53. Who You Really Are
“ M y family has come for me,” Rose said to Adrian.
“ What? ”
She hardly heard him, aching to be where her father was, for his strong arms to surround her and make her safe as only he could.
Go , Ciel urged her, flying around the room as the hawk. Let’s go.
So, she went. Adrian followed.
“What do you mean, your family is here? Who is your family? Why are they here? How are they here?”
In the sitting room, Timothy and Horace argued. They quieted as Rose and Adrian stalked by, and then fell in behind them, calling for more in the chaotic hall. Adrian’s security stationed throughout his apartments rushed to get more weapons and gear to meet the threat and protect their Prince. Some joined him, falling into step with Tim, Horace, and the others.
“My lord— ”
When they came upon Javier, Adrian’s eyes shone with rage, and without a word spoken, he lashed out and sliced his butler’s throat with the knife at his belt. Blood spewed and spattered his clothing and that of Rose.
Stunned, Rose stared from the blood down her dress to the gurgling butler, who fell to his knees, grasping his throat. Unable to contain it, seeing the blood spray repeat in her head and smelling the rusty smell, she vomited against the wall. She leaned there with her eyes closed, waiting for the spinning of her head to pass.
Behind her, she heard, “Death is the price for moving against me. You ordered her killed. Such is the punishment against you.”
“She . . .” Javier gurgled, “your . . . downfall . . .”
Rose wiped her mouth with the handkerchief Adrian handed her, and she realized just how much of a fool she’d been. Her mate had been raised in the cradle of corruption, suckled at the teat of tyranny, and raised on the morals of manipulation. It was bred into his bones.
Their love had always been doomed. Fated or not, they were from different worlds and could never last together.
Though her heart bled, she focused on reuniting with her father. Hurry! Ciel called from down the hall. Come on! They’re waiting!
So, she ran.
Hall after hall, turn after turn, she made her way as quickly as she could through the chaos and to the entry hall. When she broke through into the fighting, she searched the battle. Adrian gave orders for Timothy, Horace, and the others around them to remain close. She ignored them, finally spotting the tall and regal form of her father.
Rushing forward, she used her small attunement to air to thicken it around her just in case a sword, which she was trying hard to avoid, got too close. She took in the magic being thrown, admiring the skill, and dodged a fireball, then an ice spike, and then an orb of water that a sweaty elf shoved onto a vampire’s head until he drowned.
Continuing to shove through the throng, she finally met the ocean eyes of her father. The knights in white—somewhat dusty and blood-spattered—parted to let her through.
“Daughter!”
Strong arms wrapped around her as Rose launched herself at her father, sobbing. Lifting her from the ground, he held her tight as his knights protected them. Ciel butted heads with her father’s black panther before they stalked the perimeter together.
“Father,” Rose breathed as he set her down. She pulled away to look up into his red-bearded face. His eyes, though more crinkly at the corners, were the same blue she remembered. “I missed you so much.” Crying, she hugged him again, burrowing her face in his shoulder.
“Not as much as I missed you, dear one.” When she eased away, he rubbed her cheek, wiping away tears. “You will be safe now.”
At the sound of howling, a chill ran down Rose’s spine and the hair on her neck and arms stood on end. It couldn’t be, she thought as growling replaced the howling. Behind the knights surrounding them, two huge wolves fought their way into the battle zone of the hall.
At the heart of the protective formation of warrior wolves and elfish knights was Aldric, standing proud and tall in his customary breeches. Next to him were his closest (also in only breeches), Tiernan carrying a huge broadsword, Cedric with a huge double-headed hammer, and Declan grinning maliciously with a two-headed axe, which he spun in his hand. All were clearly ready for a fight. All had their wolves close to the surface.
“Friends of yours, I believe,” her father said. Rose could do little more than nod.
With some kind of signal Rose didn’t see, the formation changed. The wolves and knights merged into a new formation, one that now had Rose and her father and the Silvershade alpha wolves at the center.
And then, from behind the leaders of Silvershade, stepped Rose’s mother. She said a quiet word to Aldric, who gave a short bow, and then raised her arms to Rose, tears shining in her amethyst eyes.
“My Ambrosia.”
“Mother,” Rose sobbed, stepping into the warm embrace. She was immediately engulfed in the scent of lavender, bringing back so many of her dreams and happy memories from her childhood.
“Oh, my darling.” The hand stroking Rose’s disheveled hair was a comfort. “All will be well now. I promise.” Her mother eased away, cupping Rose’s face, and wiped away more tears. She took in Rose’s scars, the ring around her neck, and all the little marks on her arms. Rose tried not to fidget, shame washing over her.
