CHAPTER TWELVE
THE NEXT MORNING NERO IS nesting on my lap as I watch my mother.
A coma, the healer said. Apparently she won’t wake again, and it’s only a matter of time until the Fates take her home.
They told me it’s common among fae who have undergone the type of trauma there’s no returning from, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch. I just got her back.
“At least soon she will be with your fathers,” Nero murmurs softly.
I stroke his feathers absently. “Do you think they’re waiting for her?”
Aemon’s voice startles me out of my mind. “Of course they’re waiting for her. I would be waiting for you. We all would.”
I narrow my gaze on him. “No talking of any of you dying. There’s been enough death to last a lifetime. And isn’t it bad luck to be talking of death while in the room with someone on their death bed?”
“Weren’t you just doing the same, Little Dream?” He teases me quietly.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t out loud,” I tease back before focusing back on my mother.
Her features are relaxed, not a crease of worry or pain to be found, and her pale, ashy lips are parted softly as quiet, jagged breaths fill the space.
Aemon kneels on the ground beside my chair and uses his thumb and forefinger to turn my head towards him. “How are you holding up?” His lavender gaze searches mine, and I feel his worried emotions through our bond.
I continue stroking Nero, the slight vibrations from his smaller form soothing me.
“I’m okay, I think. I’m sad—we just got her back—but a part of me knows she doesn’t want to be here any longer.
She misses them, and who knows the extent of what he did to her.
I feel like I would be the same if I were in her shoes.
The Fates are cruel for this though. Why make us suffer?
Why choose our paths and fill them with heartache and death? Betrayal and secrets?”
It’s my turn to search his face as he mulls over my question.
His eyes are gentle as he speaks. “I don’t think the Fates would want us enslaved to their will.
It’s why they gave us free choice. When someone goes down a path they can’t return from, they guide their chosen ones to help put everything back on the right path.
I’ve seen it with my own eyes, through you.
” He smiles. “It’s not fair, but I don’t think they would give us tasks that we cannot handle. ”
I nod as I think over his words, and the room becomes silent again as Aemon pulls up another chair to sit vigil beside me, lending me a comforting touch.
A soft knock sounds at the door before it cracks open, and Cynder appears, confused as she takes in the scene before her. “You wanted to see me?”
I nod. “We are just waiting on Talyn. Come in and take a seat.” I gesture to the chair on the other side of my—our—mother’s bed.
I’m not sure why I wanted to have this conversation with her here, but it seemed like the best. That way, if Cynder wanted, she could have some time with the Queen.
I have no idea what I’m doing, but it reminds me of the games I used to play with Gretchen, which I now know were to prepare me for situations just like this where I had to take on a role.
“I’ll go fetch him,” Aemon murmurs before cloaking himself in shadows and disappearing.
I can’t help but notice the similarities between the two royal females in the room with me.
My mother’s hair may be dull now, but she has the same shade of blonde as Cynder, and if she were to open her eyes, the same shade of pink would stare back at me from both of their faces.
How no one ever put two and two together baffles me, but then again, everyone thought the Queen had died all those years ago.
There wasn’t even a chance for a pregnancy rumor to circulate.
“Are you sure the Queen would want me here?” Cynder asks nervously as she eyes the sleeping form, fully aware of her condition.
“Of course.”
“But why?” She tilts her head and suspicion enters her gaze—a gaze that reminds me of when I got into trouble as a fledgling and my mother didn’t believe my feeble tales.
I focus back on petting Nero. “We should really wait for Talyn.”
She goes to open her mouth but shadows expand and Aemon appears with the male in question. My lavender-eyed mate winks reassuringly and then disappears again. “I’ll be nearby if you need me, my Dream.”
Cynder eyes both of us with a narrowed gaze. “What is this about?”
Talyn glances at me before taking the seat next to her. “Cyn… We recently found out some information about our family, and it’s something you should know.”
“Okay?” she draws out, obviously nervous and confused but trusting her older brother as always. I wonder if she’ll still call him ‘big brother’ after this.
I take a deep breath. “What do you know about Gallalaus fae? About their magick?”
Suspicion enters her gaze again and she crosses her arms, subtly shifting herself away from Talyn. “It’s all the fae magick combined. Isn’t it?” She peers at Talyn, who nods.
