Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Truths Hidden
What Lies Within
Morvane Castle was quieter when they returned.
It wasn’t all peaceful, not yet. The damage left behind by Ernach’s betrayal remained everywhere.
Warriors moved through the halls carrying supplies, tending to the wounded, and securing the prisoners who had survived the battle.
Orders were given in low voices as the castle slowly returned to some sense of order.
But the Great Hall itself was calm, for now. Tharne spoke with a servant and Feena lingered not far from him.
Adira sat at the long table near the hearth, close to the heat.
Dravic stood beside her with a cloth dampened in warm water, gently wiping away the last traces of blood from her face.
“You are fortunate I am too relieved to be angry with you.”
Adira smiled softly, hearing the king in him.
His hand moved carefully over the spot where the blood had been. There was not a single trace of a scar. It was like she had never hit her head.
When he had first found her in the forest, he had seen the blood and believed the worst. He had known battles, seen wounds, and too often had witnessed death. But nothing had ever terrified him as much as seeing her lying lifeless.
He took hold of her chin. “There is something I need you to remember.”
Adira kept her eyes on his, sensing the importance of what he was about to say.
“Whatever is said here today, whatever truths are uncovered, whatever anyone should claim…” He paused, his expression softening.
“To me, you are and always will be the woman who challenged me when no one else dared. The woman who saw things others overlooked. The woman who sat beside my hearth and somehow made a place that had always felt empty feel like home.” His hand fell away from her chin to take hold of her hand. “Nothing will ever change that.”
Adira held his gaze.
Dravic lowered his voice. “And no one takes you from me.”
Before either could say more, the doors to the Great Hall opened.
Tavish entered first. Behind him came Dar and Elara, Kaelan, and Bria.
“Look who is here,” Tavish said,
Dravic remained seated beside Adira, his hand remaining wrapped around hers.
Dar crossed the hall first. “We missed the battle, but we are grateful to Tavish for sending word that you needed help.”
Kaelan inclined his head as he stepped forward. “We came as quickly as we could.”
Dar and Kaelan both bowed.
“We are here to serve you, my king,” Kaelan said.
Dravic acknowledged them with a nod. “I am pleased to see you all. What of the men who were sent to kill members of the High Council?”
“They have been captured, though it was more of a surrender,” Kaelen said. “Thanks to Henry, a troll and a friend of mine and Bria’s. He is on the large size—”
“That’s an understatement, but he’s one of the good ones,” Fiora said, zipping past Kaelen’s head.
Kaelen continued. “He brought several of his large friends with him. Surrender was swift.”
Dravic was glad to hear it. “Take a seat. There is much that needs to be said here today.”
The others settled around a nearby table, though their attention was on his and Adira’s joined hands. It mattered not to him. Everyone would know soon enough how he felt about her and what he intended to do about it.
But for now… he turned his attention to Feena.
“In the forest, you told us magical healers would not be necessary to help Adira.”
The room quieted.
Dravic’s voice remained calm, but there was no mistaking the command beneath it. “Explain.”
Feena held Dravic’s gaze. “Aye, my king.”
She glanced briefly toward Adira, then back to him.
“Many years ago, there was a warrior of the Morvane Clan. He was feared by those who knew only his name and his bloodline. They saw the clan he came from and believed they knew the man.” Her gaze softened.
“But there was a healer from Leighfeld who saw beyond that.”
Adira listened carefully.
“They were not meant to meet. Their worlds were different. One raised among warriors and magic, the other among those who spent their lives tending to the sick and wounded.” A small smile touched Feena’s face. “But they found each other and, against all odds, fell in love.”
“For a time, they believed they could leave everything behind and begin a new life together. They planned to run away before those who opposed them could tear them apart. But fate had other plans.” She looked toward Tharne.
“The warrior was forced away before they could leave. Before he went, he promised the healer that no matter what happened, he would return to her and their bairn.”
Adira’s hand tightened around Dravic’s.
Feena continued. “The daughter they brought into the world carried the gifts of both parents. The magic of the Morvane ancient bloodline and the gift of healing passed down through generations of exceptional healers.”
Elara spoke up. “You speak of the tale of the healer who can defy death.”
