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Thunder cracked, rattling the stained glass windows. A storm was brewing.
The king’s eyes skittered away from them, focusing on his drink instead. “She said we were soulmates at some point, but I never quite understood the bond she kept referring to. I have a connection with this castle—with my duty to its citizens.” He paused and took a sip of the wine, which stained his lips deep red, like blood. “I loved her in my way, but she was always ill, and it was hard to connect.”
They hadn’t been soulmates, for there was no way to deny the pull that tied them together. But if his mother had believed them to be…had Leir been her true soulmate all along? Perhaps she had seen him in passing and assumed they were the same person?
Either way, Orion wouldn’t like the answer. His mother’s death looked more and more like an execution the longer he sat in this room.
Past the king’s chair, a piece of wood hung from the wall. Orion had spotted it months ago when he’d visited here to obtain the key to unlock the magic-canceling bracelet Nava was wearing.
His father glanced over his shoulder, following Orion’s line of sight. His face twisted as he realized what Orion was looking at. “You asked me once what that was…”
“And you said you like to collect art.”
“I do, although I guess it was not the entire truth. The carvings were once part of the throne room’s door, gifted to my father by a skilled soothsayer. They formed part of a prophecy that heralded he would have twins and lose one of them to the gods. I kept it here because I like to remind myself who is supposed to rule and claim the queen, and who is supposed to stay a servant.”
The tithe. The royals of the Copper Kingdom parted with their secondborn to Dargan as payment for his forgiveness. “When did you remove the panel? When you discovered they were having an affair or after she died?”
“I had it removed after Briar stole you from your crib and took you away from me.”
“How did she die?” Orion pressed his body into the chair. His heart beat in his ears like a drum.
Thump, thump, thump.
“I don’t like to repeat myself, Orion, and I’ve told you already. Your mother died in a fire, and as you know, the west side of the library was obliterated by one.”
And there it was, the carefully concocted lie that hid behind half-truths. Months ago, when Orion first began to ask questions about his mother’s fate, the king’s answer had rung like a falsehood. But now the actual truth could only reveal how truly evil his own blood could be.
“You claim you want us to work together? Then stop lying to me!” Orion slapped his hand against his thigh. The stinging sensation grounded him in the present, pushing away the vivid memories the ghost of his mother had shared with him.
“Why are you so sure I am lying?” His father’s sudden stillness was so absolute, so unnatural that it sent a shiver down Orion’s spine.
Orion shot to his feet and strode around his chair and toward the fireplace. Nava continued to sit quietly, hands folded in her lap as she stared wide-eyed into space. The bond was a confusing cacophony of emotion, and he could no longer discern who was feeling what.
If Leir had been his mother’s true soulmate, then he would never have hurt her. His motivations were becoming so crystal clear that Orion felt like throwing up.
“You never mentioned you had a twin who was an emissary, let alone that he was out for your blood. Instead, you sent me to the forest for weeks on end to track down the humans who were supposedly burning it down.”
The king’s pale skin was mottled with pink and red patches. He bared his teeth. “How was I supposed to know that bastard had anything to do with the fires? I haven’t seen or heard of him in decades.”
“If you care for the kingdom as much as you claim to, stop this deceit. I already know what truly happened.”
“Full fae can’t lie, and you know that. I don’t have human blood like you.” His father’s eyes shone with a wickedness that would make most people cower. He wasn’t technically lying—he was expertly avoiding and changing the subject.
“When I arrived at this castle, you insinuated that my mother died in that library. Gave me some clues and allowed me to fill in the blanks. I assume you gave the rest of the kingdom the same treatment. Yet I know it’s not the truth.” Orion’s vision tunneled in on the king as he pushed away from the fireplace and strode back toward Nava. He needed to remain by her side, in case his father used his power to hurt her.
“How would you know where it happened? You were but a babe, and she abandoned you in another kingdom that hates our kind.”
“I’ve seen her die,” he growled. Those horrid dreams and how he longed to escape them. He’d never wanted to piece together the gruesome reality of what had happened to his mother. But now it all made sense. And he felt dizzy with it.
She’d taken Orion away because the king realized she had slept with his brother. Had she known they were two different people? How could she not? They were almost identical, but their eyes were different. While his father’s were blue, Leir’s had been blood red.
Then his father had burned her alive in that tree. Her final thought had been that the one she’d loved most had killed her. Even with her dying breath, his mother had believed he was her soulmate.
But that was impossible. Orion and Nava couldn’t feel that strongly for anyone other than each other. She must have known.
“The queen thought you were going to hurt Orion, and that’s why she took him away,” Nava said, digging her fingers into the layers of her skirt, while her skin glowed bright yellow. “It had to be.”
“Perhaps,” the king said. “But I told her many times that I would never hurt my son. Even when I thought Orion was Leir’s. I always intended for him to remain my heir.”
