The Sibylline Oracle (13 page)

It was then that Valeria realized that she
most definitely had feelings for Alex.
It was simply too late to roll all of her fantastic, frightening, glorious emotions back under the carpet.

“Tell us!” Ava pressed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Valeria said, sullenly.

Leaning her arm on the coffee table, Ava stared at Valeria. “Why is that?”

“I think that’s obvious!” Ava and Camille just stared at Valeria. “Daphne!” Valeria said, looking back down. “I don’t really blame her for being upset with me. I mean, he gave me their bed—”

Camille pulled her legs up onto the couch, and interrupted Valeria. “
What in the world are you talking about?
” she asked, easily two octaves above her normal volume.

“Alex and Daphne, of course.” Valeria stared into the fire, taking another sip of her wine. She would have loved it if Alex were sitting here with her. “But men like that belong with women like Daphne.” She furrowed her brows. “Well, not with her moodiness...or tenure...tenue...whatever that was. But, you know what I mean. Women who
look
like Daphne. Though, frankly, I would have expected Alex to be with someone more like…I mean, what’s wrong with him? Camille is
far
nicer than Daphne!”

The popcorn that Ava tossed in the air missed her mouth as her head whipped around, and wine spewed from Camille’s mouth as they both burst into hysterical laughter.

“
What?
Alex is like a brother to me!” Camille said, wiping the wine from her face and a tear from her eye, and then passing the towel onto Ava. Seeing that Valeria was serious, Camille continued more gently, “Val, even if I wasn’t in love with Jonah, Alex isn’t my type. And Daphne is
definitely
not Alex’s type!”

“But I heard them talking my first night here. Daphne was upset because I was sleeping in their bed,” Valeria insisted.

“Sweetheart, I think you misunderstood the conversation,” Ava said gently, barely avoiding a snicker.

“But what about all the things Daphne has been saying…and what about Tavish?” Valeria protested.

Camille leaned forward. “Val, Daphne thinks that Alex belongs to her because she found him years ago after Aegemon tossed him into the sea. She nursed him back to health and prevented his first brush with his Prima Mortis. She’s also helped him deal with a…a very difficult situation. But trust us! Alex has no interest in Daphne, other than an almost sisterly affection.”

Valeria couldn’t wrap her thinking around it, and hoped her slowness was from all of the wine. She shouldn’t have allowed Ava to refill her glass so many times. But she felt nice and relaxed and was having such a good time with her new friends. She had friends! And Alex wasn’t with Daphne!
Life was wonderful.

“What were you asking about Tavish?” Ava pressed, taking another sip of her wine.

“I thought…well, weren’t you all trying to set me up with Tavish?”

This time Ava spewed her wine as she and Camille erupted into hysterics again. Camille grabbed the towel off the coffee table and tossed it back to Ava. “Tavish! Where on God’s earth did you get that idea?”

Valeria thought for a moment and couldn’t really think of how she had made that conclusion. “Daphne and Alex aren’t…?” Had she really understood them correctly?

“Oath time,” Ava said, chuckling. Camille placed her hand over her heart, while Ava held up three fingers in a Girl Scout pledge. “I do solemnly swear that Alex has no carnal knowledge of Daphne—that I have been made aware of.” Both Camille and Ava finished in a heartfelt and drunken, “
Amen!
”

“They aren’t together!” Camille added with a hiccup. She removed her hand from her heart to take another sip of wine. “And trust me! Although Tavish is a friend,” she snickered, “we most certainly wouldn’t ‘
set you up’
with him!”

Ava added between rolls of continuing laughter, “Besides, it looks to me like you’re taken!”

Leaning against the couch, Valeria closed her eyes. Ava thought she was taken—by Alex Morgan! What a wonderful dream world that would be.