Everyone kept their eyes on Feena, waiting.
Feena was silent for a moment, then she nodded. “Aye, but it is no tale. It is the truth.”
Dravic stared at the woman, the pieces of her story falling easily into place and he quickly asked, “What are you saying, Feena?”
“I am the woman in the tale,” Feena said, and as she did, a pale light shimmered around her.
The woman all knew as Feena began to fade away, replaced by a woman who bore a remarkable resemblance to Adira, though older with slight lines around her pale blue eyes that turned a deeper blue. The only thing the same about her was her long silver hair, though it had a lovely sheen to it.
“Faith,” Tharne said, staring at her in disbelief, then went to her.
The feared Warlord of Drogath, the man who had faced armies without hesitation, stopped before her as though afraid the slightest movement would make her disappear. Then he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
Her arms held him just as tightly, not wanting to let go. “I feared you had died and would never return to us.”
“Never. Never would I abandon you and our daughter,” he said and kissed her.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Dravic demanded, though he had a thought.
Tharne stepped back but kept one arm around Faith and looked to Adria. His expression held regret, wonder, and pain that came from all the years he had lost.
“I am the man in the tale… your father, and Faith is your mother.”
Adira looked from one to the other.
“Explain to her, Dravic,” Tharne ordered.
His arm went around Adira. “I don’t have to. She can hear you.”
They stared in shock as did the others in the room.
Adira stared at them… her parents.
She had spent her life, after believing her mum had died, that she had no one.
No family. No one who had chosen her. Only an old woman who had been kind enough to take her in.
Yet standing before her were two people who had loved each other enough to defy what the world expected of them.
Two people who had loved her enough to hide her.
Knowing the truth did not erase the difficult years she had spent wondering why she had been different from everyone around her. Why people shunned her, ridiculed her.
Her fingers tightened around Dravic’s. He was the one person who accepted her as she was from the start. It mattered not to him that she could not hear or speak. He spoke to her anyway. He kept her close. He protected her. He cared for her.
And most importantly, he loved her for her, afflictions and all.
The thought touched her heart, and she turned her head to him when she heard him say…
“If you both carried such gifts…” Dravic’s gaze moved between Faith and Tharne. “Then explain something to me. Why?” His voice hardened. “Why was she unable to hear or speak?”
Anger marked his words. Anger at the two people who had made that choice for her.
“You possessed magic. You possessed healing. Yet your daughter lived for years unable to hear the world around her and unable to make her own voice heard.” He shot an angry glare at each of them. “Explain.”
Faith took a slow breath and looked to Adira. “I will explain it all.”
“But the explanation belongs to both of us,” Tharne said, keeping his arm around Faith. “It was my magic that did it. But it was Faith who carried the burden of doing it.”
Adira looked between them, finding what they were saying difficult to believe. Both her parents had condemned her to a life of silence.
“When you were born,” Faith said, “your father felt the strength of the magic within you. If nurtured, he feared it would be unlike anything he had ever encountered. So, we decided not to nurture it. But to wait and see and only then do what was necessary to protect you.”
Tharne’s expression tightened. “I knew if it grew that others might sense it, they would come for you. So, I taught your mum a spell that would keep you safe until you were old enough and strong enough to no longer need its protection. Then it would fade away on its own.”
“And when you began to return life to forest animals that had recently died, I knew I had to use the spell, and I did so with a heavy heart. The spell also transformed me into an older woman so no one would ever suspect you were my daughter.”
Dravic heard her but it took a moment to settle in. Adira had brought dead animals back to life. That could only mean one thing, and he did not want to believe it.
“What powers does Adira actually possess?”
Adira was glad she could not speak for she did not want to admit to herself what her parents were about to say.
Fiora suddenly settled herself on Adira’s shoulder and whispered, “I will help you, however you choose.”
Adira nodded, grateful to Fiora for understanding what she was only beginning to realize.
Faith looked from Dravic to her daughter. “Adira is the superior healer you search for.”
A strange hush settled over the hall, almost as if people were afraid to speak, to take a breath.
Then Adira shot to her feet, startling everyone.
The bench scraped sharply across the stone floor as she released Dravic’s hand and hurried from the Great Hall.