My mother beamed. “How fascinating, and to think our daughter could be blessed with a goddess’s magic.”
“Or it was from the celestial event on the night I was born, and that magic merely heightened what I’d been naturally blessed with,” I countered. “We didn’t find definite answers.”
My father nodded. “Either theory could be right. That event was a rare one, a bit like the Wishing Stone, only happening once a millennium.”
We spoke a bit more of my time with Arnel, and everything I uttered was entirely false and forced out of me by my uncle’s commands. By the time my parents stopped asking me about my time with him, I was ready to snap my knife in two.
Unfortunately, my knife truly began to bend in my tight grasp. The second I became aware of that, I released it in a hurry. It clattered to the table, and both my parents looked up in alarm.
Forcing a smile on my face, I carefully picked it up, then asked the one question that had been burning in me since I’d returned to the palace. “Will Kole be returning to his duties?”
My parents shared a troubled look, and in that look, Iknewthe Imperial Council had updated my parents on Kole’s confessions.
My father dabbed at his lips with his napkin, then angled his chair to face me. “Prim, I’d like to ask you something, and I would like you to answer honestly.”
My throat rolled in a swallow, more habit than anything. “Okay.”
“Did Kole ever push you into an intimate relationship? Did he act unprofessionally toward you in any way?”
My jaw dropped. “No. Never. Why would you think that?”
My father’s eyes hardened. “The Council questioned Kole yesterday with a truth serum, and he admitted a few things, although we have a hard time believing them despite the serum.”
“What did he admit?” I asked, even though I already knew.
My parents again shared a concerned look, and my father replied, “He’s claiming that you’re his mate.” My throat grew thick, but before I could reply, my father added, “We’ve also become aware that during the previous weeks, the magic the Council inflicts on all of the warriors to ensure appropriate behavior was activating occasionally on Kole. Initially, they didn’t believe it would be a problem since Kole repeatedly passed truth serum tests that he hadn’t done anything untoward despite the flares, but the Council wanted to be sure, so they sent a new warrior who had Ironcrest magic to assess the situation.”
“Royden,” I said woodenly.
“Yes, darling.” My mother reached for me, but I kept myself out of her reach, so she curled her hand back to her side.
My father cleared his throat and continued. “And then the other night, after Koraline’s ball, the nighttime warrior assigned to you also reported that Kole’s behavior and aura around you were...strange. He said that Kole refused to leave and snapped at him to wait, so the Council thought it best to interrogate Kole again.”
A deep sigh left my father, and his eyebrows folded together. “Because of this, the Council has kept Kole from returning until we could speak with you further. So tell me, did he touch you?”
I laughed bitterly. “You’re acting as though I’m still a virgin, as though I’m not an adult who’s capable of making her own decisions both in and out of the bedroom chambers.”
“Primelle,” my father said, his tone stern. “We’re simply wanting to get to the bottom of this. If he touched you and has tricked you into believing he’s your mate, that’s against the code of conduct the warriors all vowed to follow.”
Tears began to burn in the backs of my eyes, and I blinked rapidly, because if Kole was taken from me too, regardless of what I’d been turned into, I feared how I would react. It felt as if my mind would crack. That I would burst into hysterics right here and dissolve into a sobbing mess.
I stood from my chair, my speed a touch faster than what I should have been capable of. “Okay, I’ll tell you the truth. Yes, he did touch me, and I would ask him to do it all over again, because Koleismy fated mate. He’s not lying. The gods and goddesses destined us to be together.”
My confession hung heavily in the air around us, only the snapping fire filling the space.
My mother’s mouth opened and closed. “Primelle, stating someone is your mate isn’t to be said lightly.”
“You don’t think I know that?” My tone rose, and even though I was aware that my emotions were heightening at an extreme rate due to all that I’d endured during the past day, I couldn’t control my swelling anger. “Do you really think I would say that if it wasn’t true? And do you really think me so foolish as tonot understandwhat Kole is to me?” I took a step away and gripped my chair’s back from behind. “And by the way, Koleneverpushed me into anything. Not once. He let me come to feel the bond on my own, and itisa magical bond. I feel it. Right here.” I tapped on my chest. “I’ve been feeling it for weeks. Heismy mate.”
“Primelle, please sit down.” My father gestured toward my seat, his tone controlled but his jaw working.
Stiffly, I sat again, but I kept myself on the edge of my chair, too restless to relax back.
“Despite the feeling you’re describing in your chest, what makes you think that Kole’s your mate? And are you sure it’s not something he said that lured you into bed?” My father’s tonegrew harsher with every word he uttered, and my temper began to rise again.
I gripped the chair’s armrests but had to release them when I felt the wood begin to groove beneath my fingertips.
Harshly, I clasped my hands together in my lap. “Please remember that I’m an adult and not a silly child.” I gave my parents harsh glares. “BothKole and I have felt it since we met, and webothfought it initially, at least he did. But how does one fight a connection birthed of the gods?How?It’s impossible.”
