Not only are you my mate, but you are also my Crow. If you hadn’t returned to me because of the bond, you would’ve returned because of your heritage.
You really think Antoni would’ve disclosed my heritage?Derision gives my voice a hysterical pitch.
I think that your curiosity would’ve led you to seek out the answers on your own. The same way I think the Cauldron would not have made us mates only to deprive us of one another.
It’s what it did to my parents.
The Cauldron didn’t sever their bond, Fallon; Meriam did.
My ribs spread to accommodate a resounding breath.
With any luck, the Cauldron will return Daya to your father.
You don’t believe in luck.
But you do. Believe it for the two of us?
Another deep sigh rolls through my lungs and up my throat.
For the three of us.
I frown.Three? Have you hatched a baby in my absence?
A smile slashes through his darkness.No, Behach Éan. That will be your job. The only part I play is spilling my seed inside your hatch.
Although we’re discussing a tragic topic, my body heats at the mention of Lore’s seed.
By three, I meant your father.
That snuffs out my smoldering. I stare around the marketplace for the man in question but cannot spot him amongst the clusters of shifters.Where did he go?
He said he needed to fly.
Although I could be wrong, I imagine he’s flying over the ocean, trying to spot a bright pink serpent. Gods, my mother is a serpent.
And we are birds.
That does put things in perspective.
Someone clears their throat. I peek over Lore’s shoulder to find Gabriele standing there. “Sorry to interrupt.” He offers me a rapid but sweet smile. “It’s good to see you again, Fallon.”
“It’s good to see you, too.”
“Didn’t think you would, huh?”
“I never lost hope that I’d get out.”
“I meant—” He tightens the leather strap with which he’s bound his . . . hisreallyshort ponytail. “You know, Bronwen’s prophecy about me kicking the Cauldron before the next full moon. The moon filled out, and I’m still alive.”
I blink. I hadn’t forgotten about her dismal prediction, but I had forgotten the timeline. “That’s—I’m so glad she was wrong.”
With a sigh, he says, “She still sees me dying on Tavo’s sword.”
“Well, I believe we’re all masters of our destiny.” I stare at where she now sits beside Justus at one of the communal tables, listening to my grandfather speak as he traces the inked circles on his palm with the tip of a finger.
Though Bronwen is hard to love, though her methods are violent and oftentimes borderline cruel, she does have her people’s survival at heart.
The same way I do.
