Treasured Secrets (The Coveted Saga 1)

"He always pressed his guards to keep him cloaked. It was exhausting for the guards to use their magic continually, but Dramus did not care. He didn't know, however, that because Allora was his soul mate, the bodyguards could not cloak him from her. Soul mate bonds were stronger than any outside magic. Even still, he didn't know she could see the future at all, so he never thought to worry about such things. He only knew of her blinding power.

"Allora had a vision one night about her youngest daughter, Allaysia. She saw Allaysia choosing light, and she saw Dramus killing her just as he had Aylana. This time, he planned to make Allora watch her daughter die. Allora saw herself attacking him, but not being able to use her power against him.

"Allora refused to let him kill another one of her children. A

mother's love may have been even stronger than the bondage of a soul mate. She knew she would never be able to kill Dramus herself. She loathed him in every possible way, but she was bonded to him. Magic would have never allowed it. She was imprisoned by a bond that was never intended to cause pain. He was bound as well. Otherwise, he would have killed her long ago, when she had hidden Aylana. She only knew of one option to exact her revenge and free the world of his destruction.

"She still knew a few people from the light circle that she could trust, and she knew they would take care of her daughter without anyone finding her before her transformation. At the time, Allaysia was still just seven-years-old. There was a changer who knew the details of Allora's predicament, and knew that she had never chosen the dark light for herself. His name was Damon Verdan. She sent Damon away with her daughter."

Verdan? That meant... but Tallis wasn't a changer. I saw him use powers. He didn't shift into some beast.

Allaysia paused as her husband came to sit down and put his arm around her. I watched as he offered her an encouraging smile and wiped the tear from her eye. No matter where they came from, they weren't evil. There was too much love flowing in the house for them to be tainted in any way.

Tallis slid down in the seat a little, wary of my reaction. He studied me, waiting for me to respond to what I'd just learned. Without thinking, I reached for his free hand and interlocked our fingers. I could almost feel sparks erupt, and he smirked as his eyes became solely focused on mine.

Allaysia cleared her throat from the emotions that had crept up on her before she continued, drawing my attention away from Tallis. My fingers slipped out of his just as she started again.

"Allora then did the only thing she could think of to stop Dramus. He was too powerful and indestructible with all the essences he had stolen. She was the only weakness he had. If she died, then he would be weakened enough for Isis to kill him.

"Her plan was to send Isis a vision of her alone and offer her the location where their castle was. She also showed her that Dramus far away. She knew they would come for her swiftly, because they were rarely able to get visions about Allora and Dramus.

"She disabled the crests so they could break in with little resistance. She dispersed most of the guards before Isis and Merlin arrived. She planned to fight briefly, only blinding them. If she gave in too easily, Dramus would have sensed the betrayal. She planned to use her link as his soul mate to let him see her fighting them. She never planned to hurt them, she only wanted them to kill her.

"She never told Isis who she was or showed her anything that would have cleared her name from defamation. She knew Isis would never kill her if she had. It was yet another sacrifice she had to make. Ideally, Dramus would chase them down to try and kill them, not realizing he had become vulnerable due to Allora's death. Then Isis and Merlin could destroy him and Allora's daughter could live on in peace.

"The first part of her plan worked. They chased Allora down and destroyed her, but they quit chasing Dramus instead of pressing on. When Isis drained Allora, it had taken so much strength for Allora to hide her noble intentions and only reveal the evil plans that Dramus had for their future.

"Unfortunately, she had to leave out the part he had planned for her children. They never saw Graven, because of Allora's will to mask Allaysia. Another oversight in her plan occurred as well. Dramus never sought revenge for her death, as almost any soul mate would have done. The reason he was able to resist was the same reason she was able to offer herself as a sacrifice to aid in his death.

"It was the light division between them. They were together before there was any such thing and since then, it has never happened. Although her light appeared dark and tainted, it truly was not. It was just as pure as ever. Soul mates should never be divided in their lights, and now it's impossible.

"They didn't realize he would be able to regain his strength, although it did leave him weak enough for Isis to kill him eventually. Had Allora lived, Dramus would have survived that decimating blast with his unnatural invincibility.

"It was a silent sacrifice with so many high prices to pay for her descendents that stayed light. Allora cast one last spell as Isis had in her final moments. She created a whole new form of magic. They were called light guardians.

"They were magical beings who could hide a witch's essence until they transformed. Unlike the bodyguards, their time was not limited, at least not intentionally. Allora had left her magic dormant for so long that the spell didn't have enough power to do as she wished. Instead of staying hidden until they were transformed, they were hidden until they were somewhere around sixteen or seventeen.

"That was all the power she had. The guardians would feel when the time was drawing near and the mortal witch would have to leave in order to keep them hidden for the next witch in need of their assistance.

"Using her dreaming power, she projected the image into her daughter's head with all the strength she had to show her everything. She didn't care if everyone else in the world hated her, she had to show her daughter the truth. She also gave her daughter the information on the guardians she had created.

"Her daughter anonymously let witches know about their existence and many witches were saved because of this. It was one of the most tremendous contributions in the world of magic, and no one even knew who had created it. Since the guardians were created from a mothers love, there was a good side effect. The parents of the witch would also be masked by the guardians until the age limit. A gift that was more remarkable than anything.

"Parents didn't just have to send their kids off to hide without them. They were able to raise them and ensure their safety, without jeopardizing them because of their own essence. Usually, after the young witch left, the parents would stay behind for a while, protected by guards, to ensure the safety of the guardian tribe."

I swallowed hard, trying to digest it all. I still didn't understand everything, but I was sure it was hard to pile centuries worth of drama into one sitting.

"So you're Damon Verdan?" I ask, looking at Tallis's father.

He smirked and shook his head. "Edmond, Damon's son. Yes, though, I am a changer. Does that make you uncomfortable?"

Did that make me uncomfortable? No. The creepy guy with eyes that turned black while he was killing me made me uncomfortable.

"No."

He smiled, offering a glance to Tallis. He seemed to be having a silent conversation with his son.

Allaysia dried her tears with a tissue, and then she continued on with a more personal touch.