“I can save them for when you don’t look ready to rip off someone’s head,” he offers.
“I’m just tired.” I roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling.
“I know you are. Aside from that, how are you feeling?”
I appreciate his concern. I mean, no one else has stopped to ask how I’m settling into this new world. But I haven’t fully forgiven him for lying to me for years.
“I feel…numb. Confused. Alone. I never thought I would see my dad’s face again. I got so excited because I thought—” I swallow the tightness in my throat. “I thought it was really him. Now I just feel…devastated.”
Zadyn’s eyes turn down in concern. He slides closer and takes my hand in his. I stare up at him, blinking back tears. “You are not alone. I know you won’t be able to trust me right away. But I’m here. No matter how overwhelmed you feel, I hope you can believe that I won’t let anything happen to you. You never have to pretend around me. Your safety and your happiness are mine to ensure.”
His words and warm touch ease some of that tension in my chest. I gaze up at him, feeling the tears sting my eyes.
“Will they hurt you if they find you here?”
“They’re welcome to try. But I’d rather leave the element of surprise in case we end up needing it.” He offers a wide, dimpled grin that I can’t look away from.
If Tatler had an adult grandson, it would be the beautiful person sitting before me. The resemblance remains between those warm, kind eyes and the heartfelt smile. I reach out a hand without thinking and brush my fingers against his smooth face. He tenses, his brown eyes watching me carefully.
“It was so real.” I let my hand fall to my side, and he relaxes.
“Most glamours are woven with that intent.”
“So, this is your true form?”
“The one I was born with.” He nods. “Shifting was nearly impossible in the human world, so I relied on glamours instead.”
“It’s strange to think you’ve been so many people in my life. And I never knew, never even suspected.”
He offers an apologetic smile. “I wanted to tell you. So many times, but you weren’t ready. For any of this.”
“I’m not ready now. I don’t think I’ll ever be.”
“You are. Trust me. You may not know me the way you thought you did, but I know you. I know the blood of a warrior witch clan runs in your veins. Your strength runs deeper than you could ever imagine.”
“It’s all just too much.” My voice is barely even a whisper.
“What can I do?” he offers, eyes searching mine.
“I—I don’t know.” I sit up. “There’s still so much I don’t understand. Igrid mentioned this prophecy earlier...what I don’t get is how I can be this Blackblood witch when I’m not even from your world.”
“You may have been born in the human world, but it was Blackblood magic that placed you there for safekeeping until it was time to return here to your true home.”
My true home? This isnotmy true home.
“So what you’re telling me is that while I look human…I’m not.” I shake my head in confusion. He nods. “But my parents.”
“You were essentially planted in your mother’s womb.”
“That explains why we’re nothing alike,” I mumble.
“They’re still your birth parents,” he amends. “But your blood, yourtrueblood, is black.”
Witch. Blackblood. Not human.
He continues on.
“The prophecy Igrid was telling you about foretold the coming of the last Dragon Rider. But there was another part of the prophecy that the High Seer only sold to the highest bidder. Only a few were privy to that knowledge.”
