Chapter 28 Eviana #3
Neither of the males said anything, but she saw the look they exchanged. They were right not to trust her, but…
But if they did, even a little bit, maybe it wouldn’t have been a weakness for the Dread-Nymph to prey on.
“Was there another one? Or just the one I killed?” she asked, watching the flames flicker before them.
“Just the one,” Lange answered, sounding as exhausted as she felt.
“That’s uncommon. They normally only prey on one at a time.”
“I think it did,” Lange said. “When it found you, it let me go.”
“I think Eviana found it,” Corbin said, passing around some dried meat he’d heated over the fire.
“You went looking for the thing?” Lange asked in surprise.
“You were yelling and alerting every Spryte, Imp, and Nymph in the woods to our presence,” she muttered. “I needed it to let you go.”
“I see,” Lange said, biting off a chunk of meat. “No other reason then?”
“What other reason would there be?”
“None at all, bellana,” he said. “None at all.”
They stayed in that same spot for the next two days.
She and Lange were too exhausted, and it seemed none of the other creatures wanted to venture too close to a space where a Dread-Nymph had met its end.
So they’d spent the days resting, foraging for food, and resting some more, but tomorrow, they really needed to be on their way.
It was dark, the sun having set a good hour or two ago. She was stoking the kindling with a long stick when Corbin said, “You owe us some answers.”
She looked up, the two of them seated across from her. Lange had an arm resting on a bent knee, leaning back on his palm. Corbin had his legs stretched out, leaning against Lange’s side.
When she didn’t say anything, Lange’s eyes narrowed. “That was the deal, bellana. We get to these gods-forsaken woods with you, and you tell us what you know. Are you going back on your word now?”
“You should know by now that my word means nothing,” she muttered, once again focused on the fire.
“No,” Lange snapped. “I won’t accept that. You owe us this, Eviana. You’ve dragged us all over the fucking realm. We deserve to know what we’re likely going to die for.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, and Lange scoffed. But when he started to say something else, Corbin cut him off.
“Let her be, Lange,” his lover said. “She’s made it clear we’re only along to be used. It’s what we’re for, right?”
Eviana looked up, meeting his hazel eyes narrowed in challenge.
And she hated it. She hated his words had such an effect on her.
Hated that either of them affected her. Hated that the words Lange had hurled at her when trapped by the Dread-Nymph played over in her mind at night when she was trying to sleep.
Hated that she was making moves to ensure they stayed with her.
Hated knowing the reasons she constantly recited to herself were excuses she refused to acknowledge.
Setting the stick aside, she brushed off her hands. “Have either of you been to the Sirana Villas?”
She could feel the surprise coming from them, but she didn’t look at them. If she did, she might stop, so she kept her gaze fixed on the fire.
“No,” Corbin finally answered. “We’ve never been to the Villas.”
“You don’t remember,” she agreed. “But you were both born there.”
“What?” Lange asked, shock resounding in that single word.
“The Villas are where the Legacy experiment. Yes, they breed the Fae there to keep their world running smoothly, but like all powerful things, they crave more. Any way they can gain an advantage over one another. Of course, it’s all under the guise of advancing the realm,” she went on.
“I’m not quite following,” Corbin said.
She nodded. “Deals are made. Some in the shadows. Some in the light. But the rulers of this land want stronger Sources and more powerful Fae under their control. You know the Legacy take what they want from the Fae. Of course Fae became pregnant from their greed, and for a long time, those pregnancies were terminated. Until they weren’t.
“Some of those babes lived. The mothers tried desperately to keep them a secret, but they were discovered. And those babes were more powerful than the average Fae, piquing interest. So the Mistress of the Sirana Villas was allowed to start arranging pairings. I am the result of such a pairing.” She finally lifted her head, locking eyes with the males. “So is Lange.”
Corbin looked horrified—the poor innocent thing—but Lange was shaking his head. Denial could be as powerful as fear.
“How can you possibly know that?” Lange asked.
“Because I’ve seen the files,” she answered. “You know we all have records. It’s how I knew you could hear the winds. It’s how I knew what both of you were.”
“No,” Lange said, having sat up straighter. “If any of that were true, why weren’t we claimed right away? Why weren’t we tagged to be Sources?”
