{"id":4570,"date":"2021-03-17T21:43:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T01:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4570"},"modified":"2021-03-17T21:43:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T01:43:04","slug":"eighteen-01-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4570","title":{"rendered":"Eighteen – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPhelan!\u00a0 Phelan, wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused, turning slowly to look back down the hill.\u00a0 Jacqueline was still carrying her basket of healing supplies as she hurried up the path behind him, the morning sunshine gilding her hair with golden light, giving her a halo effect that warmed him to the depths of his soul.\u00a0 She was as beautiful now as the day he\u2019d laid eyes on her for the first time, now almost two decades past.\u00a0 He wished that the worried look on her face wasn\u2019t so familiar, though, especially after all this time.<\/p>\n

His stomach dropped and he reached for her basket as she came within arm\u2019s length.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head but let him take the basket.\u00a0 \u201cYou were going to go talk to Matt?\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced up the hill toward the forge, where smoke already curled from the chimney, the faint sound of Matt\u2019s hammer echoing down the hill toward them. \u201cI was planning on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWe can talk to him together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you eaten?\u201d Phelan asked her as they started up the path.\u00a0 \u201cYou went to check on our visitors pretty early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some oatmeal and fruit before I went,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone\u2019ll need to bring them something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs everything all right, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith them, for now, yes.\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline\u2019s lips thinned and she glanced up toward him, chewing her lower lip.\u00a0 \u201cSomething bothered me about his condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

A chill shot through him.\u00a0 \u201cMy nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed against a lump in his throat.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t even gotten to speak to him yet.\u00a0 \u201cDavid,\u201d he echoed softly.<\/p>\n

She squeezed his arm.\u00a0 \u201cI know what attacked him, Phelan, and he\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve always been,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThom always was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThom.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s brow furrowed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2014why\u2014?\u201d\u00a0 What does that…?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think they were attacked by camazotzi<\/em> somewhere along the road.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t get a good feel for how far away it was or how long ago it was, but I\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s what it was.\u00a0 The wounds look right, especially knowing\u2014well.\u00a0 Knowing who his family is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCamazotzi<\/em>,\u201d Phelan echoed, feeling numb.\u00a0 He closed his eyes for a second.\u00a0 \u201cThen the peace really is breaking down.\u00a0 The agreements\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew it was only a matter of time, especially after all of our enemies realized that they weren\u2019t here anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close to his side.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to tell Matt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts exactly.\u201d\u00a0 She nodded toward the forge door.\u00a0 \u201cI just hope he\u2019s up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should he be when we\u2019re not?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan smiled crookedly and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll get through.\u00a0 Always do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow,\u201d she agreed, wrapping her arm around his waist.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Phelan murmured.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] \u201cPhelan!\u00a0 Phelan, wait.\u201d He paused, turning slowly to look back down the hill.\u00a0 Jacqueline was still carrying her basket of healing supplies as she hurried up the path behind him, the morning … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[336,337,367,14],"tags":[340,150,171,170,174,149,173,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-4570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ambrose-cycle","category-book-8","category-chapter-18-book-8","category-story","tag-ambrose-cycle","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-jacqueline-bell","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-1bI","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4571,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570\/revisions\/4571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}