He nodded, eyes wide. ‘Yes, Little Bird. Wrenwyn the Wrong. She was Erath’s – your father’s – blood. Far back in his line. So … that makes her halfyour blood.’
But that was impossible. Because Wrenwyn was royalty, a princess from long ago. And…
‘Erath wasn’t a prince. He was just another Sacred,’ Ezer said.
He stepped closer to the bars. ‘Because Wrenwyn Lavor was stripped of her title, long ago. Her brothers never bore a living heir, and the family line died out. The Laroux rose to power then … so says the written history. But the stories – the ones passed on in private – say Wrenwyndidsurvive. She’d become a martyr of sorts, a beacon … and Erath was just another fool who fell prey to her lies.’
‘The lies of what?’ Ezer asked.
‘The darkness,’ Ervos said. ‘The Acolyte’s call. Shelived,Ezer, an entire life beyond the Citadel, and when she grew old, she returned and brought with her a book. It was one of secret symbols, full ofliesthat have stained the truth of the gods. She claimed there was something better out there. Something more powerful.’ His hands were shaking as he curled them over the bars. His fingernails had been pried away. ‘Your father had her blood, Ezer. And he died trying to find what Wrenwyn wrote about. Your mother died for it, too.’
She’d seen it play out, in her memories.
‘She wassafewhere I took her. She should have beenhappy. But there she went anyways, packing to go north to the Sawteeth when the wolves came. She was going to take you, too. To runtowardsa danger far worse than the Masters.’ He swallowed. ‘So, I stopped her. I protected you from her … I kept you safe. Like I promised I would.’
She didn’t know what he was saying.
But she felt like she was going to be sick.
‘What did you do to my mother?’ she breathed.
‘She did it to herself,’ he snarled.
He shook his head and slammed his hands against his skull.
‘I tried to erase it,’ he said. ‘I tried to forget that night. But it’s haunted me every day since.’ He started to cry. ‘I protected you.’ A whimper. ‘I kept my promise to my Styerra.’
Her whole body was cold.
This waswrong,something in his eyes was utterly wrong.
‘The past is done. Styerra is finallyfreeof the lies. The false love. What I had for her was true.’
No.
It wasn’t love.
He looked wild, mad.
He looked … like a man plagued by obsession.
‘All the days we went to the census, I removed your name. I kept you safe. And when I left … I made a deal that the prison master would keep you away from the north. He broke it, took his coin for putting your name in the draft. You aren’t supposed to be here.’
She gasped.
‘You …’ She shook her head. ‘You told him to keep me there? A prisoner? Working foryearsin your place?’
‘Of course I did,’ he said. ‘You loved the birds. You were happy, Ezer.’
‘I was alone!’ she yelled at him. ‘You abandoned me!’
‘I did what I had to do,’ he said. There was no regret in his voice, in his eyes. ‘And now it is your turn. I’ve heard the stories. I know about the mysterious Minder from the south, who plans to travel north … to kill the Acolyte.’ He shook his head. ‘You cannot go, Ezer.’
‘Why not?’ she asked.
‘Because you are blood of Wrenwyn!’ he shouted. ‘A child of two traitors who laid down their vows to the gods. They killed Erath as penance. They nearly killed Styerra, too. But I kept her safe … and her fledgling who was never meant to be.’
It took everything in her not to wish him dead right now.
