‘As much asI like to think of myself as a god, I don’t control life and death to that extent.’
Interesting choice of words. ‘Are you saying you control it to some extent?’
‘All dark fae do, to varying degrees. Ask your brother; he’s a fine cautionary tale.’
‘I don’t have a brother,’ I said flatly, convinced the entire household was deranged.
‘Of course you do. The man whose shoes you vomited on.’
I blinked. ‘You mean the one who kidnapped me, shoved me through a raging vortex of shadows, and expected me to walk it off?’
‘Sounds about right.’ He scratched his beard, searching for justification. ‘He was used to being an only child. I spoiled him too much. Then Miriam was born, and he’s struggled with sharing ever since.’
‘Poor thing,’ I muttered. ‘What a tragic life. How old is Miriam?’
‘She’ll be a hundred in a few weeks. Time flies,’ he said seriously, as if his explanation for Alec's actions made sense.
‘Oh, of course. He definitely needs more time.’ They were all insane. Still… for a heartbeat, something in me wanted to believe him—to think I hadn’t come from just her.
‘I’d like to go back now.’
‘Not a problem,’ he said easily. ‘As soon as you learn to use your shadows, you can portal yourself wherever you like. Until then, Clara will show you to your room. We’ll have a family dinner in a few hours.’
…Crap.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Avari
Time drifted differently here. Every hour stretched like a punishment. I feared my newest adventure could last decades. It had taken me thirty years to get a grip on my fire, and assuming I even had any shadow powers, they had yet to reveal themselves, aside from the feral clumps around my throat.
Not to mention, I only released the hold on my fire under River’s guidance, and I wasn’t sure I could ever do it alone.
Hours had passed since I learnt of his betrayal, and the ludicrous need to justify it still gnawed at me. It was clear that he needed to help his brother; with such a loving family, helping each other surpassed any other virtue. But why did it still hurt so much?
Even betrayal couldn’t quiet the ache of his absence. Not all wounds bled.
Contemplating whether he had faked the attitude change towards me, the sweet gestures and protectiveness, I couldn’t even focus on the situation at hand.
How fucked in the head was I to think about him instead of the fact I was stuck in a kingdom I never heard of, with a supposed father I never met before?
The concept of a family dinner with people I didn’t know sent shivers down my spine as I tried, and failed, to rein in my social anxiety. The only way to end the discomfort was to face it head-on and crash afterwards. I just hoped there wouldn’t be a crowd of people to meet.
As my thoughts traced back to the banquet, my blood pressure spiked again. Socialites, councilmen, nobles, lords… It was all too much. But family dinners usually only included their members, right?
A gentle knock sounded on my door. I opened it after a couple of calming breaths.
‘Hi there,’ a grey-haired girl with eyes like I’d never seen before greeted me with a small, almost shy wave. The cardinal red of her eyes caught all my attention, glowing faintly like embers under glass. I froze, and she laughed, clearly used to the reaction. ‘I’m Miriam. Father asked me to fetch you.’
Miriam gestured for me to follow, and though I didn’t necessarily believe my supposed blood tie to the Lord of the Isles, the girl’s essence wrapped around me in a cloud of calm and familiarity.
Being so different, it went against my better judgement to start believing the lord’s promises, but looking at the girl with her soft, red gaze, I felt my walls begin to crack.
Slightly taller than me, she walked with her head high, radiating warmth in this land of gloom.
‘I’m Avari,’ I said, searching for something else to say.
‘How do you like it here so far?’
