His posture visibly relaxes, and he turns more fully toward me. Scooting closer, he takes my hand in his, running his thumb over the back of my hand. “I feared you’d never forgive me.”
“I forgive you, Franco, but…how can you not see me in a different light now? If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed my stepmother. I wasn’t in control. She was right all along. My magic is dark and dangerous. We just never knewhowdark it was until now.”
“No,” he says. “You cannot blame yourself for this. You’re a powerful half fae who’s never been given the means to explore her magic. You’ve been suppressed, raised without fae guidance. Of course your first shift into your unseelie form brought about a new level of magic. Do you think this is unusual for our kind? You can learn to control it, Em. I did.”
My heart flutters, fixated on three simple words.
For our kind.
No one has ever referred to me as belonging to faekind. Ever since Mother died, I’ve felt so lost, so disconnected, so confused about who I am and where I fit. I thought I’d live the rest of my life belonging nowhere. I’ve always been too fae for gentle society, and too human for fae acceptance. A life on the road was the only place I imagined feeling free. But what if I was wrong? What if there’s a better place for me? A better future? One where, instead of running to leave my identity behind, I can simply grow more into the person I already am.
“You aren’t afraid of me?” I ask.
“Afraid? Don’t you recall what I told you about my first experiences with magic? I leached my friends’ emotions for years until I mastered control. I’m not afraid of you, Ember. I’m amazed.” He leans in closer until our arms touch. I lay my head on his shoulder.
We sit like that for several quiet minutes, while I gather the courage to ask my next question. “Where is my stepfamily and Brother Marus?”
He tells me where they are, what happened after I lost consciousness. I shudder when he mentions his plans to give Saint Lazaro another chance to prove themselves, but I trust he’s doing the right thing. “What will happen to my stepsisters? To Mrs. Coleman?”
“That’s up to you,” he says gently. “Your stepmother already confessed to her crimes. She could be executed without trial, should you wish it.”
I ponder that for a moment, recalling everything she told me. Every way in which she made me suffer since Father died. Her lies. Her abuse. Her manipulations. Part of me wants her to endure the same fate she delivered my father. Another part of me has a different solution in mind.
“I want her to stand trial,” I say. “I want her to confront the full weight of judgment for everything she did. I want her to live with the consequences.”
“And your stepsisters?”
I furrow my brow. “Imogen is dangerous, even without her mother’s scheming, but she’s committed no crime.”
He gives me a crooked smile. “What if I just don’t like her? Is that not a grave enough offense to have her shipped off the isle?”
“As tempting as that is, no. Instead, let’s set her up in a workhouse. Without money and connections, she’ll come to understand her own insignificance soon enough.”
He nods. “We can do that. What about the younger girl? Clara?”
“She’s never treated me kindly,” I say, “but I saw a different side of her when she was my lady’s maid. I want to send her to live with her aunt, Marie Coleman, and enroll her at Maven University in the Fire Court. If her aunt won’t have her, I want her set up in a dormitory at the school.”
He quirks a brow. “Enrollment at an elite university. Now that’s a luxurious punishment.”
“I’d like to give her the chance to demonstrate whether she deserves it.” Another thought crosses my mind and I sit upright. “Please don’t think I’m expecting you to orchestrate this yourself, Franco. I’ll do whatever needs to be done. I’ll pay her tuition. There is the matter of my inheritance…”
“Oh yes,” he says with a roll of his eyes, “this great inheritance that has your entire stepfamily and a man of the church acting like vicious beasts.”
I release a heavy sigh, another hard question poised on the tip of my tongue. “How important is my inheritance to you? I imagine it makes me a more admirable match.”
He locks his eyes with mine. “Your fortune has nothing to do with how well matched we are. You are my mate because I love you. That’s all there is to it.”
I nibble the corner of my lip. “So, if I give it away, will you still accept me?”
“Yes, Ember, but why would you want to?”
I shrug. “It was always my intention to give it to charity. I never planned on keeping it. It makes me uncomfortable to consider benefitting from my father’s demise. That discomfort originated from the guilt I felt over his death, but even now that I know the truth, it’s still hard for me to consider claiming his fortune.” I’m quiet for a few moments, pondering. Then I lift my chin and infuse my tone with certainty. “I’m going to refuse my inheritance. I’ll accept just enough to cover Clara’s education, but I want none of the rest. I want it donated. I want it to support Lunar Court’s orphanages, and perhaps help fund assistance for the poor and downtrodden people of Evanston.”
He leans in close with a grin. “I approve of this. However, let’s not use your money to do it. Let’s use mine. Whatever you were planning on giving, I’ll double it with my own. We’ll come up with ways to more evenly distribute wealth, ways to care for the hungry and poor living in my court.”
My heart fills with warmth, and yet my stomach still feels heavy. “Why are you so determined that I claim it? I thought you said it didn’t matter if I was wealthy?”
“It doesn’t, and that’s not why I want you to keep it. I want you to keep it because it was a gift from your father, something he left for you with all his heart. He wanted you to have it. You need to learn to accept that. Accept that you’re worth his love, no matter what these three years of guilt have done to you. If you claim your inheritance and still want to give everything away, then fine. I won’t stop you. But do it because it’s yours. Not because you fear laying claim to it.”
