“But they look likeyou,” I said firmly. “Kalina and Kazim both take after Arthur, and you were his twin. They share your features. It’ll help others to believe the ruse.”
“Is anyone going to fall for this?” Emma asked, tossing up a hand.
“You were gone for nine months,” I said. “When you were lost in time, no one knew where you were. We’ll tell them that you were pregnant, and went into hiding until the twins were born. No one can prove otherwise.”
“What about Vara? They knew she was with child,” Emma protested.
“And it’s known that she’s dead. We’ll say her child died with her in the womb, and due to the time travel situation, their growth doesn’t match up to their actual age, anyway. No one will catch on,” I stated.
Emma drummed her fingers against her teacup. “We’ll have to falsify their birthday.”
“Yes. And no one but those who already do can know that they’re adopted,” I stated. “Not even Kazim and Kalina themselves.”
“Ethan, no,” Emma said immediately. “We can’t do that to them.”
“It’s the best way to keep them safe,” I insisted. “What will people do, if they put together that Vara was a goddess, and that Kalina and Kazim are her children? It’ll put them in more danger than ever before.”
“They have the right to know,” Emma said harshly.
“Of course they do. When they’re older. But until that time, we have to keep the adoption secret. It’s the only way to ensure their safety.”
“My mother hid everything from me growing up. I came into the magical world knowing nothing about who I was. It made my destiny as the Worldweaver harder than it had to be,” Emma protested. “I won’t do the same to Kalina.”
“You’re going to put this monstrosity of a prophecy on Kalina’s shoulders, at such a young age? She’s a child. She would have no idea, nor capability, of how to handle this situation. Frankly, she shouldn’t have to deal with it. It’s borderline abuse to put such a heavy fate on a little girl.” I crossed my arms.
“If I had known earlier that I was the Worldweaver, or even a fae, I would’ve been better prepared!”
“We can prepare her for her destiny without telling her,” I insisted. “We’ll give her the best tutors, and she’ll have the best education— magical and otherwise. Even though we don’t know what she’s capable of, we’ll do everything in our power to instruct her in how to fulfill her destiny.”
“That’s bull,” Emma spat. “You want to prepare her for this without letting her know what’s she’s going to be up against? It’s cruel.”
“Emma, I don’t think you realize this is above our pay grade,” I said flatly. “We don’t truly know what we’re dealing with. If Kalina knows what she is, if we tell her, she’s a danger to herself and others. Peoplewillfind out she’s a demigod. They’ll come looking for her, and once they find her, they can either manipulate or force her to become a weapon, or lock her in a bad contract that will use her powers to hurt others. We still have enemies that are a threat to us.”
“The biggest threat we have isour daughter. If she gets out of control, her time powers could have grave consequences,” Emma argued.
“Which is exactly why she must be kept in the dark,” I said firmly. “Kalina is stubborn, and she’s a reckless child. That’s wonderful, because it means she’s brave, and she’s willing to explore the world. But that also makes her dangerous, because the moment she learns about her demigod blood, she’ll want to experiment. You know she will. And if she experiments with her powers before we’ve learned more about them, or before we find a teacher who can instruct her on how to use them properly, she could ruin the entire country in one blow. It’s too great a risk.”
“What about the Demigod Guardians? Can we ask them for help?” Emma asked.
“We can send spies to look for them, but that will make people start asking questions, and we don’t want that,” I stated. “You and I can search for them privately, but if this group is as elusive as Calliope made it sound, these people might not appear until they want us to find them.”
“Her powers are going to emerge anyway, Ethan. They did when she was a baby, and they could come back again,” Emma said tiredly.
“Or they could not.” I shrugged. “I personally believe Kallie’s powers were triggered that night by something extreme. What it was, I’m unsure.”
Emma bit her lip. “Her mate, possibly. Maybe he was born, or maybe something happened to him that forced her time magic to react.”
“Possibly, and we can’t be sure a rare event like that will happen again. Thus, my point still stands. Think about the Crystals of Harmony, how dangerous they were. Magic that gets out of hand destroys people. If Kalina harnesses her demigod powers before she’s ready, and they prove uncontrollable, the consequences could be dire for us all.”
Emma fiddled with her teacup. “We could compromise,” she began. “The King’s Contest is due to be held by the time Kalina comes of age. We can train her for the Contest, specially prepare her to win. If she does, and ascends to the throne, we know that she’s ready to be told everything, and strong enough to keep her powers contained. We don’t want to overwhelm her with this knowledge until we know she’s strong enough to handle it.”
“I agree,” I said. “It’s the only way to know if she’s ready.”
Emma put aside her teacup, and stood. “I don’t like it, and I don’t approve. I think they deserve to know the truth.”
Her shoulders slumped. “But I also know how the fae world works, and the danger it would put them in once this scandal is revealed. If you think this is the right way, I’ll go along with it, until we can’t keep it a secret any longer. We’ll put the key in the royal vault, and give it to Kalina once she comes of age, and if she succeeds in the Contest. Then she can determine her own destiny.”
It was decided. If we couldn’t prevent Kalina’s fate, we’d do whatever we could to shield her from it until we had no other choice but to let her face it. I despised the idea of lying to my children, but if this would preserve their lives, then by the gods, I’d be the greatest liar who walked this realm. Nothing meant more to me than my family. Putting my honor aside to keep them safe wasn’t even a question. It was an action I took willingly…
