Ian ducked his chin and swallowed again and again, but try as he might, he could not hold back his emotion. He found he could barely breathe with the relief and the gratitude and the wonder of it all. In the back of his mind, he realized that he’d known all along who had come to the portal that day and given up her newborn babe. He also knew why Iyoclease had appeared so familiar to him at their first encounter. When he thought about it, they resembled each other very much.
So now he knew. Laodamia and Iyoclease were his parents, which meant that Theo really was related to him. She was Iyoclease’s niece, and Ian’s cousin. It astonished him that he’d taken so long to arrive at something so obvious. Perhaps he needed this box and this moment to confirm it. He had no doubt that was why Laodamia had made sure to bring her box to the portal that day. For him. She’d done it all for him.
Ian wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve. Clearing his throat, he thanked Alice for her kindness and asked to be excused, promising to return to visit with her if she’d like.
“Oh, I’d like that very much, Ian,” she said.
He left her then, cradling the box to him as if it held his very heart. He smiled when he thought about what he intended to do with the box. After opening it and removing the next scroll and whatever else his mother had hidden for him, he would give it to Océanne and tell her his true feelings. And then he would gather the members of the United, making plans to find the last Oracle, and together they would stand against the dreaded four. He no longer feared that encounter. His mother had seen him through to the end, and he vowed that he would not let her or his father down.
Ian thought on these things as he took his time making his way through the rain back to the keep, feeling not one drop because his spirit was now so light.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If it’s true that no man is an island, it is equally true that no book is written alone. Although we authors get to stamp our works with our own individual monikers, every book is in fact a compilation of efforts, and to those gifted and talented others who helped, I would like to offer my profound gratitude.
First and foremost, I sincerely thank my two fabulous editors, Krista Marino and Krista Vitola. Without these two amazingly talented ladies, many holes would have been left unfilled, loose ends would have dangled alarmingly, and great pockets of inconsistencies would have tripped up even the most ardent of readers. For the two Kristas’ insight, advice, and wisdom, I can’t thank them enough.
As I do in every novel I write, I would also like to give my most sincere thanks to my agent, one Mr. Jim McCarthy, without whom I’m quite positive I’d be sitting in an office cubicle working at some mundane job and feeling a little bit of my soul die each day. Thank you for this gift that is my life as a writer, Jim. I’ve never worked so hard and loved what I do so much.
Special thanks also to my publisher, Beverly Horowitz, for her support and faith. And of course, special thanks to the fantastically gifted artist Antonio Javier Caparo. Antonio, I don’t know how you manage to outdo yourself with each successive cover, but I love what you’re doing, my friend!
Personal thanks also go to my friends and family, who consistently keep me from sinking into the back of my writing cave to glower over my computer, by offering support, enthusiasm, and wonderful levity. Love you all, very much.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When Victoria Laurie was eleven, her family moved from the United States to England for a year abroad. She attended the American Community School at Cobham, and one day, while on a class field trip, she first glimpsed the White Cliffs of Dover. Her trip to the cliffs, the year abroad, and her grandfather’s stories of his childhood as an orphan left such an indelible impression on her that when she turned to a career as an author, she was compelled to write the Oracles of Delphi Keep series. Quest for the Secret Keeper is the third book in this series. The first two books, Oracles of Delphi Keep and The Curse of Deadman’s Forest, are available from Delacorte Press.
You can visit Victoria at oraclesofdelphikeep.com.
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