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“It is, but it’s not a noble power, like a fairy who can control one of the elements. Those are the highest powers, the ones that move Mother Nature herself.”
He said what had been on his mind since he’d heard her story and how she ended up in prison, nearly dead. “Why did you agree to the arranged mating?”
She grimaced. “Do you feel like I betrayed you?”
He leaned back in surprise. “What?”
“Because we’re truemates, and I basically agreed to not wait for you. You should feel like I betrayed you, because I did. Or I was going to. I mean, I wasn’t happy by any stretch, but up until Cenrik hit me and hurt that bird, I was going to skip down the aisle to him.”
His gut reaction was to say no, but the truth was he wasn’t sure how he felt because he hadn’t given himself any time to think about it. So he did now.
“You said your parents laid heavy guilt on you,” he said.
“Yeah, they did. When Serena was up on the chopping block for the arranged mating to Cenrik, she told me that it was terrible for our parents to go along with it just so that our father could keep his position on the elder council, and they wouldn’t have to leave the commune. The king let her go, because of me.”
His brows went up. “What do you mean?”
“If she’d been an only child, he wouldn’t have allowed her to leave the commune. He would have imprisoned her until she agreed to the mating. Because I was still there, he let her choose exile rather than mate Cenrik. But I wasn’t going to be able to get away. I’d hoped I’d be able to choose exile, but the king said I couldn’t. I either mated Cenrik, or I would be imprisoned and tried in court. I might have even lost my wings or had my power dampened through magic. He also made it clear that if I didn’t mate Cenrik, my parents would also be imprisoned.”
She hummed, her eyes getting a hard look to them. “I think my parents thought I’d cave, that I wouldn’t stay in that cell until I died rather than mate Cenrik. The first day we were in the cell, they pushed me to just give up and mate him, that he would surely be better once we were mated, that I could change him.” She let out a soft, sad laugh. “Isn’t that awful? Parents suggesting their child mate someone who was clearly abusive.”
He growled in agreement.
She gave him a long, steady look. “But I heard the fear in their voices, and I know they were afraid not only for themselves, but for me. I think in their minds, it would be better for me to go through with the arranged mating than be in prison.” She paused. “I don’t know what happened to them.”
“You don’t remember them leaving the cells?”
She shook her head and tears welled in her eyes. She inhaled sharply and shook her head a second time. “I need to find them. I need to get them out of the commune and here to safety.” He opened his mouth to protest but she put her hand up. “Before you protest, Serena and I can cloak ourselves, use a location spell, and find them. I’m worried they were taken somewhere else and harmed. I…need to know they’re okay.”
“If they are okay, what if they won’t come with you?”
“Then at least I tried. If they’re free and won’t come with us, then at least I know. If they’re hurt or imprisoned still, I can’t just leave them to rot if I can help them, and I’ll never feel right if I don’t know where they are. If they were hurt because of me, I’d feel awful leaving them to that fate.”
He looked at his mate as determination filled her eyes. But something nagged at the back of his mind. What if they’d been in on it? He shook the thoughts free, because it wouldn’t help the situation at hand. His mate wanted to get her parents away from that asshole king, and he wasn’t going to let her go without him.
“I have some conditions,” he said.
She smiled. “I figured you would. But can we talk about it tomorrow? I want to clean up and rest. I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“Of course.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“It’s what mates are supposed to do for each other.”
She hummed and smiled, then went into the bathroom.
When the water came on, he used the room phone to call the security desk to be connected to her sister.
“How’s she doing?” Serena asked.
“Good. She’s cleaning up and then going to rest.”
“I’m glad she’s here. Did she tell you everything that my parents put her through?”
“She did.”
“I wish I hadn’t left her behind. It’s my big regret. When I refused to go through with the mating to Cenrik, the king let me choose exile. I begged Alanah to come with me. I was told by the king that if I didn’t mate Cenrik, that my father would be removed from the council and I’d be exiled. Then Alanah was chosen in my place, and they were told they’d all be exiled if she didn’t go through with it. Now I find out that the king also had threatened to imprison all of them.”