∞

Valeria awoke with a kink in her neck. As she lifted her head to stretch, she felt fingers gently begin to massage the stiffness away. The touch was magical and she thought she was dreaming. She opened her eyes to see that she was on the floor. Camille had stretched out and was sleeping on the couch, and Ava was gone. Valeria’s mouth was parched and her body and head ached. She reached her hand back to her neck and felt a set of fingers as they interlocked with hers. It was the most delightful feeling, despite the headache. Valeria turned and was shocked to see that Alex was there, knelt down beside her. Her breath caught when she saw the gleam in his eyes.

“Well, I can see that I can’t trust Ava to take good care of you!” he said in a whisper, shaking his head. “Letting you sleep on the floor!” Alex raised a brow critically. “And, it looks like a bit hung-over.”

Valeria wondered if that’s what was causing the headache and dizziness. It was her first hangover. “I’m all right,” Valeria defended.

“Yes, I know,” he snickered. “Let’s get you off the floor,” he whispered, amusement dancing in his eyes as he scooped her up. She was in his arms, and she definitely liked the feeling. She put her arm around his neck and snuggled against his chest. She knew she probably should’ve insisted that she could walk. When he set her down on the bed, she breathed in deeply taking in his intoxicating scent that was a cross between clean and the remnants of a mild aftershave.

She wished she were more awake to appreciate the experience. Still, she did notice the sun was just starting to come up. Glancing at Alex as he pulled a blanket over her, Valeria saw that he hadn’t shaved or changed from the previous night. A few minutes later, he returned with a glass of water. He reached in the bedside table and grabbed a few aspirin. “Here, why don’t you take a couple of aspirin and you’ll feel better in a few hours.”

“I’m fine,” Valeria said again, sleepily.

Alex chuckled. “Yes, you are!” He ran his hand over her hair affectionately and then set the glass of water on the bedside table. “I’m going to try to catch an hour or so of sleep.” He placed the bottle of aspirin back in the drawer. “Help yourself if you need more.”

Valeria drifted back off to sleep with the memory of her face against Alex’s chest and his wonderful scent engraved on her mind.

Valeria woke from her dream with a smile. Her head still hurt but it felt good to mull over all of the revelations from the previous night. She climbed out of bed and realized that she had slept in the only other dress she had packed.

Camille was in the kitchen looking like she needed some aspirin.

“You look unusually chipper considering how much we drank last night! Ava is fired as the official wine pourer,” Camille pronounced.

Valeria laughed, feeling entirely too much joy to allow a touch of a headache to ruin her mood. “Do you want an aspirin?”

“Yes, please. And then I’m going to go shower.”

“Camille, I woke up and Alex was here this morning. He didn’t look like he had slept at all. But I’m certain Ava had been gone for some time so Lars and Alex must have finished long before I saw him.”

“Of course, he was. You don’t think Alex was going to leave you alone with only Ava and me?”

Flushing, Valeria asked, “What’s that all about?”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s just Alex! It’s almost noon so I’m going up to take a shower at the main house. I’ll meet you up there.” She started walking toward the door. “Ava and I will recover fairly rapidly. But I might recommend that you bring that bottle of aspirin with you—you will probably need it to get through the day.”

Valeria showered and put on her jeans and black turtleneck with her silver necklace and earrings. She still hadn’t had any coffee. She was entirely too anxious to see Alex. As she started out the front door, she remembered the aspirin.

Pulling open the bedside drawer, she pulled out the bottle of aspirin and saw Alex’s elegant script on a piece of pale-blue writing paper next to it. She marveled at the intricate lettering and then realized it was a love letter.

My Beloved Cassandra,

There is no true measure of time. For me, it is divided amongst those painful eternities when I await your presence and those rare and too, too brief respites when I am at last with you again and whole.

Events may momentarily distract, but there is nothing and no one who can ever fill the hollowness in my heart—except for you.

I sleep only to dream of you. And I awaken only to search for you; to see again your eyes, your smile, your soul.

My heart belongs to you.

