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“Forgive me, my heart’s fire. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She laughs gently. “I kind of forgot about the split lip Orvak gave me. The fucker.”

“Can you tell me what happened? How did he find you?”

Devon recounts how he grabbed her at the market and stuck her with something that made her pass out. When she woke up, she was tied to that chair.

“How did you find me?” she asks. “Janik said something about my scent.”

I have so much to explain to her about the curse, but some of it will have to wait. “When I was in the med pod healing, I encountered the beast in my mind. I resisted him, but the longer I remained trapped in that place, the more I knew I needed to use and accept it somehow. Once I did that—once I realized that he was just another part of me—I became whole and was able to break through the chaos keeping me locked up. All my senses have been enhanced since then. The way you smell is ingrained inside me. I followed where it led.”

“And the fire?” Devon asks. “Where did that come from?”

“The beast.”

Her eyes widen. “That’s so wild.”

“Did Orvak mention anything about Mohneek? I sent guards back to the property, but there was no sign of her anywhere.”

“She’s dead. Orvak killed her.”

Shock radiates through me. “What?”

“Yeah.” she nods and lays her hand directly over my heart. “It wasn’t your father who raped Mohneek. It was Orvak. He was courting your mom at the same time as your dad. In his mind, if the queen discovered Danik had forced himself on another woman, and got her pregnant no less, she would break it off and choose Orvak. Then he’d become king. He just hadn’t planned on your father having an alibi.”

I lie there, stunned. All of this because Orvak desired the crown and was angry because she chose my father? How could she have not, though? She was his heart’s fire and perhaps they didn’t know for certain at first, but I believe those who are fated to be together always find their way to each other. Devon and I did.

“Since it was discovered Janik is the blood son of my parents, whatever purpose Orvak planned to use Mohneek for didn’t exist any longer and he had no use for her.”

Devon nods and shudders. “That’s exactly what he said. ‘She’d outlived her purpose’. He was truly an evil being. The real monster.”

My mother will never know of Orvak’s role in all of this. She will only blame herself despite the fact it all lies with the male. “No one must know it was he who violated Mohneek and why.”

She leans up and brushes her lips across mine. “I won’t tell a single soul. I swear it.”

That answers one set of questions, but it doesn’t explain everything. Except I worry all of this is too much for Devon to think about so soon. I sigh.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“You have been through much the last couple of days. I don’t want to cause you any pain by asking you to relive it.”

“Honestly, I’d rather get it all out now. That way, once we’re done, I can hopefully never have to think about it ever again.” Devon laughs quietly. “Which I know isn’t likely, but if I put it out in the universe, maybe it’ll be so, right? It can’t hurt.”

I caress her discolored, swollen cheek, taking care not to hurt her. “I will do everything in my power to help you forget.”

“Sounds like a deal..”

“Tell me if you need to stop.”

Devon nods.

“Did Orvak tell you why he took you? What he hoped your disappearance would accomplish?” In what way did holding my heart’s fire captive serve him?

“I truly believe he wasn’t in his right mind. From what he told me, taking me was supposed to be the catalyst of this chain of events that would eventually lead him to being able to court your mother again.” Devon pauses. “I almost feel sorry for him. For how delusional he was, really. Did he love your mother that much or the idea of being king more? We’ll never know, I guess. What I do know is that he was trying to pin my disappearance on Janik, although he didn’t say what sort of evidence would show it.”

That doesn’t make sense. “What reason could Orvak have come up with that would make anyone believe it was Janik behind your disappearance?”

“I’m sorry, he didn’t say.”