“Do you want to know the truth, Hunting Wolf, about your past and your mother?” Grey Feather leveled Marcellious with a clear-eyed gaze.
Marcellious turned away.
“Your mother, Elizabeth, was a sweet and kind woman traveling from England with her maid Mary to start an adventure in the Americas. She came from England because her family disowned her. She’d slept with a man out of wedlock, a prince, and was pregnant with twins. The Kiowas, our sworn enemies, attacked her carriage when she arrived.
“Dancing Fire and I were hunting that day and saw what happened. We fought them until we killed their attackers. Dancing Fire cared for Elizabeth and ensured she felt safe and welcomed. He fell madly in love with her and wanted to marry her.
“When our father, the Great Chief, discovered that she carried twins, he told her she’d likely give birth to Timebornes—the Great Spirit had told him so. Elizabeth, however, didn’t want to hear what she considered ‘the nonsense.’ My father saw the doubt in her eyes and assured her that we could be wrong—he basically lied to her so she’d remain with them and bring Timebornes into the world.
“But she’d already decided to leave once the babies were born and flee what she considered a curse—raising children who would someday leave her as time travelers.
“But then the day came when Elizabeth gave birth to two healthy Timebornes—those twins were you, Hunting Wolf, and you, Swift Hawk.”
My jaw dropped, as did Roman’s and Marcellious’.
Roman stared at Marcellious, unblinking. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
The chief continued, seemingly oblivious to the brothers’ shock.
“My father became greedy—he wanted the tribe to keep a Timeborne. He told the midwife to tell Elizabeth that one son didn’t make it.”
The story from Grey Feather was just as Roman had once told me. Roman had indicated the Great Chief was greedy and separated the two brothers. I looked at Marcellious.
The loss and shock of what had happened to his mother were etched on his face.
“When Elizabeth left Dancing Fire, he felt betrayed,” Grey Feather continued. “Then, Hunting Wolf, Dancing Fire left the tribe for three years when you left. He was angry before disappearing, unable to find peace in his heart. He’d devoted his life to his son—you, Hunting Wolf—who left him without saying goodbye. When he saw your dagger missing, he surmised you overheard the conversation and left. You didn’t even allow him to explain the truth to you. You just got up and left.”
The skin bunched around Marcellious’s eyes, and he rubbed his wrists while staring vacantly.
“We don’t know where Dancing Fire went, but when he returned, he appeared renewed, as if he had been cleansed of all his wounds,” Grey Feather said. “And then Roman appeared in his life, lighting a fire in Dancing Fire’s soul. He told Roman to find you, Hunting Wolf. That is why Roman came to Rome. He pledged to find you, wherever you were, and bring you home. I guess it was fate that he met Olivia, for she was needed to fit all the parts and pieces together.”
The chief turned and regarded me with a kind smile.
I felt touched by his warmth.
“Why didn’t Dancing Fire tell me the truth before?” Marcellious asked Grey Feather.
“The Great Chief only allowed Dancing Fire to be your father and caretaker if he swore to keep the secret forever. He was told to never speak about your mother or brother again. The great chief believed that your mother couldn’t handle two Timebornes, let alone one. When your mother learned Swift Hawk could time travel, she left the dagger with us and departed.
“I know deep down, Hunting Wolf, if your mother knew the truth, she would have kept you and Roman together. She was a wonderful and beautiful woman.”
Marcellious looked away from the chief, and a tear slipped down his face. The words and story appeared to cut through him. For one lingering second, he looked at me, his eyes filled with remorse.
Our audience began to thin as the others rose and wandered off.
Soon, only Grey Feather, Earth Bear, Marcellious, Roman, and I remained to finish our discussion.
Grey Feather’s attention flitted between Roman and Marcellious. “The tension between you two is palpable. You are clearly enemies. Instead, you must rejoice and be happy that Olivia brought you together. You are brothers. Your mother would be happy to see you reunited.”
He stopped speaking as his eyes fluttered closed, and his head bobbed slightly. After a beat of silence, he jerked and opened his eyes, blinking.
We all waited for him to speak again.
He was obviously tired.
As the chief dozed, I recalled a conversation with Moon Lee. I’d asked him if he’d ever fallen in love.
“Oh, Little Moon, I have. I was madly in love with an English woman. She was beautiful and well-born.” A wistful expression had colored Lee’s face.
