I hoped Ethan and I could change that during our time of rule. Although I was sure no matter what we did, it wouldn’t help the supernatural races get along with each other. That would be a miracle to even consider it possible, for someone who was not a fae to walk through Dolinska without fear.
I didn’t know if my mate and I were the people who’d bring about that change. But perhaps someone would come along one day who would.
We were able to sneak back through the palace gates and into the courtyard without much fuss. We approached the entrance to the palace, but halted in place as Odette let out a coo. Her curls bounced as she sang, “Oh, look, Emma, it’s your daddy!”
I wished Odette wouldn’t use such affectionate terms when referring to Lord Lucien. I wasn’t ready for them yet. Even so, I put a smile on my face as Lucien approached.
“Greetings, Emma,” he said. “It’s a fine afternoon.”
“That it is. Where’s Mom?” I asked, expecting her to pop out from behind a corner.
“I told her I needed an evening alone, with my children,” Lucien said. “Evonna is… quite attached.”
I frowned. That was putting it lightly. My mother hung on Lucien at every opportunity presented. She acted like an obsessed teenager. I understood she missed him, and the past twenty years had been hard, but I had to remind her one too many times to be presentable in front of the court. The gossip spreading about her reputation in Malovian circles hadn’t been kind, and for all my efforts to put a stop to it, my mother’s antics didn’t help.
“What did you want to do?” I asked. I wasn’t opposed to spending time with my father— though it was still odd to think of him that way.
“I had the thought we should work on some Unseelie magic,” Lucien said, and he gave a wry smile. “That is, if you’re interested.”
My hopes brightened. “Yes! That’d be wonderful.”
“Perfect. Arthur and I will be waiting in the south gardens,” Lucien replied.
He went to walk away, before he turned and said, “By the way— bring your grimoire.”
I raised an eyebrow as he left. How did he know about that?
Odette’s cheeks turned pink. “Oh, it’sso cuteyou get to spend time with your daddy!”
“I guess,” I said. I knew I should be grateful, but at the moment, I still felt awkward.
“At least your parents are together, right?” Kiara asked. “Doesn’t that make you happy?”
“Of course it does, but we can’t act like we’re a family again,” I insisted. “It’s… been too long.”
“That’s not true, Em,” Delmare argued. “It’s hard to see now, but Lucien loves you, and he wants everyone to be together. Just give it some time.”
I wasn’t sure if time could mend what had been broken, but Lucien was my father, and he had an open heart. I just had to open my own. I hoped I would, with time.
I wished it was as easy to be vulnerable with Lucien as it was with Arthur. My twin and I shared a connection no one could replicate. We’d been family right from the start. Why couldn’t it be like that with Lucien and I?
I fetched my grimoire from my chambers, then came to the south gardens. Arthur and Lucien were hunched over a garden table. I sat beside them, and placed the grimoire on the table. Lucien beamed as he picked it up.
“Ah, my old friend,” Lucien said, turning through the pages. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You know this journal?” I asked, aghast.
“Of course. I wrote it,” Lucien said. “It was my grimoire, which I composed during my years at Arcanea University. The spells and Unseelie instruction within the book are my own.”
My jaw dropped open. “But— how did it fall into my hands?”
“I planted it in Siona’s shop, then placed a ward upon it so the only person who would find it interesting would be you,” Lucien said. “I knew you were friends with Kiara, and would venture into her sister’s shop eventually.”
I was dumbfounded. The grimoire had taught me so much. No wonder it had been calling to me at Siona’s store. Again, Lucien had been looking out for me when I didn’t even realize it.
“Did you get to the page about shadow manipulation?” Lucien asked, thumbing to the end of the book.
“I didn’t know there was one. I didn’t get that far,” I said. Kiara and I had only translated around half of the Unseelie runes from the grimoire, before my task as the Worldweaver had gotten in the way of studying it. We’d been too busy looking for the Crystals of Harmony to investigate the grimoire further, and with the instruction of my grandparents teaching me Unseelie magic, it wasn’t needed.
