"What does that even mean?" Delphi pressed. "Is it a shifter thing?"
"Yes. Mates can't hide anything from each other for long. My father only wanted her from the day he saw her. It didn't matter who she had been, what The Lord of Plagues demanded of her. She didn't belong to him anymore. Her loyalty was to my father completely," Tenebrys replied and looked away from her. "Not even a fae lord can fight Fate. Neither can a shifter, no matter how hard he tries."
"Didn't think love at first sight was real," Delphi admitted. "Maybe it's only real for you shifters. What happened after that?"
Tenebrys folded his big arms, and Delphi tried to focus back on the books around her and not the heat creeping up her throat.
"My mother joined our side of the war and told them everything she knew about the fae lords plans and helped us plan a strategy to win the war."
"No wonder the fae hated you so much." Delphi laughed softly. "They clearly haven't gotten over the humiliation yet, if your wounds last night are anything to go by."
"They live long lives and can hold grudges like no other creature," Tenebrys replied with a small smile.
Delphi's magic warmed inside her chest. She quickly looked away and tried to find something else to keep him talking.
"Do you really think the house is reacting to my magic?" she asked eventually.
Tenebrys nodded. "I don't know how, but yes. Getting access to the Queen's library proves it. When you said you wanted to try and help undo what your parents did, I wanted to laugh in your face, but now..."
Delphi looked up at him. "Now?"
"Now, I can't help but wonder if maybe you can," he replied. His hand reached out to touch the end of her braid. "All this red in your hair that you like to hide must mean the power is there somewhere."
"Orit could be a pretty color. One that would get me killed on sight if I ever left here," Delphi replied, bitterness back in her voice.
Tenebrys chuckled, low and dangerous. "Oh, I'm not about to let you go anywhere, little flower."
Delphi's heart skipped a beat, but she raised her chin. "What if I break your curse? What about then?"
"If you manage to do it..." Tenebrys let her braid slide between his fingers. "Maybe I will think about not putting you in my oubliette after all."
Delphi knew not to push her luck before she had produced results to bargain with. She stepped back toward the shelves that contained the magic books, ignoring the dangerous thrill that rushed through her every time he touched her.
"Here's hoping that one of these books is for beginners," she murmured and opened the glass doors.
15
Delphi knew it had to be the full moon that evening. She'd woken up agitated and stayed that way all day. It always got under her skin, the energy of it setting her teeth on edge.
She hadn't seen Tenebrys or Felix for the whole day. If they were up patrolling the woods at night or whatever the shifters did to keep themselves amused, then it was no wonder they slept all day.
Delphi had tossed and turned all night, her nightmares full of summoned demons, strange sigils, and hearts of magic beating in crypts.
That morning, things had been moved in the kitchen and her rooms. She would have woken up if Tenebrys had been snooping amongst her things. He didn't need to anyway; if he wanted to look at something, he would just do it.
Still, she had found the small dish of fruit she put out for the house spirits had been tipped over, and salt had been spilled over the counter.
The vegetables in the kitchen had been rearranged, and when she had gone outside to get blackberries for breakfast, she hadfound a strawberry patch blooming that she was positive hadn't been there the day before.
At midday, she had been distracted by atap tap tapsound of dripping water, and when she investigated, she found a faucet in the bathroom running. She had only ever seen indoor plumbing at one of the rich houses Narcisse had worked for in the capital.
When she had turned the taps days earlier, nothing had happened. Now, when she tried, water gushed out, first brown and then clear, as if they were cleaning out the dirt that had built up in them.
Delphi had doubted Tenebrys when he said that he believed her presence and magic were waking the château back up. Now, she wasn't sure. She wished she could do more with her magic than heat water and start a few fires.
Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could feel something thrumming deep inside of her. It was the same place that her inner voice seemed to come from. If she had listened to it at the crossroads that day and left Narcisse, then she never would have had to deal with Louis's threats or crashed into Tenebrys.
Most of all, she never would have had to face the fact that her parents were awful people.
