“There is much to explain.”
I reluctantly sink back into my seat.
“Nearly two hundred years ago, we were at war with Vod. Their king, at the time, was a tyrant who sought to expand his reach overseas. They had been encroaching on our lands for years, spreading like a plague around this kingdom—stirring civil unrest, raiding and pillaging the poor villages. With their military numbers and fleets, we needed a sure-fire defense, something to secure our lands. After I inherited the crown from my father, I continued his quest to find the Dragon Rider with the help of your parents. We needed to end the war and ensure against all future ones.” His gaze shifts back to Zadyn.
“We knew that with a dragon on our side, any attack on Aegean soil would be futile. Our enemies wouldn’t stand a chance. We searched for centuries, to no avail. We had all but given up hope of ever finding her when we sailed the Erastin Ocean to consult the High Seer. Her price was steep, but we paid it. Our centuries of searching, she said, had been in vain. You were never here.” He turns to me.
“She foretold the birth of a babe with black blood, hidden from sight by old magic, belonging to our world but not born to it.”
I feel a chill run down my spine.
“Your mother”—he looks at Zadyn and swallows thickly—“clever as she was, devised a plan. We were unsure it would work, but it was a necessary risk. She crafted a spell, binding the life of her unborn son to that of the unborn Blackblood witch. She did everything to ensure the binding would hold across worlds, across galaxies. She gave her life to make it so,” he says, his cold king’s stare softening a fraction.
I peer at Zadyn, my mind racing. Zadyn’s mother had magic? Was she a witch?
“One hundred and seventy years went by with no sign of the Blackblood. We found an alternative solution to end the war and smooth tensions with Vod. When your father took you from court for safekeeping, even I did not know the location.” A dark look crosses his features. “Years passed, and then one day, he sent word that the mark had finally appeared on you. The mark of a familiar. And we knew she had been born.” He gestures to where I sit, holding my breath.
A moment of silence passes before I slide my gaze to Zadyn.
“So your mother created this bond as a direct link to me in the mortal world?”
He confirms with a nod.
“Without your mother and her magic, there was no way to know if you had reached her once you’d been summoned. If you were safe. All we could do was wait and hope that one day you would return to us,” the king says, almost to himself.
“With the very thing my parents gave their lives for, of course,” Zadyn says with a touch of bitterness. A flicker of hurt skids across the king’s face.
“They knew the cost, and they paid it willingly for the good of the realm,” he says evenly. “It was our secret to bear. Your father took you from court to protect it and to protect you. We did everything we could think of to keep you safe.”
“But not to keep them safe. They took the secret to their graves.” Zadyn stares at the king with defiance in his eyes. “Don’t pity me—I knew what I was coming back to.”
A cool and unaffected mask slips over the king’s face. “The fact that the two of you sit here before me confirms that your parents’ sacrifice was not in vain. This is her. The last Blackblood witch.”
It’s my turn to speak up. “Except I can’t touch my magic.”
His eyes snap to me, nearly jarring me from my seat. The weight of his stare and the power rolling off of him is truly frightening. “What I mean is, I can’t access it.”
“The glamour is likely what’s repressing it. Gnorr said as much,” the king replies tonelessly.
“Look,” I sigh. “There’s a lot we need to cover here. Before I agree to be your…witch.”
“There is no agreeing or disagreeing with what you are. It simply is. This is your birthright. There is no denying it—you are a Blackblood. Whether or not you desire my protection and safekeeping in fulfilling your birthright, however, is up to you.”
“Your protection and safekeeping got off to a promising start when you threw me in a dungeon to be tortured for answers I didn’t have,” I spit, gesturing to Jace. If I’m not mistaken, it’s regret I see on his face.
I sigh, softening. “Listen, I can’t cast spells or ride broomsticks or brew love potions—” Zadyn shoots me a look that saysnot helping, and I trail off.
“You will be able to do all that and more,” the king says firmly, dismissing my opposition. “When the witches died, their spirits released a large amount of energy. Their magic was given back to the land, the soil from whence it came. But with their final breaths, they threw part of that energy into preserving their line. They hid their magic in you and then hid you in your mother’s womb. Your blood appears red to blend in with the humans you were raised by.”
“Iamhuman. Witch or not, I willalwaysbe human,” I say with contempt, glancing around the room at the wary onlookers. Easing back on the bite in my tone, I continue, “Besides, that doesn’t make sense. I was born thousands of years after the witches died.”
“Time works differently in your world. You may not have had physical form yet, but you, your soul, existed in the etherwell before you were even an idea in your human parents’ heads. You exist because the Blackbloods willed it so. Their magic was strong enough to span across time and space itself. Serena.” His voice softens, and there is a shift in his cold expression, making him look so…Dad. And the way he says my name...
“You are safer here than in any other court. If you leave, you will be found by others and forced into action. They will not treat you with the grace that we have.”
“Oh, you mean the grace of holding me captive or the grace of allowing me to clean your filthy toilets?” I retort.
He chuckles in surprise. “You’ll forgive us for taking precautions against a stranger in our home. We did not yet have the full story. You are both free to leave if that is your will, but make no mistake—you will be kept safe here.”
