Lucca’s power swirled in the summer morning, dark now as if it had taken on some of Ariana’s energy after she had poured Quinn’s memory into him. It was a shimmering, sad dance as Lucca mourned. With a sigh, he scrubbed a tear from his cheek, only to have it be replaced by another. Suddenly, he gave the softest, most heartbreaking chuckle.
His eyes too blue as he glanced over – a ring of darkness in their depths.
“How did you show me this, Ariana? Memory transference like this shouldn’t be possible between you and I, as we share no official magical bond.” He asked, agonized but also curious now. Heaving a hard breath, Lucca reached up, flicking his tears away for good with his fingertips.
“I don’t know.” Ariana responded as they sat together. “But I think it has to do with the Summer Fae House I come from, and how it influences my Dark Fae magic to reveal the truth people need to know. I learned from a conversation with my Fae parents recently that I’m adopted – the last central-line heir of House Altvie. The House of Shadow Truth.”
“The House of Shadow Truth!” Lucca blinked hard then, staring at her with amazement as his eyes widened. “That would explain a lot about the character and strength of your power. But I remember when Loriana and Trulian Altvie and their family were slaughtered twenty-eight years ago, in their home. It was done by Vampires, or so the investigation indicated, though none were ever caught. You were their child… and you were spared?”
“I was the only one left alive; my parents discovered me afterwards, they were close with the Altvies.” Ariana nodded quietly now. “But I was only a day old and already a Dark Fae, so they took me to the human world that same night.”
“To save you.” Lucca frowned deeply now as he reached out, cupping Ariana’s cheek. “They were right to do so; even as an infant, my father would have captured you and most likely put you to death. But your adopted parents… who are they, Ariana? Another Royal House?”
“No.” Ariana shook her head, wondering suddenly how much Lucca might know about her parents, both her adopted ones and her original family. “My father told me his real name is Adicus Briarwick. And my mother is Illyria Amati. Do you know them?”
“My god.” Blinking deeply now, Lucca stared at Ariana, amazed. “Your father is the Tempest of the Darkwatch, and your mother is the King’s First Spear?”
“The who now?” Ariana cocked her head, as those titles meant nothing to her.
“Adicus Briarwick was Tempest of the Darkwatch once, Ariana, their strongest sigil-wielder and Second in that entire organization.” Lucca stared at her as his blue eyes blazed with astonishment. “When my father led the Darkwatch under Quinn’s father King Aurelio Incendari, Adicus was his Second. Adicus trained me – he taught me everything I know about sigildry, and Alleno, too. And your mother was the old King’s top battle-lord, his First Spear. Illyria Amati was a storm, one of the strongest fighters the Brightwatch have seen in thousands of years. She and Adicus retired from service a few hundred years ago, but were still part of Court life until they disappeared suddenly… twenty-eight years ago.” Lucca blinked, as he put it all together. “It was rumored they were dead. But they’re alive, in the human world?”
“I guess so.” Ariana responded, astounded to hear who her parents really were, and the immensely elevated positions they had once held in the Summer Fae Court.
“No wonder your sigildry is already powerful, even with your Dark Fae magic as wild as it is.” Lucca breathed as he watched her. “And you’re becoming masterful in battle already… it makes sense, if you were trained by Illyria. She was nothing short of magnificent on the battlefield, and was my commanding officer in the War when I was a Captain.”
“They’re sympathetic to the Dark Fae.” Ariana responded quietly now, though no one was near enough in the park to hear. “My adopted parents had an underground railroad for centuries with House Altvie to help Dark Fae escape your father’s pogroms. Though even they don’t know where those Dark Fae are hidden now. Do you think your father had my real parents killed because they were helping Dark Fae escape?”
