Joined (The Secret World Of Atlantis 4)

Chapter 13 - The Gift Of Forgiveness

A deadly silence falls upon the room, and I find myself sharing a serious gaze with my best friend, then my fiancé and my cousins. It seems like we’re all asking ourselves, if we heard that correctly.

The moment I get back to my senses, I turn to Flora, noticing how glassy her eyes still look. But she doesn’t let the tears spill down her cheeks. She keeps fighting them back, no matter how hard she needs to cry. And I can tell that she won’t be able to hold her emotions much longer.

“Flora, don’t talk like that. Think about your family, your friends … How do you think it would make them feel if you died? How do you think it would make us feel if you didn’t make it?” I finally speak up. Something seems to be squeezing my chest because I can barely breathe. Especially when Flora responds to my questions.

“I think some would actually be very happy, if I were gone,” she states, making the tension in the room get even worse. And I already have a feeling who that remark was about.

I raise my head, my gaze meeting with Eros’s deadly one. Please, be gentle. She doesn’t need you getting mad at her now, I plead him, as he makes his way over to my side. I can see Flora’s body tense as she sees him from the corner of her eye, but she doesn’t say anything.

But I am mad. Why does she think I would want her dead? I don’t particularly like her, no, but I would never wish death upon her, he declares, a wave of confusion rushing from him. I take his hand to try to calm him down and earn myself a grateful gaze in return. I nod at him in encouragement, hoping that Flora will appreciate his input.

“Listen, Flora. I don’t know if you were talking about me, and frankly, it’s none of my business. But if you were … Well, then I believe I need to clear some things up. I don’t hate you. I’m not very fond of you for all the stunts you pulled in the past few years either, but I would never want to see you dead. Do you want to know why?” he says, trying hard to keep his tone friendly.

My cousin looks at him, the tears suddenly seeming to lose themselves in her eyes. “Why?” she asks, her voice barely audible. It’s a wonder we’re able to hear her speak.

“Because no matter how badly someone has messed things up, I believe anyone deserves their chance of redemption. And you do too,” he tells her, his voice gentle, like he’s speaking to a child. Flora stares at him with wide eyes, probably shocked that he doesn’t despise her for everything she’s done.

“You really think so?” she wants to know, her eyes suddenly gleaming with something else, than despair. I can see a hint of hope inside her gaze.

Eros nods in response and I squeeze his hand gratefully. “It’s never too late to change your ways. Your survival was a miracle. It seems like the Gods thought there were a few things you have yet to mend,” he says, offering her a small smile. “You’ve been given a second chance. Make good use of it,” he then adds in a bit more serious tone.

I stare at him, completely mesmerized. Others might not know his true identity, but to me, the more I listen to his words and see him in action, the more I’m starting to realize that no matter how young he appears on the outside, there is an ancient immortal soul hiding inside that body.

Thank you so much for doing this, I tell him, my chest fluttering with happiness as I see the hopeful expression on Flora’s face. He traces his thumb up and down the back of my hand.

You make me want to be a better man, he responds, squeezing my hand slowly and gently. But before I’m able to respond to that, I can hear Flora clearing her throat.

I turn my gaze towards her in a curious way, wondering what she might have to say now. I hope she doesn’t still think she would be better off dead. “Arya, since I’ve just been told it’s never too late to change your ways … I can only hope you feel the same way about this as your fiancé,” she begins, taking a deep breath before continuing. “You’ve fought for me when I even failed to fight for myself. You helped me, even if I was the worst cousin possible to you. But as I’m trying to change that, I think it’s best if I start right now. So … Thank you. Thank you for saving my life.”

It feels like the whole room falls into a state of shock, as those words come out of Flora’s mouth. I stare at her, completely stunned at the words that just left her mouth. I quickly pull myself together, trying not to give off the vibe that I’m not ready for us to go that far.

Instead, I take a deep breath, nodding before I speak up. “It was the only right thing to do. I could never live with myself, if I didn’t do everything in my power to try to save you.”

I don’t know what shocks me more. The fact that she doesn’t have a snarky remark at the ready, or the fact that she smiles at me. It’s not the sly smirk that I’m used to seeing on her face, it’s a proper smile. I barely manage to compose myself, so I can return it in time.

But in a few moments her smile fades. “I hope you’ll be able to forgive me one day,” she tells me quietly, before glancing around the room. “All of you. For all the times I treated you badly. It was my way of dealing with my frustrations, but it was wrong. And I am truly sorry for it,” she adds, earning herself a few stunned gazes.

“You know what? It’s fine. I don’t even remember half of that,” Emilia says. I know her well enough to realize she isn’t completely honest. Probably about remembering all those times she and Flora bumped heads. But I can tell that she means the rest. She truly doesn’t resent her for acting that way.

