Chapter 30 #3
The trauma staying buried felt like... protection. My own mind keeping me safe. A gift, even if it hadn't been my choice initially. But learning about them from someone who loved them? Someone who had real memories, real stories?
“Yes. When I'm ready.”
"Whenever you want. No rush. He'll wait."
“Thank you.”
"Nothing to thank." He squeezed my hand. "Now—the second choice."
I waited.
"The Court doesn't know what you are, not specifically.
" He watched my face carefully. "The healers were discreet.
Called it 'magic' rather than naming it.
My brothers know. Rhett and Jex. Solis. But the wider Court?
The nobility? They just know you're my Whisperbound. That you helped stop the coup."
He took a breath, his hand tightening over mine. “We can keep it that way. Or reveal it with full backing from the Crown. Entirely your choice.”
Twenty years. Twenty years of hiding what I was, terrified of being discovered, of being hunted, of being killed for the crime of existing.
And now I had a choice. To keep hiding—but this time it would be my choice, not survival. Or to step into the light. To let people know. To risk everything I'd spent my life protecting.
“If you were in my shoes, what would you do?”
"I think..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I think you deserve to live without fear. Without hiding. But I also think revealing it will paint a target on your back. There will be nobles who fear you. Who see you as a threat. Who think telepaths can't be trusted."
“Your father thought that. Made it law.”
"He did." Something flickered across his face. "But we'll talk about that later. The point is, I'll support whatever you choose.”
I thought about it. Really thought.
Part of me wanted to shout it from the towers. “I'm a telepath and I'm not a monster. I saved you all. I can be trusted.”
But the smarter part—the part that had survived twenty years through caution and careful secrets—knew better.
“But I still think we should keep it quiet. For now. Let the Court adjust to me first. Let them see I'm not a threat before they know what I can do.”
"And later?"
“Later... maybe gradually. Start with the Court. Then the realm. Show them telepaths aren't what they think.” I met his gaze. “But not yet. I need time. To be strong. To be ready.”
"You'll have it." He pressed his forehead to mine. “Whatever you need. However long it takes.”
There was no disappointment that I'd chosen caution. No impatience. Just understanding.
We stayed like that, breathing together, until I pulled back and signed, “You said we'd talk about your father later. Is ‘later’ now?”
His expression shifted—something complicated. Nervous? Hopeful?
"He wants to meet you. Today, if you're well enough."
My stomach dropped. “Today?”
"Only if you're ready. We can wait—"
“No,” I signed firmly. “I'm ready. Let's do this.”
The king's study was in a private wing, guarded by two massive warriors who nodded to Kieran and opened the doors without question.
Inside was... not what I expected.
Books. Everywhere. Lining walls, stacked on tables, piled on the floor in organized chaos. Maps covered one entire wall, marked with pins and notes in cramped handwriting. A large desk dominated the center, cluttered with papers and inkwells and half-drunk tea.
It looked like a scholar's study. Not a throne room. And behind the desk sat the king.
Old. Older than ancient. Silver hair pulled back, face lined with age that vampires usually didn't show. Eyes that were silver rather than the icy blue of his son. Sharp. Calculating. Like he could see through you to the truth underneath.
He studied me in silence. I stood still, letting him look, trying not to fidget or show nerves.
"Lady Vaerin," he said finally. His voice was dry, academic. Not warm, but not unkind. "Sit."
I froze. Signed quickly, “I'm not—"
"You are." He gestured to the chair across from his desk. "The Vaerin family held land near the Divide border for three centuries. Minor nobility, but nobility, nonetheless. Your father was Lord Aldric Vaerin." His eyes fixed on me. "Did you truly not know?"
I shook my head, still standing. Kieran's hand squeezed my shoulder gently.
"Then allow me to be the first to acknowledge it properly. You have a rightful claim to the title and the lands—abandoned though they are." He paused. "Lady Merrit Vaerin, please sit."
It wasn't a request this time. It was an acknowledgment. Recognition.
I sat, hands shaking slightly as I signed, “Your Majesty.”
"You're Whisperbound to my son."
I nodded.
"You killed Tobias. Stopped his coup."
I shook my head, signing, "We killed him. Together."
Those silver eyes studied me for a long moment. "Interesting. Most people would claim full credit. Especially when facing a king." He gave a slight smile. "You're either remarkably honest or remarkably foolish."
“Just honest, Your Majesty.”