“I mean it’s possible, but the details don’t add up, Ariana.” Lucca spoke just as quietly back as he frowned darkly. “Though House Altvie were disapproving of my father’s rule, they are too powerful a Royal House for him to try and silence. Besides, House Altvie and House Bellari have been in opposition for eons but have generally tolerated each other; House Bellari’s motto isThe House of Blazing Heart– too passionate for the thoughtful quietude of House Altvie. Plus, the kill-patterns and wounds on your family were consistent with a Vampire attack; a group of powerful Masters to take down such a magically strong family. If it had been my father’s men, you’d not have been turned Dark Fae… you’d just have been killed.”
“I suppose so.” But it was Ariana’s turn to frown now as the details suddenly didn’t add up. As her magic churned, stewing about who had killed her original family and why, Lucca watched her alertly. His blue eyes had brightened now; as he pushed up from the quilt, he offered Ariana his hand.
Though her magic still simmered, Ariana took it, his touch warm and good as he helped her to standing beneath the wisteria arbor. As their bodies drew close, she felt a warm zephyr pass between them like a caress, as if both their magics were trying to soothe each other’s aching hearts. As Ariana watched, her power and Lucca’s seemed to dance through the shadows and dappled sunlight.
“Shall we take a stroll? I think I need to move after all those revelations. Go somewhere more blithe and process.” Lucca chuckled as he held her.
“You and me both.” Ariana responded, feeling like she needed the same thing to banish dark thoughts from their day.
But as Lucca reached up, smoothing his knuckles over the side of Ariana’s neck suddenly, her breath caught. Her power flared like molten gold through her veins as he touched her – in the exact same spot Quinn’s almost-bite had been the night before, she realized.
She had nearly forgotten about it, as Quinn’s fangs had barely punctured her and he’d tended it with the Hotel’s unguent to close the marks. But as Lucca’s fingertips brushed that spot, Ariana felt a thrill pass through her. Moving to her eyes, his gaze was strangely dark as he watched her. As if the echo of Quinn’s bite held him motionless now after everything they had shared through Quinn’s memory, Lucca churned with a beautifully haunted energy as they stood together.
But the moment passed as he blinked, shaking his head with a wry smile and returning from his strange trance. Lifting Ariana’s hand, he kissed it with a lingering pleasure before setting it upon his arm. Escorting her from the arbor, Lucca held up a hand to Alleno as his cousin tried to follow. With a sharpness in his emerald eyes, Alleno held back, though he crossed his arms, staring daggers at his Prince as Lucca and Ariana walked away from his protection.
But it left Ariana wondering why Lucca had dismissed his shadow so they could be alone.
And why something far darker than usual lingered in the Summer Fae Prince after touching her bite from Quinn.
CHAPTER 15 – GOSSIP
As Ariana and Lucca strolled through the city park, she did not break their intimate silence. Roses were in full bloom, grown into fantastic topiaries, the scent heavenly in the scalding day. Wisteria arbors spread through the park, Summer Fae couples, trios, and more laughing as they indulged in the day’s delights.
Some were fucking, and though Ariana blushed, Lucca walked on with only mild amusement, as if public sex were as common among the Fae as it was for Vampires. As they passed a group who had obviously just got done, now indulging naked in a sumptuous breakfast, Lucca nodded to the revelers. They startled, though they hailed their Prince brightly and tossed him an apple. With a laugh, Lucca lifted an eyebrow as he tossed the apple back. The man he’d tossed it to bit into it as everyone else cheered, though Ariana didn’t understand the gesture.
“What was that?” She asked as they passed, grinning.
“It’s an old gesture among the Summer Fae,” Lucca grinned back, his blue eyes alight, “for the people to bless their liege with an apple and for their liege to bless them back. It indicates mutual trust – that the people will provide for their monarch when they are well-treated, and the monarch will respect his people and offer support when they need it.”
“Something your father doesn’t do.” Ariana understood as another group repeated the gesture and Lucca smiled and played his part. As Lucca flicked his fingers to the shadows beside the walk, Alleno was suddenly jogging to the gravel promenade, though Ariana hadn’t even known he was tracking them.
