Boyfriend.The title made me physically cringe as my heart jolted, driving the rest of my body to recoil in distress.
Could I even call Sebastian that anymore? Did I evenwantto?
I hadn’t let him fully explain himself, but I genuinely doubted that a thorough breakdown of events would matter. Even knowing the foundation of what he hid left me unsure about where I stood with him—or where I evenwantedto stand with him. The truth of the matter dismantled me, destroying everything I thought I knew, and leaving me to question if I truly understood Sebastian half as well as I’d thought.
At the moment, not a single thing seemed real. Hell, I still didn’t know where I was. The room surrounding me was entirely unfamiliar, from the windowpanes to the brass drawer-pulls on the dresser.
“I don’t even know what to ask,” I muttered under my breath. My expression locked on the secured door in front of me, the stability of it marginally increasing my sense of control.
The mattress shuffled as my father adjusted himself. He turned his stubbled neck to the side, pulling my gaze into his glossed-over eyes. “Before I even begin to try and explain, may I hug you? I have not held my little girl since you were an infant, and I have missed that curly-haired child more than anything in this universe.”
I swallowed, but agreed with a barely visible upward nod of my head.
Within seconds, I found myself wrapped in his burly arms. The buttons of his flannel shirt brushed against a portion of my skin that was still inflamed, the pain jolting me into subtle recoil that only made him hold tighter.
Though I did not feel inclined to reciprocate the embrace, I allowed him to take what he craved from the daughter he thought he had lost.
It was weird. Because for my entire life, I had dreamt about meeting the man who embraced me. I had prayed to every god for his soul to visit me in my sleep—hoping that a dream could revive my infantile memory of him. When I was ten, Idrew charcoal sketches of what I envisioned him to look like for months. My mother would compare the versions side by side and give me suggestions so my next attempt could be even more accurate.
Though I had always wished for this impossible encounter to morph into a reality, the feelings I expected never came.
It was quite possible that the shock of everything was settling in, preventing my emotions from expelling properly. Perhaps it was my uncertainty about whether this was real, or if it was life beyond the veil that was making me feel so vividly empty.
“Gods, my sweet Maeve. I have been waiting for this day for almost twenty-one years. I have missed you and your sister so unbelievably much.” His voice cracked with his confession as his breath flowed through my hair, where he had nuzzled his face.
My already jittery heart rate rerouted, patterning to a rhythm that resembled pouring rain. “Delani is dead.” My voice could not have been more flat and monotonous.
At last, Archer released me from the confines of his embrace. A beautiful smile found his lips as he shook his head, denying my claim. “No. She is not.”
I sat further upright at that.
Okay. Now I wassurethat I was dreaming.
“Our village was destroyed by Draemornians. Burned to ash. From what I was told, not an inch of the land or its civilians were spared.” I had to force the horrific words to flee my lips, the bite of the truth still as strong as when I had first found out about the attack.
“Correct, but Delani was removed from Vierallo before the attack. One of my trusted companions found her by the shore a few days before the Draemornian troops arrived. She has been here with me for over a week now.”
My eyes bulged so wide that my eyelids met my brows, sticking to them like they were coated in an unrelenting layer of glue.
“Where is she? Is my mother here, too?” A glimmer of hope sparked in my chest that maybe— just maybe—she still breathed, too.
That glimmer was promptly extinguished as Archer’s frown answered before his words could.With only my cocked eyebrow as a response, he said, “There is so much that I need to explain. Are you feeling well enough to receive this information now? I can come back?—”
“No. Now.” I was already filled to the brim with confusion, why not let it overflow?
“Very well.” Rising to his feet, Archer directed his steps to the wall adjacent from the door. He relaxed against it, facing me with his arms crossed. “We are in the Kingdom of Lumosia. A kingdom crafted by the gods, with the sole purpose of protectingyou.”
The gods? What the fuck was he talking about?
My head jolted backwards. “You’ve already lost me.”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his beige slacks. “Let me start from the beginning. You obviously have discovered Blythe’s prophecy, and based on the markings you wear on your arms, it’s been fulfilled?” He phrased it as a question, but we both knew it was a fact.
I nodded, peeking down at the swirling, iridescent stars that climbed my flesh like rogue vines.
“Blythe put that prophecy into place centuries ago when the other gods deemed her power too mighty for this world. When the enchanter helped the goddess craft the terms of her prophecy, Blythe choseyoursoul to place her gift upon.”
With a scrunched up facial expression, I slowly bobbed my head and sassed, “This isn’t news to me.”
