The words deserved silence. I didn’t know what to say.
Ashamed of what I needed to solicit next, I avoided her gaze. ‘I know I’m in no place to ask, but the second River findsout what my father has done, it will turn into a bloodbath… and I know my father kidnapped you, and you probably wish him the worst—’
The woman rubbed her shoulder in a self-soothing gesture before interrupting, ‘I don’t wish him the worst, Ava. I wish him all the best.’
‘I don’t understand.’
She looked at me with a kind of sensitivity I hadn’t known many were capable of. ‘Ava, your father kidnapped me because he believed I was his mate. He never mistreated me, apart from the fact that he kept me away from my family.’
Her claims were hard to believe. ‘But you already have a mate…’
‘Indeed. After spending a decade in his presence, I know he’s lost, but not evil. It would be a lie if I claimed I didn’t harbour resentment, but I am also aware of what matehood is like,’ she explained, looking around the fields.
‘But my father is not your mate, right?’ I demanded.
She smiled before confessing, ‘No, my mate is the father of yours.’
‘What are you talking about? I don’t have a mate,’ I disputed flatly as the woman squinted. The first time Alec shadow-portalled us, I had felt nauseous; perhaps the queen was suffering a brain fog.
‘You can lie to me all you want. I smelled it on you the second you mentioned his name. A name he wouldn’t give you unless you were his. Not as a foreigner, and definitely not as Ortensian.’
Now, I could understand the confusion. ‘No, I smell of him because he doused me in his scent a few weeks ago. It was an Independence Celebration, and I couldn’t control my pheromones. It turned into a whole fiasco.’
The former Fire Queen’s eyes lit up as she spoke, ‘Then he was warning them to stay away, showing that you were his. But such a scent would fade; only a mate’s would entwinewith your own and linger over distance. It’s not bad, Ava. I smell like my mate, too. Speaking of which, our bond is alive once again—can we please hurry? I need to see him,’ she begged, fidgeting with barely contained excitement.
Letting the conversation go, I had no intention of arguing. She could think what she wanted, but I knew the chances of finding a mate as a halfling were slim to none. And that a real mate would never pass me off the way River had.
Within minutes, my family emerged from the tunnel carrying a small rucksack of grey crystals.
‘Did you get everything you needed?’ I asked, eyeing their treasure.
‘Yes, you should have come in. The caves are magnificent,’ Miriam mused, her eyes glistening with approbation.
As we readied to leave, I asked them for a moment to myself, claiming my sister had convinced me. Connecting to the land and hoping that my rushed plan would work, I spent most of my energy, eventually falling to my knees.
Light-headed, I waited a moment before coming out and putting on a brave face. I needed it before meeting the king. And as Alec’s shadows encompassed us, I prayed the sight of his mother would distract him long enough for me to breathe.
Chapter Fifty-One
Avari
It took only seconds for Alec’s shadows to portal us across hundreds, if not thousands, of miles.
Seconds that stretched like hours as I waited in trepidation to see him on the other side.
Seconds until I would have to face the man who had wounded my heart more than anyone ever had before.
A quick squeeze of my arm, River’s mother’s silent gesture of appreciation, served as a bitter reminder of the things at stake.
I reminded myself this wasn’t a social visit; I was doing this for the greater good. Who knew what my wretched mother had started plotting now that she had wrapped her hands around our ancient grimoire? And though I hated the situation, the silver lining was the former queen’s return.
We landed in the foyer where I had once been attacked by one of his soldiers. Where I still smelled blood dripping from his weapons. But the incident held no significance anymore.
Nothing hurt me more than the realisation of what River had done, how he had traded me off without a care. I replayed it in my mind again and again. He had judged me harshly for “wanting” to go back to Ortensia, painting me as foolish and disloyal. But when it suited him, he passed me off anyway.
‘Maddie!’ River’s mother shouted, running up to the chief of staff, who looked as though she had seen a ghost. The women engulfed each other in a lasting hug. With eyes shining with tears and resolve, she rushed us to the conference room on the ground floor and left to fetch the rest of the family. Standing on the sidelines, I decided to watch from afar; I needed space to breathe.
The King
