“Ara…” His head shook slowly, holding my gaze with a serious intensity. “She is not human. Not entirely.”
My breath left me in a whoosh, confusion muddling my thoughts. My palms started to smoke again.
“She is the lost daughter of King Vaelor.”
My heart thundered in my ears. I watched his mouth move, heard his words, but couldn’t fully process what he was saying.
“No… He didn’t…”
“Yes, Rogue. He did. He had a human lover, whom he intended to marry before he was killed… By Adrastus. She fled to Auryna immediately after his death in fear of her own,” he explained slowly as if scared I would explode at any minute. Which, considering how panicked I was becoming, was not entirely irrational. The fire beneath my skin burned hotter with every passing second, heating the air around me.
Alden took a step back, wiping sweat from his brow.
He would not lie to me, which meant… My mind cleared all at once and razor-sharp focus tunneled onto one thing. One person.
Ara.
Not only was she the daughter of the previous king of Ravaryn, but my father had murdered her true father and threatened her mother’s life.
My chest felt tight.
“How is this possible? She has no signs of Fae blood in her. How can you be sure?”
“Her gray eyes. I would know them anywhere. They are undoubtedly King Vaelor’s,” he said with unwavering sureness. “As for how this is possible, the human would’ve had to have a powerful Fae place a certain spell over her womb while she was pregnant. It would’ve suppressed any Fae characteristic from ever revealing, even down to the pointed ears. That spell, however… It’s typically used as a curse. It will prevent her from ever accessing her power if she has any. She will never feel the Fae half of her,” he whispered quietly, sadly.
My heart physically ached for her.
To lose half of herself, her soul, her very existence… Even as a half-Fae, not being one with your magic is painful, in a deep, devastating kind of way. The kind of pain that comes from never being truly content. From endlessly searching for something that could fill what’s lacking. But she would never find it. Because it’s been cursed to never reveal itself.
A curse that leaves you always longing for more.
“Do not breathe a word of this. To anyone. Do not tell her,” I ordered. She may not ever access her other half, but I could spare her the heartbreak of realizing what she would never have.
“Rogue…” He started and I cut him off.
“Do not. Tell her.” I glared.
With hesitation, he nodded, conceding, and I turned on my heel, leaving the library as quickly as possible.
* * *
Back in my chambers, my feet paced incessantly. My fire had already burned a track into the old carpet, filling the room with the scent of singed fabric and hazy smoke.
How ironic my mate would be the daughter of the man my father killedandhalf-human. I released a sad laugh.The Goddess must really hate me.
At least it explained the ability to have a mate bond with her. An irritatingly inconvenient bond.
“What am I supposed to do with this information?” I thought aloud as frustration bit at me, stopping mid-step as it struck me. “It cannot change anything.”
For the good of my people, she had to be returned to Starrin when he agreed to the terms—and he would. I couldn’t keep her here, even if I wanted to, or he would double down on his efforts to destroy Ravaryn.
He already hated the Fae. This would just give him permission to unleash his hatred and rage upon my people. If he knew…
Another thought hit me like a ton of bricks.
He doesn’t know she’s not his.
There was no way he would allow her to survive, much less live in his estate as his own, had he known. He must not know about her mother’s past at all.