The grief that befell me was so overwhelming I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.
“And whose fault is that?”I screamed.
“Ama...”Sirius nipped.“You must be rational about this.You can not go into the Dark Fae Kingdom and just?—”
“If you will not aid me, I will do it myself.”
I watched as the tears pooled in my eyes.They were so young.
So beautiful and vibrant, but thefeelingI got was...
Guilty.Remorseful.
“His majesty, King Tyranus, will not take kindly to your attack.”Lithia shook her head, her dark hair flitting about her as her fractals danced anxiously.“He will strike back.And he will strike where it hurts you the most.”
“He took myconsort.I will be damned if he takes our child.”
“If you attack my father, Ama, I will have no choice but to choose sides,” Sirus said coldly.
“Well, perhaps you already have,” I said, and the air faded around me into the present.Gone were the young Sirus and Lithia, gone was the air of heartache.
I turned to my mother as she reached for my hand with a smile.
Did she know?
Could she feel that when she touched me, I slipped somewhere else?
I realized all at once it was not my vision I had endured, but perhaps...a memory.
My mother’s memory.
She squeezed my hand.
Were...were Desmond’s parents and my mother...friends?
I thought they were enemies.I thought the Dark Fae were the ones we should fear, not the ones we should trust.But it seemed things were not as black and white as I’d assumed.
I hadn’t asked about my father, for fear of what my mother would say.His absence could be felt, and I knew without her words to tell me, she had lost him.When, I did not know.I did not know if it was before I had veered into the mortal world or after.
There was a part of me that longed to know, a part of me that ached to know the truth because he wasmy father, but I also understood that it was a sensitive subject.I’d spent so much of my life without my mother, and I had no memories of her or my father prior to crossing the line.I only knew whatDaniel, my mother’s fae consort, looked like from the photos adorning the castle walls.He was quite handsome, but it was more than apparent, I’d taken after my mother.
“Do not worry, we will be back in time to celebrate your birthdays.”
“Birthdays?”Desmond asked.
“The Swan Festival, of course,” Lithia said smoothly.
“It has been years since I’ve seen the swans,” Sirus muttered.
“But you said—” Desmond started.
His father dismissed him with a wave.“This way you can leave for Blackthorn after.Eliminate needless travel.”
Desmond blinked.“That was not the plan!”
His mother ignored him.
“I don’t have all my things, I need?—”