The smile lasted longer this time. "Indeed."
Silence stretched. I waited, refusing to fill it with nervous gestures.
"My kingdom is stagnant," the king said abruptly, leaning back in his chair.
"Inbred nobility clinging to old power. Old ways.
Old prejudices. We need new blood. Fresh perspective.
" His eyes fixed on me. "You're Vaerin by birth.
That gives you standing. But more importantly—you saved my son's life.
Stopped a coup that would have destroyed this realm. "
He stood, walked around the desk, and looked down at me with those ancient, calculating eyes.
"That earns you more than tolerance, Lady Vaerin." He glanced at Kieran.
The king returned to his desk. "The Court will have opinions about you. About your origins. About a Crown Prince taking a Whisperbound from the Divide with no voice." He paused deliberately. "Let them have their opinions. They bore me."
I couldn't help it—I smiled slightly.
His expression shifted, almost amused. "You find that funny?"
“I find it reassuring,” I signed. “I was afraid you'd care what they thought.”
I couldn’t prove it, but I could have sworn Kieran’s father almost rolled his eyes.
"I'm a thousand years old. If I cared what those foolish fucks thought, I'd have gone mad centuries ago.
" He picked up a paper from his desk and scanned it.
"Besides, half of them are vipers. The other half are incompetent idiots.
You'll be running this outfit better than your bar in less than a month. "
Behind me, Kieran's surprise shot through the bond. His father was... joking? Complimenting me?
The king set the paper down, fixing me with that sharp gaze again. "You should know… I know what you are."
My breath stopped. Every muscle in my body went rigid. Kieran tensed behind me, but the king raised a hand.
"Peace. I'm not here to threaten." He leaned back. "And don't insult my intelligence by pretending otherwise. I've lived a thousand years. I know a telepath when I see one."
I signed slowly, carefully, “How?”
"I examined Tobias’ body myself. Cause of death was listed as a blade through the chest, but that's not what degraded his brain.
" He walked to his desk, pulled out a folder.
"His mind was destroyed. Shattered. The kind of catastrophic psychic trauma that only comes from one source—a telepathic assault powerful enough to destroy a six-hundred-year-old vampire from the inside out. "
He set the folder down. "The backlash from an attack like that should have killed whoever did it. Yet my son's Whisperbound—who was present when Tobias died—is alive and recovering." His eyes fixed on mine. "Which tells me you're not just any telepath—you're exceptionally powerful."
“Your Majesty—"
"You could have used your power for anything. Compelled my son. Manipulated the Court. Seized control through the minds of others. You had days to do it while he was vulnerable." His gaze didn't waver. "Instead, you killed the man trying to destroy us. Protected my son. Saved my kingdom."
He returned to his chair. "You proved me wrong, Lady Vaerin. That's rare."
“I would never use my power to hurt people,” I signed, almost offended.
His smile was slight, but there. "I know. That's why I'm going to change the law."
Kieran's hand tightened on my shoulder as he sat forward in his chair. “You'll change the decree?”
"Keep it quiet for now. Let the Court adjust to you first, Lady Vaerin.
Learn to trust you. See you as my son's Whisperbound, as a hero who stopped a coup.
" He steepled his fingers. "But when you're ready—when the time is right—we'll reveal the truth.
And I'll publicly change the decree. Show the realm that telepaths can be trusted.
That my law was based on fear rather than fact. "
I wanted to melt into the floor with relief. “Why would you do that for me?”
"Because I'm old enough to admit when I'm wrong. And because my kingdom needs to evolve or it will die." He looked at Kieran, then back to me. "And because what I see between you two isn't just a Whisperbound bond. That's real."
His expression softened almost imperceptibly. "Love like that is rare. I won't let outdated laws destroy something genuine."
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
"Don't thank me yet. The Court will be insufferable." His mouth curved into a slight smile. "But you survived Tobias. You can survive Court politics."
He stood—dismissal. "Welcome to the family, Lady Vaerin."
I stood, signed, “Your Majesty.”
Kieran guided me toward the door. We were almost there when the king spoke again:
"Lady Vaerin?"
I turned.
“Try not to read my ministers' minds,” he signed in perfect, if antiquated, movements. “Even when they're thinking stupid things. It would be too tempting to act on what you learn.”
Despite everything, I smiled. “I'll try, Your Majesty.”
His expression was almost fond. Almost.
Then we were through the door, in the corridor, and I started shaking.