“What did they do to you?” her mother whispered, and Rose felt her magic washing over her, comforting and warm, like a memory of a sunny summer day in their meadow. It felt strange to be on the receiving end as her mother fingered escaped curls from her updo, ran a finger down her long ear, and then eyed the blood staining her gown. “No more, precious girl. They will harm you no longer.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s show them who you are, hmm?”
“I don’t—”
But before Rose could continue, her mother’s magic was inside, probing, searching out injury. She began to say she didn’t need healing but froze when the magic found her womb. Her mother froze as well, and they stared at each other.
“Did you know? ”
Rose shook her head, fisting her hands to stop from placing them on her belly and giving anything away. It was new, the tiny ball of cells only just beginning to burrow into the lush lining of her uterus, but already strong.
And Rose felt such a wash of love it made her ache.
“Questions can come later, Ambrosia, and you need not decide anything now, but know that this will cause complications at home.”
Home , Rose thought, picturing Arce Clara, the bright shining castle of her memories.
But her mother was taking her scars, drawing them into her own body to mar her skin, and Rose gasped with the tingle. She reached out, taking her mother’s hand, and squeezed to stop her. “They are part of who I am.”
Her mother nodded but took just a little bit more, leaving only faint scars on Rose’s skin, and giving herself the twins on her own. It hurt Rose’s heart, especially the faint pink line around her mother’s neck. She tried and failed to take it back.
“I failed to protect what was precious,” her mother explained. “This is my penance.”
Rose shook her head because that wasn’t true, and hot tears fell.
“You’ve done so well with your gift, my darling. Let’s unlock the rest.”
“Rest?” Rose asked, sniffling.
“Oh, yes. You’ve made excellent progress, and I can see your control is sharpening as you break this spell, but I can remove it completely.”
“Spell?”
Her mother nodded. “Whoever bound you used magic to lock yours away. I imagine your bonds were imbued as well. This is really quite impressive. You’ve done wonderfully breaking it down.”
“But . . . I haven’t done anything.”
“You’ve freed yourself, my darling,” her mother answered. “As you grow stronger, the spell naturally grows weaker. But I will lift the rest. We want nothing holding you back, all traces of what was done to you gone. You will be free, my sweetheart, and we will show these assholes what it means to be elf.”
Choked up at the words, not fully understanding, Rose let her mother’s magic weave through her. As she felt something within her untangling, loosening, she realized a spell made sense. It explained why she’d never had magic until Adrian freed her. It explained, too, how her memories had been mostly repressed until then as well.
Rose was pulled from her thoughts when something inside her tugged. Frowning, she focused on her mother’s face. It felt like she was pulling on her insides.
And then she set a hand to her belly because it felt like that was where her mother’s magic was tugging. On instinct, she wrapped her magic around her womb, protecting the life only just begun, and formed an impenetrable shield.
“You love him.”
It wasn’t a question, but Rose nodded anyway, meeting her mother’s eyes with determination. The shock of the revelation that she was pregnant would remain for a long while, but she already knew there was nothing she would not give to protect it.
“Very well then,” her mother whispered, and with another little tug, whatever was binding her magic broke and Rose gasped.
Now free, her magic filled her, emitting a blinding glow that lit her up inside and out as her true potential was realized. Power overflowed the well inside her, giving her strength she’d never known.
Her connection to Ciel was a thousand times stronger, the stream of magic that flowed between them thick and robust. He walked to butt her belly with his head, and she stroked his mane. When Lex stepped to rub against her, she petted his silky black head .
“I missed you,” Rose whispered, kneeling to rub the whiskers of her father’s familiar. The big cat purred, rubbing his cheek on hers. Rose hugged him. Her eyes swept over the soldiers, knights, and wolves around them, taking in the stalled battle.
“One of your illusions?” she asked her mother.
Queen Chrysanthe smiled. “They are all lost in the halls at the moment.”
Rose smiled, too, recalling that was her mother’s specialty—mind magic. And then her eye caught on one of her family’s knights. She stared at the blonde hair, the shape of his face, his build. Taking a tentative step forward, knowing it wasn’t possible, she said, “Leonidas?”
The blue eyes, so like those in her memories, softened as he smiled sadly. Bowing his head, setting a fist to his heart, he said, “My Princess, I am Nicomedes. Leonidas was my father.”
“Oh.”
