Hearing her speak my parents’ names, knowing they were okay… it surfaced another tear. Too overjoyed, I couldn’t bother to be embarrassed about blubbering in front of a mere acquaintance. She’d once been a thorn in my side, poking into my business—now I could have kissed her for this gift of relief.
Elsedora’s beaming expression set me at ease; she was so warm, so openly affable. The light circling her made her look sent by some divine miracle.
“Sources, yes, please,” I blurted.
She chuckled. “I will fetch Sybilla too and—”
“No!”
She straightened with raised brows; her face fell, and instinctively, my hand reached out to stop her.
I’d moved! At least,in hereI had.
I hated her disappointment. But the alternative made my skin crawl with discomfort.
“Please. Tell no one else,” I breathed out. All of this was so sudden. One minute, Caym was dragging me through horrid memories. Next, she was offering to fetch my loved ones to speak with me.
If she told anyone else—Sybilla, Asterie, Fenris, Amara—they’d force me to face things I wasn’t ready to yet.
They might even expect me to decide on matters in the North Corridor from this desolate pit of existence. While my head lay safely on a pillow, my mind faced daily attacks.
I’d be of little use to them like this. I’d done enough damage to the North Corridor already. They were better offwithout my involvement—the further away my friends stayed, the better their chances of securing safety for the realms. But the temptation of seeing my parents was too much to deny.
“You don’t wish to speak toanyoneelse?” Her nose scrunched.
I shook my head. “No.”
Fenris’ sister had never coddled me. She had not sugarcoated Caym’s influence over me and had been the first to tell me what I’d become. It could be wise to have an impartial voice of reason.
“Well, actually… if you would continue to visit, I’d enjoy that. You can keep me apprised of what is happening. But otherwise, no, I don’t wish for anyone else to know but my parents.” I paused. Realizing that might sound misleading, I added, “Just Angeline and Leo.”
I’d work on forgiving Amara. Despite the torment she’d gone through to keep me safe, she’d still had thirty years to find me. She hadn’t.
“It would be my honor, King Mattock. Plus, I do love a good secret,” she said and winked at me.
“I’d prefer you didn’t call me that.”
I was no King, not here.
I shouldn’t be one out there, either.
“Alright, alright. Puppy, it is then.” She paused and glanced away from the mirror with a playful shrug.
I swallowed hard before asking, “Is she happy?” I didn’t have to say who.
Elsedora nodded. “She is. They have a daughter—Larkspur. The babe turned one today. She’s beautiful.”
I grimaced. “That’s good. I’m glad.” Stiff words for stiff emotions.
Elsedora’s expression softened. “She isgood.And while she may have built a happy life, I suspect a part of her heart will always belong to you and she wishes to see you well. She worries. We all worry.”
“You don’t have to humor me. I’m not angry that she found love.” Anger didn’t quite define it.
Her gaze narrowed. “Uh-huh.Veryconvincing.”
I sighed and scraped a hand across the back of my neck. The coarse hairs there grounded me. “It’s just… seeing her would be a gut-punch reminder of how much time I wasted waiting for her to love me.”
Elsedora reached out as though to tip up my chin. “You wasted nothing. Her daughter—Lark will stop Caym’s rise. Have you thought that maybe you protected Sybilla for all those years for a higher purpose than love?”
