? Where did she get the powers neither of her parents have them? And her hair and eyes nobody in your family has either red hair or purple eyes the only person who I've ever known was… Aly."

"Well there's a lot even I don't know about her but…"

Flashback

"Mom, why is cousin Rhian so different?"

"Well you see Uncle Ryan isn't Rhian's father she was born before your Aunt Rhiannon even met him."

"Who is her dad?"

"I don't know who all, she would tell me is that he was a mage she met while she was visiting Tortal."

"but who…"

"Gwydion please stop bothering me! Go out side and play with your brother."

End flashback

"So that's all my mother told me, Rhian's father was…"

"A powerful mage who died about 29 years ago, now if you're done talking about me we have bigger problems than who my no good father was."

"It's the magic isn't it? I l knew there was something wrong with the magic up ahead! What is it… a storm… sickness?"

"Feels like a storm to me but it's very well masked… the mage can hide their spells well."

"But the magic… the magic feels familiar."

"Your brother?"

"Yes but there's more than just him…"

"It's a storm! Gwydion tell the captain to turn toward Carthak!"

Samara heard Gwydion run up to the captain and felt the boat turn toward Carthak.

"Oh no… 'An…"

"What?" Rhian called irately

"There's an other boat heading toward the storm we should warn them off."

"It's to late the storm is going to catch up anyway so… Aleda get over here!"

The storm had caught up with them and the boat was tossed up and down in the sea until their boat and the one next to it fell apart Samara, Rhian and Aleda sat close together on the piece of deck that had dropped in one piece beneath them.

"Do you think Gwydion's ok"

"He's fine." Came Rhian's answer after a minute.

The little "raft drifted until it hit land. They crawled off and looked around. They were on a sandy beach with a hill separating it from the rest of the land.

"Where are we?" Asked Aleda

"I don't know but probably either Tortal or Carthak. Samara do you have a darkling with you? The one that follows me is in the capital.

"Yeah I'll let Aly know what's going on."

Samara walked down the beach to the raft were her packs were sitting and pulled out a darkling and told it to get a message to Aly.

Meanwhile Aleda asked Rhian a question that had been bothering her since she had first seen her.

"Rhian why do you look so much like mom and Lia?"

"Well I'm not sure. You see I don't know who my dad is, it sure isn't Ryan. When I was younger I started to realize how different I looked from my brother and sister and asked my mom why."

"What did she say?"

"She said that she met my father when she went to Tortal with Princess Josiane she met a powerful mage and that he was my father. I also found out my father died about 29 years ago the same day Josiane died. And so far only two mages fit that description that mom would have actually slept with one was Roger of Conte, the other was Thom of Treabond."

"So you might be mom's cousin?"

"Yeah but I don't know I could also be related to the king of Tortal but with the way I look… I think that you're great uncle is my father."

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