“Why wouldn’t it be?”
I hesitate before stepping on the glass, but since Otavio is already standing on it, I take my chance and approach him, then look around and realize Nelsin’s nowhere to be seen.
It’s just me and my former master.
I look at him and say, “You didn’t want me to find this castle, and told me it was just a story.”
“That’s not really true. I wanted to know where you had heard about it. You’ve been here, haven’t you? It was you who cut the bonds. Now, imagine if this heart were to fall into the wrong hands. You told me you had read about it in a book. I was worried.”
His argumentislogical, even if I would rather tell myself he’s saying nonsense. And yet. “You could have told me about it.”
“I would, Astra. I was just being careful.”
His tone is the rare, gentle tone he used sometimes when I was little. On days like those, I could tell myself I had found a father. But I know it’s not true.
He furrows his eyebrows as if worried. “You must be so upset, so confused, but I promise you, I can explain everything. I can answer all your questions.”
“Did you know my parents?” the question springs out of my lips by itself.
Sadness taints his eyes as he says, “Unfortunately not.”
“Did you really find me in an orphanage?”
“I did, and you were extremely lucky. I lied to you, Astra. I always told you that someone from that place brought you to me because of your hair. It wasn’t quite like that. I sensed you and stole you from that dreadful orphanage. To protect you.” He chokes as if taken with emotion, but I don’t know if it’s true or not.
“Then you burned the orphanage?”
“The records, only. Not the children, or the food, or anything like that. I would never hurt an innocent.”
“What did my records say?”
“You were left at the door. Unknown parents. In cases like that, they search for a while. Check with midwives. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted them to forget you existed.”
“Wouldn’t they notice if a baby was missing?”
Otavio has a hint of a smirk. “Dead fae don’t tend to notice things.”
“So you killed the caretakers.”
“For you, yes. I would kill anyone.” He sounds sincere, as if he truly cared for me, and yet I don’t believe him.
“How did you know who I was?”
“I can sense Tiurian magic, and yours was quite strong. Not to mention your hair.”
“And yet you never told me about my magic.”
“Tiurian magic can be traced, Astra. Fae and humans developed dark magic just to find Tiurians. We can grant them magic, right? So finding one of us could be very profitable. As long as you didn’t attempt any magic, you would be safe.”
“A little heads up would have been nice.”
“I gave you more than a heads up. I told you not to use your tricks of faith, told you to avoid doing whatever the priestess was teaching you. While you had to pretend to be devoted to that disgusting fake religion, you shouldn’t have let it… Shouldn’t have transformed it into magic. And I warned you. Many, many times.”
“You could have told me I had magic, and explained that I had to hide it. I would have hidden it. Didn’t I hide my hair?” I touch a purple strand. “Why weren’t you honest with me?”
He stares at me, his face grave. “All I did was to protect you. I understand you might be upset that I tried to protect you from yourself, but…” He sighs. “I did my best. You’re alive.”
“What do you want with me? Why did you want me to marry Renel?” I’m curious, not angry. I need to understand why. So many whys.
