A man appeared, his hair made of fire and light. He was followed by two women and another man, not all in humanoid forms. Each was entirely unique. Two of them had forms that shifted amid the shadows.
"The realm grew powerful and home to many the King deemed worthy. An inner circle formed around the king. The power of his followers was great and they were steadfast in their loyalty."
We stood in a throne room. Astrid and Owen joining Travis and the rest. The only ones missing were the twins.
"Still the king knew loneliness. All of the Fae he gathered, all of his children, didn't fill the void inside him."
The view shifted to the king disappearing into his hills, his back lonely as if he held the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"He entrusted his crown to his youngest with the understanding a new ruler would be chosen to replace the first."
A man with grayish blue eyes identical to mine held up a crown, examining it with a frown. He studied those of the inner circle, before turning and walking away from them. The scene shifted. The youngest stood on a cliff and cast the crown into the night.
Shadows boiled up from the ground, eating everything in sight. What didn't flee before them was enveloped.
"The youngest shirked his duty and fled. His weakness doomed us all."
Images of the Fae begging for shelter in other realms. Kings refusing them. Some slaughtering those who approached on bended knee.
"The rest of the realms already feared us. When we came to them, we were met with hatred. They killed us on sight. Those who survived had to hide what they were. They became the nightmares the rest hated."
An image of Callie, Don, and others hunting down enemies and slaughtering them while laughing over their bodies.
The illusion faded, the room coming back into focus.
With what Travis had shown me still lingering in my brain, I looked the room over with new eyes. Noting the familiar lines. The spot where a throne had once sat.
"What does any of this have to do with me?" I asked.
A part of me already knew. The youngest. His face was a little different from the photo I had. Less human. More beautiful. Even with his perfect features dialed down and the fire in his eyes muted, he was still recognizable.
Travis prowled in my direction. "The king's youngest. Brin. Your father."
I didn't react.
The colors around Travis soured. He'd hoped for more, I was betting.
"That's an interesting story you've told. Got any proof?"
Illusions were easily crafted. Callie and Don had both been in my apartment. They could have broken into my safe and taken the photos. This could all be a manipulation designed to take advantage of my obvious desire to find the father I never knew.
The twins smirked at my stubbornness.
"At first, I wasn't sure," Travis admitted. "It wasn't until your waking as a vampire that I caught a whiff of the familiar. Still, I thought I’d imagined it."
We all knew what came next.
He convinced me to avoid all vampires and human blood, nearly causing me to devolve.
"I started researching shortly after." His eyes never left mine. "Imagine my surprise when I found out that your father was only your adoptive father. Bryan Volsk is the man listed on your birth certificate."
The twins ooed and awed at the revelation.
I ignored them, and my anger at having personal information revealed in such a public manner.
"None of that proves he is your lost lord," I said.
Fury sparked off Travis.
