“What are you doing here?” Rion asked.
“Did you think I wouldn’t come check on you?” So shehadheard him. Saoirse bowed her head as she drew closer. “I’m the one who killed Father that night.”
“You protected him.” Why was there a smile in his mother’s voice? “That’s what I always taught you to do, no matter who stood in your way.” Gods, could his heart ache anymore? “We talked about it, your father and I. We knew it was always a possibility that one of our children could be born as one of the cursed. I told him as many truths as I could. But those from Pádraigín had too much influence, and he’d often forget. I had measures in place. We both vowed to never harm any of our younglings. We agreed to protect them.”
Rion’s heart felt as if someone had pierced him straight through with their vines.
“I thought he’d move,” Saoirse whispered, the words an echo of the past and her worst fears realized. “I don’t understand why he didn’t just move.”
Eimear lifted her head, staring at the door with determination now. “You saw firsthand just how many Vairik had at his disposal in that council room. There are many, many more. Your father,” she touched the door again. “It’s likely that he was fighting for control. He was always good at knowing when someone was in his head.”
“I should have waited,” Saoirse’s voice cracked. “I should—”
“No,” Eimear interrupted. “Waiting would have just resulted in Rion’s death. No matter how cold he seemed, your father wouldn’t have survived that, anyway. Do not regret your choices, Saoirse, they got you to where you are now.” She looked at each of them in turn. “Have you both gone all these years believing your father could so easily turn on one of his own?”
Rion’s eyes misted, but he clenched his jaw hard. “Others did.”
“Yes, they did.” Eimear grimaced and pressed a finger to the side of her temple. “I tried to avoid this life for you. There were so many versions of the future, and yet I still couldn’t steer it in the direction I wanted it to go. I—” She paused. “I need you to know that I didn’t abandon you. I saw a path that night that would have let me end Vairik once and for all.
“I couldn’t tell anyone,” she continued before either he or Saoirse could speak. “But I saw the attack on the palace. I left with two of my most trusted warriors. I couldn’t even tell your father without the vision shifting. It was so delicate and hazy, as if clouded by mist. Everything had to go perfectly or else it would fall apart.
“I told myself everything would be fine. Your father was here with his guard. Saoirse and Alec would help him keep things in order.” Tears choked her next words. “But then I heard you screaming.” She turned toward Rion. “You were in so much pain, I could hear it in your voice. Someone was hurting you.”Eimear shook her head. “I knew it was a trap, the attack on the palace hadn’t even happened yet. You were safe, I’d made sure of it before I left. But—how was I supposed to turn away from your cries for help? I saw another vision, one of males breaking into the study. I saw you running down the stairs, then saw your pursuers.” Her hands tightened and the magic filling the hall reacted to her emotion. “I saw your blood. I felt your fear. I couldn’t pinpoint when the vision occurred, whether it was past, present, or future. I went blind with rage and ran for you.”
Her hands relaxed. “They stole the breath from my lungs before I even got close. I tried to fight. They let me see your small broken body lying in the dirt and I couldn’t get to you. It wasn’t until the iron clamped around my wrists that I realized it was nothing more than an illusion.”
“Gods above,” Saoirse whispered, slumping against the wall.
“I never wanted this life for you,” Eimear repeated quietly, her voice soft and broken. “I tried so hard to avoid it and it still came to pass.”
“It’s not your fault,” Rion assured, his own voice raw. “You don’t control fate or the gods.” Not that he trusted the gods either. He didn’t even know their names. After a moment of silence, “Did you ever see her in my future? Arianna?”
A small smile graced his mother’s features. “I didn’t know who she was at the time. I saw Lillian and Levea and I saw you at the edge of a balcony. You’d followed a dark-haired female and struck up a conversation.” She met his gaze. “In another life, you would have courted her gently, like the gentleman I’d have taught you to be.”
He scoffed and turned away. “And instead she was my slave. And now all she knows me as is a monster.”
Eimear stepped closer and rested one hand on his arm. “Things will turn out. She’s been comforted by the knowledgethat none of us are with Vairik. That’s a start. All you need now is time.”
“Do we have time?” Rion asked. He wasn’t sure if her visions had come back yet.
“No. Which is why we have to move quickly.”
“What do you see?” Saoirse asked.
Eimear shook her head. “It can wait for tomorrow. Tonight, there are more pressing demons to face.” She reached for the doorknob and Rion braced himself as she turned it and let the door swing inward.
All Rion’s fears vanished the instant Eimear walked into that room. He and Saoirse followed. Rion wondered if his sister had ever come back. Judging from the way she was looking around, marveling at the space, she hadn’t.
His father’s desk still sat at the back of the room, everything in neat order. The plants, though many, were contained to their pots. The one that had struck out at him as a child wasn’t even present.
Books, maps, and vases still lined the shelves, each in perfect order. No blood stained the rug, though it was clearly different from the one in his nightmares. No broken shards of glass. No bodies. He risked scenting the air. Clean, with a hint of sandalwood, likely stemming from something in the room.
Eimear crossed the space slowly, taking it in as if examining an old friend. He wondered what memories it conjured. How many nights had his father and Eimear stayed up late to ensure their country and family were protected? Eimear ran her fingers across the desk, pausing on the places he knew his father’s hands had likely rested. Rion couldn’t imagine the pain of losing one’s mate. He’d come close a few times, but to feel that gaping void where the bond was meant to be … even the tiny thread that he currently possessed was far better than complete loss.
“Caol was a good male,” Eimear said, still staring at the desk. Rion froze all over again, memories flooding through him. “You were right to take Rion to him.” Saoirse exchanged a glance with him, then Eimear looked up. “I saw what he did to you.” Her magic began crawling into the room, wrapping around the top of the doorway. “He suffered from Vairik’s hold as well.”
Another lump formed in Rion’s throat. He thought he might combust if he learned Vairik took one more thing from him. “He was loyal to our family. He did his best. I’m grateful that he trained you just as harshly as I might have. You needed the intensity in order to survive the things you were forced to endure.”
“You saw everything?”
