Instead of a reflection, I received the clear and honest truth.
She didn’t care that I’d been blessed by our Radiant Mother with the rarest gifts of all—ice-blue irises with a unique power and a mating bond to a Seer. Not just power, but purpose. Clearly, the Goddess had a plan for us. Was this not a sign of our impending victory over the Demons?
Even if Sylaira still hated me after this, my vision had opened. I no longer wanted to be the monster. The male carved by duty. Forged to be a weapon.
And Iaoth could only think so far as her husband allowed.
Stadiel took a menacing step forward. I didn’t flinch. “You will tell us everything you know about her, right this instant.”
Once again, I found myself weighing my options. How much omission I could get away with while still revealing the truth. The worst for Sylaira and me, I had no doubt, was yet to come.
“She is the daughter of a couple killed during the raid on anElessarum stronghold a few years back.” I winced, memories of how the two had punished me for offering the dead a pyre rising unbidden. Thankfully, neither seemed to remember, too focused on the mess in front of them now. “She has been running and hiding with Heraphia, the other Seer, and the heir to House Ilytharï in the years since. Though she and Heraphia have been together for a long time, since childhood.”
I parceled out more pieces of her history, giving enough to appear like I was a loyal hunter, while guarding the more intimate moments we’d shared. Each word crossing my tongue tasted bitter. I hated that I had to reveal anything at all.
Stadiel and my sister listened the entire time, not asking a single question. And when I finished, both scrutinized me like they were searching for the lies.
Finally, the Koron spoke. “You are in her head all the time. That’s good. We can use that. Any visions she has, you can be there right alongside her.”
Iaoth cocked her head to the side, something working out behind her eyes. “So you’ve Seen everything she has then?”
I was silent for a moment too long. “She doesn’t exactly lower the barrier on her side of the bond very often.”
The statement exposed a vulnerability in my armor. And with the way Iaoth grinned like a cat that had caught a mouse, she was going to exploit it. She surged to her feet and strode to a desk, rummaging through parchment in search of something.
“Aha!” Snatching a pile of papers, she returned to her husband, flashing what was written on them to her husband. “Look at these visions Sylaira has had compared to her friend, Heraphia. They’re paltry.”
My stomach dropped. If Iaoth already suspected she wasn’t truly Seeing anything, her examination of my mate would triple.
Stadiel flipped through them, and Iforced myself to remain still. “Yes, this is concerning. With her ice-blue irises, she should be Seeing well above the level of Heraphia.”
A myriad of defenses rose, and I sifted through them, hoping I’d land on the most plausible one before they interrogated me.
“She did just arrive and has been severely injured,” I pointed out. “Heraphia has been here for weeks longer. I bet if you look back to the ones she had in the beginning, they weren’t as fruitful either.”
It was a gamble, asking him to compare. I had no knowledge of it, especially since Sylaira had taken virelthorn for so long.
“He’s right,” Stadiel growled reluctantly.
Thank you, Goddess.
“She merely needs more time to adjust,” I stated, confidence imbuing my bones. “And it would be helpful for her to stay with me rather than with the other Seers. Since we are mated and our bond is still rather fresh.”
It was a risk, asking for this. But the closer I could keep her, especially after this, the easier it would be for me to protect her.
Stadiel’s gaze snapped to mine. “Have you claimed her?”
A muscle feathered in my jaw. “No.”
Iaoth cackled. I dragged in a breath, trying to refrain from punching her in the face. “Oh that isrich. And you refused to visit Dasha’s bed too. Now it all makes sense.”
“You never went?” Stadiel questioned, red tinging his cheeks.
I braced for his incoming fury. “No.”
He swiped an expensive vase off a nearby table, sending it crashing to the floor. “What the fuck, Vaeron? If you’d at least tried to impregnate her, we could have appeased Zarethiel. That child would still grow up with status. And if your sister remains barren,” he cut his gaze to Iaoth, whose eyes widened, “theycould have taken the position as heir. Now, I have nothing to offer House Elyriane. And if we don’t win this fucking war, if we do not exterminate the Demons this year, the three of us will likely have to forfeit our lives.”
His dramatics didn’t faze me. There was no way House Elyriane possessed enough magic to take on me, let alone Stadiel. And if we roped Ishim into our defense, we’d be untouchable.