Eternally,

Alex

Valeria’s heart fell. Alex was in love with someone else:
Cassandra!
Ava and Camille had been wrong—this was what the trip to Italy had been all about. Somehow, Alex thought Valeria could help him find her. And he would wait for his beloved Cassandra. Valeria closed the drawer.

She headed up to the main house, feeling heart sick…again. Half way up the trail, Valeria saw Alex, who had showered, shaved, and changed.

“You look stunning…especially considering!” The corners of his mouth twitched in mild amusement. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Valeria attempted a smile but the wound was too fresh.

Alex grabbed her hand. “Well, I have just the thing that will put a smile back on your face!” She relished the feeling of his touch, while mourning it at the same time. She was quite aware of the electricity she felt…but he was just a friendly sort of guy, she decided. He led her to the dining room and poured her a cup of coffee blended perfectly with cream.

“It’s wonderful. Thank you!”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Are you alright?” he asked, assessing her mood.

Valeria shrugged. “Just…tired, I guess.” She buried her pain behind the coffee cup. He was about to further the query when he was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the family.

Lars immediately took control. “Let’s talk again about Prima Mortis,” he said, not letting a moment lapse. He leaned forward. “Val, there are a confluence of events brewing which will culminate in an opportunity for us to remove the major threat to our existence—Aegemon.

“There was some consideration about leaving you out of this discussion. But most of us here believe that it is only right to invite you to participate. You have become a part of our secret and, with that, a part of our family.”

Hearing the words, Valeria was overwhelmed. She had never been a part of a family. And to be part of
this
family, this incredible group of people, nearly erased her lifetime of loneliness. She glanced to Ava and Camille, whose eyes twinkled. Then she turned to look at Alex.

Instantly, she knew it was Alex who had not wanted her to be involved in this discussion. She also realized that he did care for her. But having seen the love letter, and knowing that only Cassandra could fill his heart, Valeria knew that she was the “momentary distraction” that Alex had written about in his declaration of love.

Desperately needing to run and shed her tears alone, but knowing there was no way to do that without revealing her feelings to Alex, she again buried her face in her coffee cup. In that moment, Valeria decided that despite her feelings for Alex, she would not allow herself to be a second choice, just to be dumped when he reconnected with his true love. That would just be too painful. And she would not let Alex know how she felt. She knew him well enough to know that he would want to soothe her, and it would be too easy for her to take refuge in his arms only to be rejected later.

Somehow, she had sensed that all of this—Aegemon, the visions—had to do with Alex’s precious Cassandra. Perhaps helping him get her back was the gift that she could give to this extraordinary man.

Lars continued, seeming unaware of Valeria’s turmoil. She forced herself to focus on his words. “We have been attempting to discover what Aegemon’s Prima Mortis was. We have tried drowning, burning, bleeding, and compression injuries. He has been dismembered many times in different ways and still he comes back.”

Attempting to rid herself of her newfound depression, Valeria asked, “How does someone come back from dismemberment?”

Lars clasped his hands, matter-of-factly. “We don’t know exactly, but within about twenty-four hours we are normal again. If it’s a minor injury, we can recover more quickly—like Alex’s broken ribs a few days ago.”

Valeria interrupted, “You broke your ribs? I thought I'd heard bones breaking.”

“No big deal,” Alex said, nonchalantly. “Good as new!” He noticed that she looked away a bit too quickly. Something was wrong. Alex glanced at Daphne, but she seemed well behaved. He wondered if it was simply the discussion that was causing the problem.

Lars continued, “What we’ve found is that we remain injured for as long as the cause of the injury continues. So, for instance, if someone stabbed us through the heart, and our heart stopped working, it would stay that way until the knife or sword was removed. Then, in about twenty-four hours, we would somehow be healed. That is, unless the injury is from the exact same cause as our Prima Mortis. In which case, we would die.

“Camille’s husband Jonah may be stuck at the bottom of the sea until we can find him. But if we do, he can still recover.”

“I didn’t hear you mention disease,” Valeria offered.

