Kaelisar smiles, but it's a smile cold as ice.
“Your mother always had a complicated relationship with the truth,” he adds with an almost theatrical sigh. “Your father didn't abandon you. He was... is an air elemental, like you.”
“I don't know what the hell you're talking about,” I growl.
“Your mother was human. She fell in love with a Fae. You were born, and one day she fled with you to this shitty realm when you could have had everything in ours. Shehid you among humans, sealed your magic, and made you believe you were one of them. She was always a very unstable woman. Bad luck had her die when you were a child and leave you without answers. How inconvenient, right?”
“I don't believe any of this,” I mutter through my teeth.
“I can give you those answers, Niletta,” he whispers. “After all, that Fae your mother was once in love with, that's me.”
The silence that follows is absolute. My three captors exchange a quick glance and I can see the surprise on their faces.
I study Kaelisar carefully, searching for some feature of mine in his face. I find none. Besides, something about his claim feels... wrong.
“What a load of crap,” I protest. “I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm not buying it. That's a lie.”
Kaelisar laughs, a strange laugh, a sound that makes my skin crawl.
“Your intuition is sharp, fitting for a wind whisperer,” he acknowledges. “But you can't deny what you're feeling right now. The magic flowing through your veins. The air responding to your emotions.”
“Okay, let's say I believe you about the magic thing,” I concede, crossing my arms over my chest in an attempt to get more information out of him. I've watched Chad negotiate with the mobsters we steal for and you always haveto make them believe they're in control. “What exactly do you want from me? Because I doubt you miss me, and this is a family reunion, right?”
“Straight to the point. I like that,” he exclaims, standing to head to a dark wooden table. He opens a drawer and pulls out a brown folder. “I need to recover three artifacts that were unjustly taken from me.”
After opening it, he shows us a photograph. A golden arrow, adorned with what look like diamonds.
“So in the end, all you want is for me to steal something for you?”
He doesn't bother to respond. He rolls his eyes in a dramatic way and continues with his explanation, as if talking down to a child.
“This is the arrow of Veritas,” he explains. “The first of three artifacts I need you to recover for me. The others are the Sphere of Emet and the Mirror of Alétheia, but we'll get to those.”
“And why should I care?” I ask, trying to seem braver than I actually feel.
“Because you, along with these three ladies,” he adds, gesturing to my captors who remain silent, “are going to steal them for me.”
“Not interested,” I respond, standing from the couch. “Thanks for the offer; you seem like a great guy and all, but I'll pass. I'm getting out of here.”
Kaelisar sighs, like I've disappointed him.
“I expected that,” he admits, pulling out another thicker folder. “That's why I took the liberty of gathering all the necessary evidence about your illicit activities and those of your little group. Especially about your dear brother Colt.”
My blood freezes. Colt is the closest thing to family I have left. Describing him as “brother” is basically accurate.
“What are you talking about?”
“Everything,” he responds, shrugging naturally. “Every robbery, every scam, every forgery. I have dates, locations, photographic evidence. Enough for all of you to spend the rest of your lives in prison.” He closes the folder with a sharp snap. “And believe me, in your case, 'the rest of your life' would be extraordinarily long now that your Fae heritage has awakened.”
“You're a son of a bitch,” I murmur.
“Maybe,” he concedes with a smile. “But a very clever son of a bitch. In fact, I was the one who provided your team with the information about the Harrington diamonds.”
Instinctively, I feel for the diamonds again. It's all been a trap, the intel seemed strangely good from the start. Everything too easy.
“Don't worry, you can keep them,” he scoffs like they have no value to him.
“And them?”
