“Tell me.”
Silas sighed. “If I had to guess, I’d say a magic this strong could only come from the King of the Underworld.”
“Sounds very dastardly.”
“Their magic is everything Fae magic is not. Fae Queens could ruin the underworld if they so desired. The thing is, Fae Queens would never do it unless provoked.”
“Killing off one’s ancestors is quite the provocation.”
“Exactly. It’s entirely possible that the magic powering this curse is ancient, set by the King of the Underworld centuries ago out of an abundance of caution. But if it’s true they foundyou—”
“Which is very likely, considering they killed the source.”
“Then it makes sense they’d be ramping up the curse to destroy you—and everything in this court.”
“Let’s say I have Fae blood,” I said. “How can you explain my life in New York? My parents are the opposite of magical.”
“Your mother didn’t give birth to you,” Silas said. “You were placed into her care.”
My breathing felt sharp and jagged. “What are you saying?”
“You can’t seriously believe those ridiculous people are your birth parents.”
My mouth felt dry and rough, my tongue a swatch of sandpaper. “I never considered they weren’t. Why would I?”
“They’re terrible people. You couldn’t have come from them.” Silas frowned, like this was the most natural theory in the world.
His reaction, as if it was sheer blasphemy that I could’ve come from Lucinda and Dr. Wells, was oddly liberating.
“Then who are my real parents?” I asked.
“I believe your real parents were Fae.” A somber expression appeared on Silas’s face. “Long dead. I believe they placed you under an enchantment that kept you hidden for a long, long time.”
“They pulled a Sleeping Beauty?”
“Essentially. I believe that enchantment wore off, or was broken, and you were then placed under the care of your parents approximately thirty years ago. You’d have been bespelled to live a human life, to age as a human would age, and appear human in all ways to protect you for as long as possible.”
“Why would living among mortals protect me?” I felt a sense of broken heartedness that I could’ve belonged to this island my whole life, and so much of it had been stolen from me. “Why wouldn’t they leave me here?”
“You would’ve been a target. You would’ve been dead before you could walk.”
My heart felt heavy. The weight of it all bore down on my shoulders, so I physically folded forward. “Silas.”
“I’m so sorry, Alessia. I know it’s a lot. But I think it’s time you know the truth,” he said. “I always suspected what you were, but it wasn’t until you pulled me back to The Isle with your spell that I knew for sure.”
“Why then?”
“Because.” Silas looked around the Preserve of Wonders. “I’m part Fae, and it was that bond that connected us.”
“I used Atlas to find you,” I said. “It was a brotherly bond.”
“That might be how you located me, but that’s not how I was retrieved. That magic is not strong enough, and you know it. You could feel it, and socould I.”
“So when Atlas said he saw the bond between us, that’s what he meant?” I bit down on the inside of my cheek as if to convince myself this was all real. “Fae to Fae?”
“Something like that.” Silas looked down at the swaying grasses. “You brought me back with your power. You have roots on the island that extend even deeper than mine.”
“It’s why you believe I’m the only one capable of breaking the curse,” I said with finality. “Because I’m a member of the Court of Isles. You said only a true Fae can break the curse.”
