“Lex will say anything to save herself.” Eraldon nods, his cold eyes following each step I take. “She’s beholden to the day king for bringing her daughter into the fold.”
“She was trying to get into my head.” I press my palms to my temples.
“Did she?” he asks it nonchalantly, but his gaze on me is like a weight.
“No, of course not.” I stop in front of him.
“I can’t have her turning my mate against me.” He strokes a finger down my cheek. “You’re so very important to me. The diamond in my crown, the one who will sit beside me as we rule all of Arin.”
“It’s just …”
He grips my chin hard. “What?”
“She said …” I stare into his dark eyes, the ones I see even when I sleep.
“Go on.” His voice is cold and precise, like the slice of a knife.
“She said my mother is alive.” Hope sparks inside me, but the ire rising inside Eraldon dampens it.
“And you believe her, a lying witch who’ll say anything to save her own hide?”
I must be careful, must remember that Eraldon is my mate, the one who has my loyalty. “You’re right. Maybe I justwantit to be true?”
He narrows his eyes, perusing me for a long while, then pulls me tight against him. “Of course you want to believe it, Emma. I can’t blame you for that.” He strokes my hair. “But Solano destroyed her. You know that as well as I do.”
Why is there no comfort in his arms? No joy in his touch? He’s my mate, and I’m failing him.
“Everything will fall into place when we mate.” He keeps stroking my hair. “You’ll see.”
I want this pain to end. I want to erase that small sliver inside me that doesn’t seem to fit. Leaning back, I capture his gaze again, and he wipes a tear from my cheek. “Why can’t we mate now?”
He smiles, a low laugh in his throat. “Eager to warm my bed, nightling?”
If it will make me feel whole, I’ll happily give him my body. Something has to destroy the thorn of torment that’s lodged so deeply under my skin. I can feel it even now, and I sense that invisible string attached to it, the string that twines away into darkness and then the light. The one that’s connected to—
“Solano,” he hisses.
I jump at the name, but Eraldon doesn’t notice or believes the reason my hackles are up is because of fear. Fear of the day king and the evil hidden within him. But that’s not it, not the feeling his name evokes. I’m lost, so lost.
“The day king will see me take everything from him.” Eraldon leans down and brushes his cold lips against mine. “I want him present for our mating. Once I’ve captured him, I’ll have him watch as we seal our bond and—” His hand slides between us and to my stomach. “Create the new heir for the day realm.”
My mouth goes dry. “But I-I’m a seeker … I can still have children?”
“Lex tells me so. You have that special something, nightling. A magical bloodline that keeps your heart beating, your blood warm, your will strong.” He strokes my stomach and teases lower.
I stiffen but don’t push him away. I should want this, should want him to touch me everywhere. I’m his. I recite it in my mind. “How? I don’t understand. I’m just a changeling.”
“More than that.” He looks up at the moon hanging low in the sky. “Your mother never mentioned anything special about your parentage?”
I shrug, my wings aching from use. “She said she loved my father, but once I was born, he became unfaithful. He was a changeling. She ran him off for sleeping around. I think it may have broken her heart, but I could never tell what went on at the core of her. I wish I could ask her now.”
Eraldon kisses my hair. “I’m so sorry the sun king has taken that chance from you. I would’ve liked to meet her, to find out what makes you so peculiar.”
“Peculiar?” I raise a brow.
He smirks. “Special.” His hand moves lower, almost to my sex.
I should tease him, kiss him, touch him. Instead, I can’t seem to move.
