“I didn’t know he was your bloody soul mate!” He waved a hand at the shifter but saved his vexed gaze for me. “How the fuck would I know that? I thought she meant you two would try to kill each other.Thatmakes sense…not this.”
Bishop cocked his head in a purely animalistic way. “What did you say her name was?”
“I didn’t.” Marlon threw a vicious glance in his direction. “Ask your mother. She gave her the same advice in private.”
“You know my mother,” Bishop said quietly—and slowly—narrowing his shifter eyes on my father. “There seems to be a lot of that going around. King Traevon recently mentioned he knew her too.”
“My king knows many people,” Father murmured in the way he does—when he was swerving around a problem. “As do I.”
I crunched on the candy as I studied him. Once I swallowed the sweet treat, I demanded bluntly, “Cut the bullshit. What don’t we know about this Fae?”
“A shit ton.” Father raised his silver brows at me. “And none that I can tell you. I gave my word I would say nothing until the time came to pass.” He shook his head softly at my infuriated expression. “I won’t break it, son.Not with that Fae.”
Bishop blinked in surprise. “You’re scared of her.”
“Anyone halfway intelligent would be.”
“Give me her name,” I demanded instantly, far too alert for this time of night. “What kind of Fae is she?”
“Ruiuen is her name.” Marlon rubbed at his jaw. “And she’s a witch. Averyold and powerful one.”
“Haven’t heard of her.” I looked at the shifter. “You?”
“No, but I have a feeling my king has. I’ll need to ask him.” Bishop rested back on his chair with a thoughtful expression, but kept ahold of my feet, keeping them toasty warm. His intelligent eyes tracked back and forth between me and my father, eyeing each of us carefully, before he landed directly on me. “Do you not think it odd a Fae said to keep us apart? A Fae who has talked to both of ouronlyparents? Or even that we’re exactly the same age?”
My white brows furrowed, not understanding his meaning—but noticing that my own father tensed slightly in his chair.
Bishop didn’t miss his reaction either, smirking at him and then looking back at me. “A parent I look nothing like…and a parent you look nothing like?”
This time I did tense on my chair. When my words came, they were quiet and wary, “Speak plainly, shifter. The riddles are not needed this eve.”
“I believe I already have. I think you and I are more alike than we ever expected.” His honey-brown eyes traveled over my face, and he whispered, “Are you an anomaly?”
I breathed in heavily, my chest expanding greatly in supreme surprise—as my father slipped his hand down to his hidden blade. But I still said cautiously, “Blue is my favorite color.” I opened my eyes wide. “It’s unique to see with freezing ice.”
The shifter’s grin was slow and wicked as he peered right into my eyes. “White.White is the color of the afterlife.”
Marlon froze with his hand on his blade, watching the shifter closely, listening now instead of worrying about me.
“Fire and ice, blood and death.” I tapped my fingers on my lips, not looking away from the shifter before me. I nodded gradually and murmured, “Once King Athon and Princess Trixie are retrieved—and I believe my king will handle that accordingly—we’ll need to speak with them about Ruiuen. I believe there are Fae games afoot that we haven’t been privy to. It’s time they fess up.”
“Agreed.” Bishop dug into the candy bag and tossed a sweet into his mouth. “By the by, do those earthquakes make you sick to the stomach too?”
“Like I’ve never felt before,” I muttered in horror, slapping the table for emphasis. “It’s as if my stomach and my bowels are being ripped apart.”
“Precisely so.” The shifter shuddered on his chair in what seemed to be pained remembrance. “Let us hope they have stopped.”
“Somehow, I don’t think we are that lucky,” I stated dryly and then looked at my silent and calculating father. “You still can’t kill him. He is my soul mate.”
“Son…there are no words for this right now. I need to process all that I’ve learned tonight.” Father peered at me with absolute exasperation. “But what in the realm were you thinking? He could have been lying.”
I tapped absently with one finger over my heart, over my Fae-spark. “He felt…hope.Hopethat there was someone else like him.” I shook my head gently and stated softly, “I’ve known it deeply my entire life. That kind of need can’t be faked.”
Bishop grunted in agreement, grabbed the white bag, and started to dig through it, muttering, “Did you eat all the mango-flavored ones?”
“Of course not,” I answered quickly.
Honey-brown eyes lifted to mine—and stared. “You’re lying.”
