That meant… Alec’s mother was a sympathiser. Our father’s questionable life choices had disturbed me once more. Trying not to think about it, I forced myself to focus on anything else. ‘You fought?’
‘I did.' His masterful tone, accompanied by the slight rise of his head, showed me he felt pride about his involvement.
All the while I was stuck between feeling a dreadful sense that what happened after would devastate me and needing to know. ‘What happened after that?’
Isaac straightened, mirroring my posture. ‘There was only one solution to ensure our people couldn’t be targeted anymore.’
‘What?’
‘Have one on the inside, Ava. Having a royal representative would once and for all make our people included.’
No. They… ‘Miriam?’
‘Her mother volunteered to produce the heir. She always had a thing for your father, to be honest,’ he said, snickering, while I nearly gagged.
Ew. We would not talk about that. ‘Are Miriam’s eyes a characteristic of some nightmare fae?’
‘No.’ Isaac shook his head. ‘Some say her eyes represent the amount of blood spilled on both sides. Though she hates the reasoning.’
No shit. I wasn’t aware of the burden that rested on her shoulders. The pressure on both sides. It had to be unbearable. ‘Did she get them from her mum?’
‘No, her mother’s weren’t red.’
Oh, no. ‘Weren’t?’
He sighed. ‘Corporal Lotus died in a coup organised by the sympathising faction against your father. They wanted him dethroned for aligning with the enemy.’
‘She lost her mum?’ my voice broke.
‘He slaughtered every member in retaliation, proving his allegiance.’ Isaac suddenly looked exhausted. ‘Lotus… she was a great friend. And a spectacular fighter. They would have never got her if she weren’t pregnant.’
The world around me collapsed. The depravity of the puritans had always been a known and a constant threat, but even so, I always believed they held on to at least some morality.
I couldn’t believe it. ‘They attacked when she was pregnant?’
‘They didn’t want a nightmare heir,’ he said, his tone solemn. ‘But she was so far along the baby survived. Nobody had ever seen your father so… It’s like the Isles themselves attacked those responsible.’
‘How so?’
‘The Isles are sentient. The lore says that the kings, typically, have some reign over the land, but it hadn’t been seen before or after. To be honest, once he organised governing factions over each of the Isles he stepped away into the shadows.’
I didn’t understand. ‘So the Isles aren’t ruled by him?’
‘Your father made it clear he retained the right to step into politics at any point to make sure the history doesn’t repeat itself. Otherwise, he doesn’t feel the need to force his will on the dark fae.’
Something about his recollection confused me. ‘Are nightmarists not considered dark fae?’
Isaac clicked his tongue, deep in thought. ‘Depends on who you ask. Technically, we should be, but a lot of our population don’t even want to be considered that anymore.’
Honestly, I couldn’t blame them. After what I’d just heard, I kept asking myself how some of us could be so cruel. Poor Miriam never even got to meet her mother.
‘Do you consider yourself a dark fae?’ I asked him.
He nodded. ‘Yes. Wrongdoings of a small number of lunatics shouldn’t get to change who I am.’
‘Makes sense.' My voice grew quiet. ‘They probably wouldn’t consider me dark fae either.’
He narrowed his eyes, studying me. ‘Why wouldn’t they?’