“She’s right!” Alex’s eyes rose with hope and he began to pace. “We didn’t consider disease because frankly, in those days, there was very little of it.” Alex’s eyes narrowed. “But, there were a few plagues!”

Lars jumped in, “Tavish, Daph, let’s get moving on this. Camille, can you update Mani? Also, we’ll need to know what plagues may have been around during the time when Aegemon may have stopped aging.” Lars looked to Alex. “Lexi, you know
him best—well, you remember him best, anyway—how old do you think he was when he had his Prima Mortis?”

“I don’t know. He was over forty when I met him, and I was very young.” Alex smirked. “When you’re young, everyone over forty seems old.”

“Perhaps we could ask Shinsu or Jeremiah,” Ava suggested.

“I don’t trust that Jeremiah!” Tavish shook his head.

Nodding, Lars added, “I agree about Jeremiah. Perhaps Shinsu can provide us with some valuable answers. Let’s do our research and regroup tomorrow morning at ten.”

Alex seemed suddenly tense. “Tomorrow? It feels like we are pushing the time envelope just a bit too tight.”

Patting Alex’s back, Lars responded, “We need the time to research this. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it all out.” Lars looked at Valeria and nodded.

She walked with Alex to the door, feeling silly and wondering if she should be following him, or even if he wanted her to.

As soon as they stepped onto the deck, Alex asked, “Val, is everything okay?”

She looked away and swallowed. “Yeah…I just need a nap, I think.”

Alex nodded, distracted. “Alright. Well, I’m sorry. I just can’t leave this to them. Would you mind, terribly if I left you on your own again?” He touched her shoulder affectionately. “I hate doing that. But my guess is that you would appreciate the chance to rest.”

Immediately she felt the heat of his hand on her shoulder that spread rapidly along her arms. Then he pulled her chin up with his finger so that he could see her eyes. She lifted her glance slowly and then her eyes came to his mouth and locked. At that moment she felt an overwhelming need to feel the warmth of those lips on hers. The power of that need was about to swallow
her up and then her heart would be his forever. Instead, she jerked away from him with a movement that she was certain would have been viewed as disinterest. Having done that she was certain she would never have that opportunity again. Nausea flooded her senses and she needed to be alone to hide the tears that were a whisper away.

“I’m sorry. Was I—” Alex said.

“It’s not you...it’s me. You were right, I just need to...to sleep,” she said hiding her face and then wrapping her arms tightly around herself to prevent her from doing something foolish she hurried to the stairs and across the field to the trail where she would be alone. Although she didn’t permit herself to turn, she could feel his eyes on her until she disappeared on the trail.

Once alone in the ancient forest, her pace slowed as the tears began to fall. She wondered if she could afford to be here when Alex was again reunited with Cassandra. Tears obscured her vision and she wiped them away angrily─refusing to acknowledge the loss. Alex wasn’t hers and never would be. He loved a princess; an extraordinary woman who had saved his life and won his heart. It was obvious from the painting. She had seen the look in the children’s eyes─that look, although she had not personally experienced it, was clearly
love!

Of course, someone like Alex should be with a princess and not a foul-tempered woman, like Daphne, or someone incredibly average like herself. While it had been painful to think of Alex with Daphne, somehow, she had known that there was not a tremendous amount of depth of emotion between them. But finding the letter that Alex had written to Cassandra had changed everything. No, she would definitely not be able to stay at Morgana with Alex and Cassandra.

The temperature had cooled, but the evening air was still pleasant. Strolling past the giant gingko tree, with its brilliant and magical golden leaves, she sighed. She would bury herself in a great book. Not Alex’s
Walden
, that would be too strong of a connection with him and she didn’t want to think of him anymore today. If she had to mourn, she would mourn someone else. From the bookshelf she took
Wuthering Heights
and then grabbed a thick cotton blanket from the closet. She lay under the beautiful gingko tree, eager to melt into the tragic story of Catherine and Heathcliff.