“I wanted to learn more about the Adelway line. Is that a crime?” she asked, pulling on her confidence.
Saydren snickered in the background. “Why bother now when the contest is drawing closer and closer?”
Karwyn held up his hand. “Now, now. Do not be rude, Saydren. If my dear cousin wants to know our family, why not show her what she is never going to have?” He went to one of the shelves and retrieved a thick book. Flipping through the pages, he handed her the open book.
It was a family portrait. She recognised King Harten Adelway from her history books back home. Next to him were two young boys and two women. But her gaze was drawn to the other man in the picture.
“That was your father’s family, his wife and son. The family he actually cared about.” Karwyn’s tone was bruising, but Lora was barely listening. “Too bad they died. I am sure if they had lived, Lozlan would have never fallen so low as to bed a human. He should have known better, though it does fall to my advantage now.”
Her gaze zeroed in on the fae’s face on the paper, and a rushing noise filled her ears. Lora thought she might pass out. Karwyn might still have been talking, but it was nothing but white noise to her. Her eyes wouldn’t move from the face on the page in front of her. It was her father. Unmistakably so.
He had the same eyes as her, and his hair was only a shade lighter than hers. But that wasn’t the shocking part. No, shocking was how familiar he looked. Too familiar.
Then it clicked in her mind.
She’d seen that face before, those eyes. He was the fae who had given her directions to the human traffickers in Rubien. Her father, Lozlan, had stared right into her eyes and sent her off into danger. Had he had no idea who she was, or had he chosen to ignore it just like he’d chosen to abandon her?
The book was snatched from her grasp. “I do not tolerate being ignored, cousin,” Karwyn hissed.
“My father never mentioned my mother? Not ever?” The question slipped out before Lora could take it back.
“Not to my knowledge. The both of you were his dirty secret.” Karwyn’s lip turned up cruelly.
“Because your father would have disagreed? Would he have shunned him for it?”
“Possibly. Lozlan should have known to stay away.” Karwyn snapped the book shut and used his air magic to float it back into its place on the shelf. “Everyone knows fae and human pregnancies are fatal.”
Not always. Not with her. And she wasn’t the only one. Her mother had said she’d overheard Lozlan talk about another half-fae who could cross. It was the reason why Lora had taken the risk to cross the border to Liraen in the first place. She’d never thought much about who he had been talking about.
“Is that the real reason, or is it because he knew about a half-fae who lived and he wouldn’t have wanted someone like that tainting his bloodline?” Lora asked.
Karwyn’s eyes darkened. His nostrils flared as if he was about to strike at her.What are you hiding?Her hand clenched into a fist as she imagined holding her dagger.
Saydren stepped forward. “We should get going, my king. Nouis is waiting.”
Karwyn lowered his eyes and followed Saydren, but he stopped in the doorway. With his back to her, he said, “No matter what answers you seek, cousin, your fate is sealed. Layken will check on you soon. You’d better be in your room when he does.”
Lora started towards her room after the two despicable fae disappeared down the hall. Instead of answers, she kept finding more questions. She didn’t know what to make of the fact that she’d seen her father and he’d seen her. She wished she could talk to her mum. It had been so long since she’d truly seen the faces of herrealfamily.
She’d spent nights looking at pictures on her phone, crying herself to sleep. Lora would give everything to see them one more time. She knew her mother would blame herself for Lora’s death. The want to assure her that it was her decision and to tell Oscar that she was sorry for going against her promise was strong in her heart.
A tear was running down her cheek when Lora approached her room. She wiped it away as she opened the door, trying to clear the sadness away. There was no time for it. The contest was only one and a half months away.
Closing her door, Lora almost yelped when she spotted Varsha sitting on her chair.
“Finally. Shall we get going?” Varsha said, rising from her seat. She was wearing iron grey shiny pants and a matching grey crop top. Not the stealthiest outfit, but a lot less noticeable than some of her other outfits.
“Let’s go,” Lora replied, opening her door again. She didn’t care if Layken found her gone.
“You saw the guard in the kitchen?” Lora asked as they walked out. Varsha and Lora had discovered that some of the guards got together after hours.
“Yes. He’s not going to bother us anytime soon. We’ll get that uniform for Eyden.” Varsha stepped closer to her and lowered her voice. “I bet he’ll look irresistible in that uniform, don’t you think?”
Lora almost stumbled. She needed to get a grip. She needed to forget what had happened last time. His lips on hers. His hands on her skin. His tongue trailing up her thigh and higher…
Varsha’s grin was striking. “My, my, I see how it is.”
Staring straight ahead, she asked, “How what is?”
