Page 124 of The Fallen Fae King

Suddenly, my mind clears.

“He visited you,” I guess.

I should have known that Aurelius would act emotionless, but in fact, would secretly be protecting Lanlin.

He did the same for Daire.

“I explained to him about Tarq’s death,” Lanlin says.

My eyes widen. “His brother’s murder.”

Lanlin pulls his hand back from me. “I didn’t murder him. On my heart, Aurelius’ brother plotted with his uncle for me to murder Relius. That night, if I had not disobeyed my orders and killed Tarq instead, Relius would have died. I saved him.”

Shocked, I shove myself to my feet. “Aurelius loves his brother. His entire world…beliefs…are based around the brother who raised him being this hero. He grieves at his shrine. He has spent three years fighting wars to keep his Blood Oath to him. And you just told him that his brother wanted him dead?”

Lanlin’s expression tightens. “It’s the truth. He needed to face it eventually. Should I have lied?”

I shake my head.

Yet Aurelius has just lost the only family he had, as well as having had the image of the man who raised him, who everyone says is better than him as both man and king, torn down.

His idol has been toppled.

Aurelius must be falling apart, and Daire and I need to be there for him.

It’s time to let him back into our nest.

“Did he believe you?” I ask.

“Well, he doesn’t want me dead anymore.” Lanlin sprawls onto his back, appearing like he is moments from falling asleep. Daire’s blood, the food, my pheromones, and simply being close to me is making Lanlin look better. “And he offered to let me feed from him.”

“You’re fucking with me.”

“Never. I refused because I am a loyal vampire.”

“Idiot, more like,” I mutter. “Don’t you dare starve to death because of a principle.”

“I shall do as I wish, especially because of a vow. I expected to die in the Void. For years I believed that my life would end on the night of the Blood Moon. Pain and hunger are irrelevant. Every day that I live now is like the lotus flower opening at dawn. I have been reborn — reincarnated. You are my morning sunlight…my hope. Every day extra that I am granted, I am grateful.”

He yawns.

After all, this is the daytime. As a Shadow Vampire, he should be sleeping. Have the assassins been messing with his sleep patterns, if he never gets to see the moon and night sky?

I lean down, pushing the remaining fruit through the bars.

I rip the loaf into wedges and fit them through as well. “There, eat them quickly, before any dickhead Guild members come and take them away.”

Reluctantly, I take back the rose and the tray, straightening. Before I can gather the tray, I am stopped by Lanlin’s quiet but determined demand.

“I want to bond with Relius.” Lanlin snatches up a piece of blood-soaked bread. “He was always the sun in my youth when I visited this court. He could be again.”

Joy rushes through me. My pheromones flood the room.

“Then bond him.”

Lanlin takes a deep breath, growling as he rips into the blood-flavored bread. “This was an excellent idea. The bread tastes like it has been dipped in nectar.”

I study my vampire, as my heart soars that my pack is finally coming together. “You know, you may now live in shadows. But darkness is your power, and you have three people on your side with the power of the sun working to bring the dawn.”