Of course, her knight had had a family. She’d known that. Meeting Nicomedes, she recalled the brood of boys Leonidas had always bragged about. She’d craved a family like that, siblings to play with as his children played with each other, someone to fight with as he said they did. He always spoke with such merriment and love that she’d wanted it for herself.
“I am so sorry for your loss. You must miss him.”
“He died with honor.”
“He did. He gave his life protecting mine, and I will never forget him. He was my very best friend, and I miss him every single day.”
“Thank you, Princess. It was his pride to serve you. Whenever he was home with us, he would talk of you and your mischievous antics.” They chuckled, and then he said, “He loved you. It would make my brothers and I so jealous, though all of us went on to become knights too.”
Rose tried to swallow the knot in her throat. “I loved him too.” She stepped forward, raising her arms. “May I hug you?” When he nodded, she held him tight and then pulled away to go to her toes to kiss his cheek, which went pink.
“Thank you for bringing back fond memories, Nicomedes. I am sure Leonidas is looking down on you with great pride.”
“Nic,” he corrected, bowing his head. “And I sure hope so, Princess.”
Turning to Aldric beside them, she smiled. “Lord Aldric.”
“Princess Ambrosia,” he replied, bowing.
“No need for that.” She pulled him up, hugged him tight, and was happy with the way his thick arms surrounded her. He was warm and strong, and she felt safe there, though she knew that was wrong.
“You knew,” she whispered in his ear, still holding on.
“Aye,” he whispered back, breathing her in. “I told you wolves and elves were allies. We just had to find a way through the Mists. Luckily, one of our elders recalled the way to Constalaysia and was willing to brave the journey.”
“Thank you.” Rose squeezed him again. “Without you—”
“Things worked out as they were meant. I was duty-bound.”
“And we are all of us thankful,” Rose’s mother added, stepping closer. “Bran would be proud of the wolf you have become.”
Aldric bowed his head, his wolves following suit. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“None of that nonsense. You call me Queen Chryssie.”
Aldric barked a laugh as she winked at him.
“I hate to break up this heartwarming little reunion,” King Florian spit as he made his way through and around his soldiers, “but all of you are trespassing.”
Aldric’s wolves growled menacingly at the words from Adrian’s father, and the alpha’s aura spread through the hall. With access to her full magic, Rose could all but see it rolling like a dark, oppressive fog over the room. It perked up the wolves and put the vampires on edge.
“You will pay for what you have done to my child!” Rose’s father pointed his staff at King Florian. “This kingdom will shake—”
The Vampire King’s laugh cut him off. “Are you sure you’re in proper form for such threats? You seem a little . . .” He eyed Rose’s father up and down. “You’re a bit worn and weathered there, Tiberius. My handiwork from the last war? Shame, that, though the staff makes you look very distinguished. I’ll make sure to hang it with my trophies after I kill you. I’ll put it right next to your precious daughter’s shackles. That was bloody masterful, wasn’t it? Taking her? Kept you out of my kingdom for years . Was so blessedly peaceful without you arrogant asses fucking everything up.”
Blue eyes glowing with fury, Tiberius pounded his staff on the floor, causing a wave to move along it, more violent than the others. Rose held on to Aldric as vampires all around them fell. King Florian stumbled but managed to retain his footing.
In several places, the marble separated, forming gaps. More than one of the support columns in the hall cracked, along with lines racing up two walls, causing sections of stone to fall, and pieces of the ceiling rained down.
Lifting his staff again, Rose’s father kept his eyes focused on King Florian. “You shall see how weak I am!” Another slam had a shockwave blasting through the air in a violent wind that tossed the vampires that remained standing. King Florian sailed several feet before landing on his shoulder. Shaking it off, he rose quickly, jumping to attack a nearby wolf.
“Get Ambrosia out of here!” her father ordered.
“We are not leaving without you!” her mother yelled back, sweating as she tried to hold her illusion .
“The agreement was for the Royal Family to help us get in and then retreat after rescuing Princess Ambrosia,” Aldric put in. “My allies and I will take over. We’ve a revolution to win.” His eyes settled on Neigera’s monarch, bleeding black. “The leech King is mine.”
“Aldric.” Rose set a hand on his warm chest, her heart racing at the fighting around them. “You don’t have to do this. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“It does, Princess,” he replied. “It is time we take a stand.”
“There are innocent people here—”
“And hopefully they make it to safety.” He squeezed her waist. “The corruption must be ended, Rose.”
She wanted to argue but knew he was right. She hugged him again. “Be careful,” she said into his ear. “Please.”
“Do not worry about me. Go home with your family.”