“No.” I shook my head. “Onyx was friends with my dad. He wouldn’t ally with or help the one responsible for killing him.”
“A fair point,” Briar said, visibly mulling it over. “Yet, when it comes to matters of war, some alliances, as unsavory as they may be, could be used to gain the advantage.”
Maddox took a deep breath. “The advantage in this instance would be to hand Evan over to King Silas in exchange for a bigger army to crush Bremloc once and for all.”
Yeah, I didn’t like the sound of that.
“There’s one other possibility,” Rowan added, casually running his fingers through the back of my hair. He had shifted so I sat between his legs. “When you told Lord Onyx who you were, did you tell him everything?”
“Everything?” I wracked my brain for what he could be suggesting and came up short. “Well, I told him about my dad and that King Silas hired Nocturne to capture me. That’s about it.”
“Nothing about your rare birth?”
My insides froze.
“Rare birth?” Briar asked. “What does he mean?”
Oh right.Rowan had been using the shadows to spy at the time and had heard mine and Lupin’s entire conversation. I hadn’t got the chance to fill the others in yet. In my defense, alothad happened since then.
“Um. About that.” My frozen insides thawed, turning to a jiggly gelatin that made me feel a little sick. “Well, you know that Lupin visited me before the ball.”
Maddox nodded. “The mage confirmed Reign’s theory. You have a rare power.”
“Mhm. Because of me being framed for poisoning the king and being thrown into the dungeon, I didn’t get the chance to explain.” I fidgeted, and Rowan played with my hair, soothing my jumbled nerves. “Lupin said I’m something called a child of light and dark.”
“By the gods.” Briar gaped at me, the breath catching in his throat. “Are you really?”
“You’ve heard of it?” I asked, though it was obvious based on his reaction.
“Heard of, yes. Never thought I’d live to meet one. You’re certain this is what the mage told you?”
I nodded.
“What does it mean?” Callum asked.
“That Evan was born from both light magic and dark,” Briar explained.
“This makes him rare?” Maddox looked at me.
“Yes.” An awed expression lit Briar’s face. “He’s a balance of both worlds. Incredibly rare… and more powerful than anything in all the realms.”
All sets of eyes in the room shifted to me.
Chapter Four
A Reunion of Swords and Muffins
“Okay, I’m gonna need you all to stop staring.” My cheeks heated. “You’re giving me a complex.”
“Apologies, love.” Briar offered me a tight smile. “I’m in shock.”
“Join the club.” I slumped on the bench cushion. The warmth of Rowan behind me helped my nerves. “This whole mess is why King Silas hired Nocturne to track me down. Probably how the rumors of the lost treasure of Haran started too.”
That caught Duke’s attention. He’d been the first one to ever tell me the story. “The treasure Prince Elias stole? You know what it is?”
I nodded. “Me.”
“Explain.” Maddox stared, questions blazing in his eyes. For such an authoritative, sometimes intimidating man, his eyes shone with a rare softness when regarding me.
