“Jax,” I whispered.
The female grabbed a toothpick and speared a berry, then drizzled it under the chocolate. She brought it to her mouth, turning as she did so.
I was so close to her that all I would have to do was reach out, and I could touch her.
The female faced me fully, the berry popping into her mouth. Her eyes widened when we stood face-to-face.
“Lorasbelle?” I said, and it felt as though someone else said the word. My heart was beating so fast I could hear blood rushing through my ears.
Her brows puckered together as her gaze traveled over my face. She quickly swallowed her food, then her jaw slowly dropped, her eyes growing round with shock.
“Hi,” I said, my voice nearly breathless. “I’m Elowen, and I’m...I mean, I think I’m your?—”
“Lorasbelle!” someone called through the crowd, and the fae parted as though the tide had pulled them away.
My jaw dropped just as the king of Ironcrest bustled through the crowd. He stood tall, with a lean figure and blond hair. A crown of silver, studded with magenta and orange stones, graced his head. “I’ve been looking for you, Belle. We’re about to?—”
The king stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me standing near his daughter. His smile disappeared.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at him. His face paled, and he gazed at me as though he was seeing a ghost.
Time slowed. I glanced between him and Lorasbelle, the female the semelees said was my sister, and then I looked at the male who they said was my father.
“Miramim?” The king took a hesitant step toward me, his gaze skating over my face and down my frame. “Gods and Goddesses, Miramim? Is that you?”
I licked my lips, then glanced at Jax, who stood with a shocked look on his face.
Jax cleared his throat. “This is Elowen Emerson of Faewood Kingdom,” Jax finally replied, finding his voice. “And I’m her mate, Prince Adarian Willip Jackson Stagthorn, crown prince of Stonewild Kingdom.” He bowed to the king, and somehow, my legs dipped into a curtsy.
But the king—myfather—didn’t respond. He stepped closer to me, his gaze traveling over my face so fast, his complexion still white. “My Gods, you look just like my first wife.” He glanced at Lorasbelle, who was also staring at me as though she’d seen a ghost.
“My mother,” she finally said. “That’s what my father meant to say. You look just like my dead mother.”
It felt as though a thousand volts of lightning hit me. Shock billowed through me, yet all of my senses zeroed in on the female and male who the semelees had told me was my family.
“They told me you’re my sister,” I whispered to her. “And that you’re my father,” I said to him. “I’m a lorafin who can travel to the Veiled Between, and the semelees said you’re my family.”
The king gasped, his hand flying to his mouth. “What? That can’t be.”
I forced myself to reply, even though dread was growing in my stomach that they would reject me. “It’s what they said, and the semelees know all.”
My father and sister shared a look, and the king finally said, “You’re saying that you’re my daughter, but...you died.”
“She did?” Jax cut in. “How?”
The king licked his lips. He still looked entirely pale, but he managed to get out, “A seer told my wife that we would have a daughter who would be feared by all, and Miramim grew so afraid that someone would try to kill our daughter upon her birth that she fled to Parvol to hide so no one could find her, and then she fled to the Wood to have our child alone when her contractions started.” A look of utter devastation filled his face. “I was away at the time. Her labor pains started several weeks earlier than anticipated, and when I was finally able to reach her—” Grief made his face crumple.
Lorasbelle cleared her throat and laid a hand on her father. “Nobody ever truly knew what happened to her. I was only eleven at the time, but when my mother’s body was finally found in the river, it was determined that she’d drowned, but you...” Her gaze slid my way. “Nobody ever knew what became of my sister. The healers knew that my mother had given birth as the child was no longer in her womb, but there was no sign of you. We’d all assumed a predator in the Wood had perhaps taken you. We all thought you died.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I didn’t die. I was taken.”
My throat became so clogged that I couldn’t speak more, so Jax placed his hand against my lower back and slowly explained to them what not only Guardian Alleron had told us but the semelees too.
“You’re a lorafin?” the king finally managed after Jax finished explaining. “That’swhy the seer said you would be feared by all?”
I could only nod. I was still so clogged with emotion that it was hard to speak.
My father brought a hand to his forehead. “Stars Above. I’veheard of youduring the past twenty summers. That a lorafin was traveling through the kingdoms with her guardian, her services open to any who had the coin. I’ve even had nobles in my court use your magic for their bidding.” His knees buckled, and those near us gasped.