Her smile was humorless and bitter. “I was born to be a Source,” she answered. “Valter picked out the pairing for my parents himself. His Source was killed when I was of age to be Selected.”
“He wouldn’t kill his own Source,” Lange said.
She only stared back at him. He could cling to that denial all he wanted, but she wasn’t going to feed into it.
“His question is valid,” Corbin said. “If this is all true, why weren’t we claimed right away?”
“Because complete files aren’t released until you are claimed,” she answered.
“It’s supposed to keep things somewhat fair between the kingdoms. Even the heirs don’t get full access to files when they are scoping out potential Sources.
It’s why they do such extensive assessments of the possibilities.
No one truly knows what’s going to be revealed at an Emerging Ceremony. ”
“So you’re saying the Lords and Ladies can handpick replacement Sources, but they can’t do the same for their heirs? That’s ridiculous,” Lange argued.
“Everything with the Lords and Ladies is ridiculous,” she replied.
“But yes. As I said, it was an agreement in an effort to keep the power balance fair. Of course, they’ve all lied and cheated, but it’s why Fae go through such extensive training and trials during Selection years.
They watch for anything that might indicate that a Fae is more than. ”
“So then I’m what?” Lange demanded.
“Wind Fae and Sefarina Legacy,” she answered simply.
“And you?”
“Earth Fae and Silas Legacy.”
“And Corbin?”
She paused then, drawing in the dirt with her finger. “He was a surprise, and one that Valter was delighted with when he received the documents. And while you would have certainly been sent to the Sirana Villas to breed your power, Lange, Corbin…”
“Just say it,” Corbin said tightly.
“Your father was a Water Fae, but your mother was a Shifter. The Shifter part shouldn’t be a surprise considering what you know, but with the Shifters confined to the Underground, it was unexpected,” she said. “He was still debating how he wanted to use you.”
The silence that settled was deafening, but it was fine. Let them digest all that new information. The quiet didn’t stay for long though.
“While that information is…enlightening,” Corbin said, “it still doesn’t explain where we’re going and what we’re doing.”
“We’re going to the Serafina Estate,” she said simply.
“Why?” Lange asked.
But Corbin had the answer. Observant, introspective Corbin, who was always watching her with that penetrating stare.
“She has a child there,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
“Is that true?” Lange demanded. “You have a child? That’s what this is all about?”
She could hear the disbelief in his voice, and she couldn’t blame him. Imagine her, the cold-hearted bitch who didn’t care about them and constantly told them not to trust her, as a mother. It was preposterous, and she agreed.
“She is to be my replacement,” Eviana said quietly. “Valter is simply waiting until she is of age. Then I will meet my end like my predecessor, and he will take her. Break her. Make her what I am. I can’t…”
She trailed off, looking up at the sound of rustling and footsteps.
Lange had pushed to his feet, rounding the fire before dropping next to her.
Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest, and she stiffened, not knowing what was happening or why he was touching her.
Because the only touches she’d known for so long were greedy ones.
And still Lange held her to him when he asked softly, “Do you know her name?”
“Priya.” And why did she practically choke on the name? Why were her cheeks wet? Why was she leaning into him and letting him gently rock her back and forth? Why was her chest heaving?
Corbin had moved at some point as well, coming to sit next to them. He reached over every once in a while, swiping tears away from her face.
“I don’t know where I’ll take her,” she whispered into Lange’s shirt, unsure when she’d fisted the fabric in her hands. “But she can’t end up like me. I’m a terrible, unfeeling monster, but she doesn’t deserve that.”
“You’re not a monster, bellana,” Lange said gently.
“I am,” she said. “And I’m okay with that. Because I’ll be a monster for her so she doesn’t have to become one herself.”
“Then we’ll become monsters too,” he replied, a chaste press of lips brushing the crown of her head.
She should tell them no. They were too innocent to become what she was. Should tell them she couldn’t stomach the idea of plunging a dagger into their chests like she’d done for Lev to put them out of their misery when they could no longer live with themselves.
But she’d tell them that later because this touch was comforting, and she didn’t know it could be like that. She didn’t know she could be touched and held and not have to give anything in return.
She didn’t deserve what they were offering her, but in the end, she was still a monster. If they wanted to accompany her into death, she wasn’t going to stop them.