Cade tilted the open box in the moonlight, and saw a sealed envelope. He pulled it out and found a small leather pouch underneath. He left the pouch in the box and focused on the envelope, which had a gray wax seal with a sigil unknown to him. The sigil was a four pointed star wreathed in flame. He turned the envelope over and the only writing on it was his name, written in a masculine script. With trembling fingers, he broke the seal loose and slid out the sheaf of parchments inside. When he opened them, he saw the papers were inked in the same script as the envelope. He began reading.

My son,

Where do I begin? Years of my absence in your life cannot be aptly apologized for in a letter, but I want you to know that I am truly sorry. I am sorry for everything that I must have put you through with my decisions. You did not deserve to be abandoned by your father or have your heritage and your true self hidden from you. You were an innocent baby, and I could not protect you from the dangers that haunted me. I wanted you to grow up safe from the curse that I had wrought on our family and not be forced to defend your bloodline before you were ready to accept the battle. I wanted you to be able to choose your life, and not be spurred one way or another. I left you in the care of the one man in this world that I trusted, and I hoped that he would be able to give you a life that I never could. I made him promise me things that would make him your adversary at times, but know that he does it out of duty to me and love for you. Please forgive him if you can.

It now comes time for me to tell you about our family. You are of the Dallax family. We are channelers, for as far back as we can trace our history. Our bloodline has always been strong, and you are now the sole heir and the last of us. Your mother also came from a strong line, the Roquays, and Bethany was a talented and brave woman. She was a fighter until her last day, and on that day, she named you. Something went wrong after the birth, and she died that night in her sleep. After losing her, I had to make sure that you survived, no matter what. You carry the power of two strong bloodlines, but that is not what endangers you. What put your life in danger was my arrogance.

I thought I could war with a renegade faction of channelers by myself. In the beginning, I crippled them, bringing their leaders in to face justice. What I did not account for was how far the roots of their poisonous agenda had spread. Soon after Bethany died, the leaders were broken out, and they began hunting for me. The loyal channelers did manage to force the rebels out of the empire, but their pursuit of me continued. I was told to go into hiding, and that is when I took you to Merrick. Once I knew you were safe, I had no intention of hiding. I plan on doing what damage I can before they manage to kill me. It’s not the life or legacy I wanted you to suffer.

I hope that this letter gives you some guidance and some insight into who you really are. You are a Dallax channeler, the son of Aidan and Bethany, and are capable of anything. I love you, and I hope you can forgive me. I know this letter will have found you grown into a strong and capable young man, and I hope that these words can help you understand who you truly are.

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I am proud of you always, and I will love you always.

Aidan

Cade felt tears rolling down his cheeks as he finished the letter, and he held the papers in his hand for a long moment before folded them back up into the envelope. He took the small leather pouch out of the box, and opened the drawstring. He heard the soft clinking of metal from inside. He poured the contents into his gloved hand, and a silver ring, chain, and pendant now lay in his palm.

He dropped the empty leather pouch back into the box, and then used his teeth to tug the glove off of his free hand. He took the jewelry into his ungloved hand, and then pulled his other glove off. He felt the cold metal on his skin, and something deep within him resonated like an echo of a long forgotten memory. He looked at the simple silver ring and found the same sigil inscribed there as on the wax seal. He slipped the ring on the first finger of his right hand, and it fit like it had been made for him.

The long chain was sturdy and had clearly been made to last. The pendant that hung from it was small and round, about the size of a coin. Cade saw that one side of the pendant bore the flaming star sigil, but when he turned it over, he saw an intricately carved flower that he did not recognize. He slipped the chain over his head, and tucked the chain inside of his shirt. The cold metal was a shock to his skin initially, but it soon warmed with his body heat.

He pulled his gloves back on, and reached for the box. When he looked inside, he saw a small folded piece of paper sticking out of the pouch. He removed it and held it up to the moonlight to read.

Cade,

The ring belonged to me and bears the sigil of House Dallax. We have always been identified by the blazing star, and now you should wear it proudly as well. The chain and pendant belonged to your mother, and bears both the sigil of House Dallax and the lily of House Roquay. These are the last remaining things I have to pass on to you. Let them serve as a reminder of who you are, and where you came from.

Aidan

He folded the note up and dropped it back in the box with the envelope and empty pouch. He slid the lid back into place, and then looked up to see Zaka staring at him. The wolf’s yellow-green eyes were looking over Cade’s shoulder, and he froze, sensing the presence of people behind him. He unsheathed his dirk, and felt the fire blossom in his chest. The heat spread down his limbs, and when it reached his hands, he pushed himself from the ground and whirled around to face whoever had pursued him here. Flames ignited along the dirk’s blade and the small clearing was bathed in an orange glow. His eyes locked on the tree line and saw two figures moving in the shadows of the forest.

“Come out, now,” Cade said with a flat even tone.

The figures moved from the darkness of the forest and stepped into the light cast by his fiery blade. It was Aurora and Carissa. A wave of surprise and shock washed over Cade after seeing their faces, and he was rendered speechless for a moment. When he found his voice, his voice was filled with confusion.

“How did you get here? Why are you here?” He asked.

“The answer to the first bears little importance,” Carissa said. “To answer your second question, we are here because you are in grave danger.”