“Before we went to the mountains, I had a dream, and you were there, but I didn’t pull you in. Do you remember?”
She stands abruptly. “Yes. What does this have to do with the Queen? Why am I really here?”
“Cyn sit down and listen,” Talyn snaps. “Just answer her.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, I thought we established that.”
I lean back in my chair. “How many times before have you entered someone else’s dreams?”
She freezes and a look of panic crosses her face. “I-I,” she stutters, wringing her hands together and eyeing the door like she wants to bolt.
Deciding to get to the point before she does run, I blurt, “Your family isn’t who you were told. We share a mother, you and I. You are my sister.”
The room becomes so quiet that only the soft sounds of our mother’s breathing fills the room as I hold my breath.
“Good going, Rav, you could have used a bit more tact than that,” Talyn groans, turning towards Cynder.
“Did you know?” she snaps.
“Rav told me yesterday that she found out, but no, I didn’t have an inkling before that. It doesn’t change anything, though. I’ll always think of you as my younger sister.”
She shakes her head as tears line her eyes, but none fall. She collapses back into her chair, and her gaze finds our mother while I quietly explain the story shared with me. Eventually tears stream down her face, yet she doesn’t make a noise—just listens as I tell the whole of the horrifying tale.
When I finish, I can’t help but ask, “How did you hide your magick? Surely someone must have known that you weren’t just an Elemi fae?”
She wipes her tears with the back of her hand and squares her shoulders.
“I suppressed it. I used to dream of this female, although I could never see her face, and she would teach me how to hide it. She told me my father must never know, that he couldn’t be trusted.
That no one could. That one day someone would find me.
But I gave up hope long ago that someone would come.
Even though I did my best, I still think he must know…
he would stare at me sometimes like I was the answer to all his prayers.
” She takes a breath. “Is she really dying?”
I dip my head slowly and my heart cracks.
She never got to experience our mother’s love.
I’m thankful she got to meet her in dreams, at least. Still, that time was brief—she never even had a motherly figure in her life to guide her.
Only a tyrant who stole the affection of Talyn’s mother from her before she was even born.
My rage builds and I force it back down. She doesn’t need to see that side of anyone right now. “I’m so sorry, Cynder. If I knew of you sooner, if she didn’t mess with my memories, then I would have gotten you out of there.”
Talyn stays quiet, brooding. I can almost feel his rage, but after some minutes he speaks. “I should have gotten you out long ago, and for that I’m sorry.”
She doesn’t reply, just sits in her thoughts. Her whole realm has been flipped upside down. Even I’m not sure where to go from here, but we will take it one step at a time.
AFTER THE EMOTIONAL talk with Cynder, I invite her out to the training field.
She’s going to need to master her magick, and I know what it was like to keep it all locked away.
She agreed, but only after she could check in with Evander’s crew and see how Dante was healing up from the attack at the Driscol estate.
Talyn walks silently beside me, eyeing Nero who continues to snap and hiss at him occasionally.
“Nero! Do you really need to do that? He hasn’t even been an ass today.”
He hisses again for good measure. “I need to remind him not to fuck with us. This one is my least favorite of your buffet of males.”
I raise my brow. “Buffet of males?”
He glances back at me like I’m the one who’s lost it. “Because of all the meat? The sausage? I bet his is the smallest.”
“Nero!”
Amusement from my other bonds jumps down our connection, and I can’t help the heat that enters my face.
“Do I want to know why you’re blushing and your bird keeps hissing at me?” Talyn asks with a smirk.
“No, you probably don’t” I answer dryly. “That went well with Cynder, right?” My nerves feel shot about the whole situation, but in a way, it’s weird to know I have a sister, even though it changed everything for those two.
“She’s always had a level head. She’s rash and has an attitude. Reminds me of you, actually.”
“I do not have an attitude! I’m just passionate about some things.” He rolls his eyes but I continue. “Are you coming down to the training yard? Batsil is intense. I almost miss your brutish way of training.”
His brow rises. “Even when I had you pinned in the mud?” The blush moves down my neck and I’m sure I’m the same shade as Killian’s eyes. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend training. I have some matters to attend to.”
My heart sinks. “Okay, I will see you tonight at dinner with the others then.” My pace quickens and he calls out to me.
“Maybe we can go for a walk later?” he asks hesitantly.