“So they ran,” I said flatly.
“And hid in the human realm. Smart, actually. Brilliant, even. Without them to cast portals, the gates between worlds would be completely closed. Earth was the perfect hiding place for two powerful witches who wanted to disappear.”
“This is...” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “My entire life was a carefully constructed lie. Everything I thought I knew about my family, my history, my identity, all of it was fiction designed to keep me safe and ignorant.”
“Not a lie,” Casimya said gently. “A protection. There’s a difference.”
“Doesn’t feel different right now.”
Killian stirred in my lap, making a distressed sound. I automatically adjusted my hold on him, stroking his hair until he settled again.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Mal said, standing abruptly. “Casimya, thank you for your time.”
“Understandable. That’s a lot to process in one sitting.” Casimya stood gracefully. “I’ll be in the east wing if you need me. Try not to spiral too hard, dear. It never helps.”
She swept out of the room before Mal could respond, and I would’ve laughed if I wasn’t currently having an existential crisis.
I sat there, staring at nothing, trying to process the impossible. Two hundred years. My grandparents had lived two hundred years and lied to me every single day. Every birthday, every holiday, every normal moment, all built on lies.
“Wen...” Mal started, taking a step toward me.
“My grandparents. My family. My entire childhood. My understanding of who and what I am. All lies. Meticulously maintained for decades.”
“They were protecting you.”
“By lying to me?” I looked up at him, anger starting to burn through the shock. “By letting me think I was human when I’m apparently descended from legendary magical bloodlines that people hunt?”
Before Mal could respond, the door burst open and Daphne rushed in, nearly tripping over her own feet.
“Hi... Oh my god, Wen!” She took one look at my face. “You’re pale. Like, ghost pale. Are you okay? Don’t answer that, you’re clearly not okay. What happened?”
“I just found out I’m part wolf, part witch, part human, and my grandparents who I thought were normal human beings were actually magical beings who lied to me about literally everything for my entire life. Nothing big, of course. Just a casual identity crisisagain.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yeah. So no. I’m really not okay.”
Daphne immediately sat beside me, taking my free hand while being careful not to jostle Killian. “Okay. Explain. Everything. From the beginning. Now.”
I gave her the rundown. When I finished, she stared at the wall, processing.
“Okay, so you’re descended from legendary half witches who were basically magical royalty. That’s actually kind of cool. Your whole life is a badass origin story waiting to be written.”
“That’s not...”
“You’re literally magical. Like, actually magical. Do you know how many people would kill for that?”
“People DID kill for it! Or tried to! That’s the PROBLEM!”
“Okay, fair point. But still. You’re like a unicorn. Rare and magical and special.”
“A hunted unicorn.”
“All unicorns are hunted. That’s their whole thing. Comes with the territory.”
Despite everything, my mouth twitched. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m helping.”
