He snorted. “No. Not at all. Think of the royal lines like you would the famous family names in Darlington. None of them are related, but they run in the same circles. Similar concept, only we base our royalty on the power in our veins, not how much wealth we keep in our accounts.”
“And you think I have magic.” He’d mentioned it in the limo, that he thought I was blocking them because of my “emotional armor.”
“I know you do, Ella.” He shifted to stand in front of me, his hands falling to my hips. “Your mother’s family is notoriously powerful. While her leaving our world wasn’t exactly celebrated, she still maintained her access to the dark arts. And that gift should have passed to you.”
“What do you mean by ‘her leaving wasn’t exactly celebrated’?”
A hint of unease darkened his gaze. “Those of the royal lines tend to have their futures designated for
them. Your mother chose not to follow the path outlined by the Council, which created some tension.”
“I thought you said human relationships happen because of the whole blood-drinking thing.”
“They happen, yes, but that doesn’t mean the relationships are well respected by our kind. And a royal declining an intended arrangement over a mortal affair is particularly rare. Your mother was fortunate that her father’s position superseded the other family, or she’d have been forced to return.”
Uh, that entire statement was rife with political red tape. What I gathered was that my mother came from an influential fae family that helped her break the rules for my father. As that all led to my creation, I couldn’t exactly comment negatively on the arrangement.
But I also didn’t fully understand it.
Tray cupped my cheek, tilting my head back to hold his gaze as he moved into my personal space. “There’s a lot I need to explain, Ella. But I don’t want to overwhelm you.”
“Too late,” I muttered.
His lips curled into a smirk. “Well, you didn’t exactly leave me with any other choice. You were about to run and never look back.”
“Correction, I wasn’t about to run; I was running.”
“But I caught you.”
“And abducted me and forced me into a fae world,” I finished for him. “Yeah, not sure that’s adding points in your favor, Nacht.”
“Yeah, I know,” he agreed. “I’ve played this game entirely wrong.”
“And that was your first error,” I told him. “Considering my life a game makes you no better than anyone else.”
“I don’t consider your life a game, sweetheart.” His gaze burned with an intensity that caused my heart to skip a beat. “Those bastard humans in Darlington created the game, but I failed to master my strategy despite my careful planning. I thought by befriending them and joining the inner circle, I could move them around like the pawns they are. But that bitch Ryan one-upped me, something she’ll pay dearly for at some point.”
“I…” I swallowed. “I don’t know what to say to that.” His sincerity had knocked the wit right out of me. There wasn’t a single smart-ass reply I could make. So I went with a question instead. “What was your goal?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “To watch you destroy them.”
“How?”
“By dethroning those idiot stepsisters of yours and bringing Darlington royalty to their knees.” His thumb traced my cheekbone. “I’d love to see you burn that shithole to the ground.”
The embers flecking his obsidian irises told me he meant that literally, not figuratively. “You really want to avenge me.”
“More than you’ll ever know,” he admitted. “What they’ve done to you is sick and disturbing, and the fact that those adults you call teachers do nothing to stop them only makes it worse. And don’t get me started on your cunt of a stepmother.” He physically shuddered. “Had I been allowed, I would have taken you to the Midnight Fae Realm far sooner. Unfortunately, you belonged in the human world until very recently.”
“And now?” I prompted, startled by the end of his statement.
“You belong here, but the Council agreed to let you finish the human school year first.”
My lips parted, words halting in my throat. I belong here? With the vine-snakes and firebirds and creepy gargoyles? Uh, yeah, no. Nope. Not happening. Do not pass go. I—
“Trayton?” a female voice called from the doorway.
I glanced over his shoulder to see an elegantly poised female in a vibrant emerald dress waiting on the stoop. Her black eyes met mine, a hint of distaste coloring her flawless features.