“Well, we haven’t exactly crossed paths a lot of times, so there is nothing to forgive there,” Demitri then states, making us all chuckle and relieve the tension in the air.

Then, Elena steps towards the bed, glancing at me for a moment, before turning her gaze to Flora. “You know, I’m not sure what I would’ve said a week ago … But now, despite being angry with you so many times, that I lost counting, I don’t have the heart to knock you down. Not after you’ve barely pulled out and clearly regret all the bad decision you’ve made. So, despite everything, I forgive you,” she tells her in a serious tone before the corners of her lips slowly pull themselves up in a reassuring smile.

Flora seems like she’s about to have a stroke. She surely didn’t expect my best friend to tell her this. To be honest, I didn’t either. Judging by how mad she could get, if you were dishonest with her, I thought she would be the last one to grant Flora her forgiveness. But I guess she has a soft spot for people who’ve just had a near-death experience.

Eros clears his throat next, making Flora turn to look at him with a fearful expression. Despite trying to sabotage our happiness numerous times in the past, I can tell she has grown to respect him. And that what he thinks of her is still incredibly important to her.

I don’t say anything to him. After what he said before, I don’t think he needs me to tell him what to do. I’m sure he’ll choose the right thing. “I don’t intend to let old grudges pester me. So, you’re forgiven. For everything. Now, if you want to turn a new leaf, you mustn’t let your old sins make you feel guilty,” he finally says, making Flora seems like she’s going to fly from happiness.

But the moment her face is once again filled with clouds, I realize that there is still something bothering her. However, before I’m able to tell her anything, she already speaks up, saying: “I know I was the worst possible cousin ever to you. And that nothing I’ve said now can make up for it. But I truly hope that I can one day prove to you, that I’m not evil. I was too blinded by my own jealousy to see how kind you actually are, and I regret that now. I hope you can forgive me … If not now, then someday. Because I would love to have you see me as part of your family.”

Her voice sounds so broken, yet so sincere at once. And I don’t have the heart to make her feel even worse about herself. Because despite everything she’s done to me, despite the way she’s made me feel about her, she’s slowly been progressing ever since the Winter Solstice Ball. It’s like Zara’s betrayal was her wake-up call, and she’s truly changed drastically in these past few days.

I slowly exhale, before reaching out and taking her hand in mine. A week ago, I would be afraid of her pulling away and mocking me, but not now. She grasps me, her eyes suddenly turning glassy again. “Flora. It’s true, that you were everything but kind to me in the past. But I’m not the person, who would resent you for it until my last breath. You’ve just proven, that you can do better. Not just to us, but to yourself as well. You’ve shown that you can own up to your mistakes and it takes incredible courage to do that. It’s never too late to mend things, so … I forgive you, cousin,” I tell her softly, making her bite her lip as she tries to prevent the tears from falling down her face. In that moment, it’s the first time that I truly feel that I care for her. And that she might slowly start to return that feeling.

The next morning, we all rise early, ready to get our plan in motion. Father has given us the green light to try to seal every portal in the South of Atlantis before the New Year. Flora can’t come with us, of course, but I am optimistic about our capabilities, so I’m sure the seals should hold Zara back.

We’ve just had breakfast and are ready to head to our rooms to change into proper clothes for the occasion, when father stops Eros and I, saying: “Meet me in the office, before you go. There’s something we need to discuss.”

So, there we are a few minutes later, sitting in front of father’s desk like so many times before. He’s just sitting down opposite us, the golden laurel wreath on his head giving away the feeling, that he means business. I wonder what he has to talk to us about. Oh, wait. What if we weren’t careful enough the other night and someone’s seen Eros coming from my chambers?

Believe me, if that was the case, I would already be in ashes, my bonded remarks, making my jaw clench. I can barely supress the need to smack him for saying something like that. But I decide to ignore him instead and force myself to relax. “So, what is it that you wanted to discuss with us?” I ask my father.

He sighs, putting his fingers together. “I don’t even know where to begin … It’s about your mother. She was … Well, she was a Guardian. But not the kind you see around us nobles, protecting us on every step. She was going on missions. And-”

“I know that. Silver has told me a while ago,” I interrupt him, making him raise his eyebrows in surprise. He then nods slowly, crossing his arms against his chest. I think that jumping into his word might have been a bad idea.

“Alright … Then I gather he must have also told you about the fairies,” father then says, making me gasp in surprise. Honestly, if I were drinking in that moment, I would probably spill everything out upon hearing that statement.

“What about the fairies?” I ask, trying to read his expression. But he leaves it blank, even daring to pause for a moment to increase the tension.

“Your mother was able to find the hidden fairy kingdom. And she was trying to convince the fairies to come back to living amongst us,” he finally reveals, making my jaw drop.