I could not help it— my lip trembled. “I did not wish to kill you,” I rasped. “I would’ve died in your place if only—”
“You did what you had to in order to save your mate,” Lucien responded. “I do not blame you, Ethan. I hold no resentment over the choice you made in the arena, and wouldn’t have in any case, even if it was myself fighting you in the Field, and not a duplicate. You made the choice I instructed you to make, and any forgiveness you believe you need to seek is unjustified. You wronged me not.”
I dropped my head. There were tears beading at the corners of my eyes, but in all reality, I was merely glad Lord Lucien was still alive. His death had weighed so heavily on me for such a long time, and now, I no longer needed to carry the regret of killing my mentor.
“Where did you go?” Emma spoke for the first time, her voice barely a whisper. “Where have you been all this time?”
Lucien gave a glance to Evonna. She gave him a smile that was all too affectionate, and he reached out to take her hand. “I admit this is not the first time I have faked my death.”
Emma’s eyes contracted, and Arthur’s discomfort became immediately obvious.No. This can’t be.
Lucien took a deep breath. “I am Anastazy Ignacy. Emma— I am your father.”
Chapter Ten
Emma
My mind couldn’t process what came next. It refused to accept the truth.
Lord Lucien was myfather? How? It didn’t make any sense.
Arthur, clearly, had already been told. He fussed with his glasses and looked at the floor, like he wasn’t sure how to react.
Lucien swallowed a visible lump in his throat. “You know the Black Claw was looking for you, Emma. That’s why you and Arthur were separated. Before you were born, the Black Claw received a prophecy that you would resurrect the Dark God Droga. They were planning on coming for you, and they weren’t going to stop until they got what they wanted.”
Lucien’s tone grew vacant and empty. “Your mother and I planned to run away, but I knew wherever we went, cultists would follow. We would not be able to escape them. Someone had to stay behind, to fight them off and kill as many of them as possible, and prevent them from going after you. Your mother wouldn’t hear of it. She wanted us to stay together, and as much as I hate to admit it, our love put you both in danger. We were willing to take unnecessary risks to remain together. Risks that, I eventually decided, would kill our children unless we severed our connection.”
Mom dropped her gaze, and Lucien looked at her in a way that seemed too intimate. “I didn’t feel as though I had a choice. When the Black Claw came for us, I staged my own death, and made it so your mother could get away. Then I stayed behind in Malovia, and made a new identity under an assumed name. I worked for twenty years on eliminating the Black Claw, hunting them down and making sure no one located you in America, or Arthur in Ireland. I tracked their movements and became obsessed with knowing what they were plotting, so I could be certain they’d never find you. They came close several times to discovering where you were, but I stopped them before they could do their worst— at least, until one of their rogues slipped past me, and found you in Detroit.”
The memory of how I’d killed the shifter in the woods came rushing back to me, and it made my guts twist. Lucien’s tone became thick and choked. “I was able to keep you two alive, until you reached adulthood and both of you could learn to master your own magic. But the cost of keeping you both safe was the loss of knowing my son and daughter. You’d barely been a few days old by the time I falsified my death. I missedso much.”
Lucien wiped at his eyes. “But that’s all in the past. When I had heard your mother nearly died at the hand of Queen Antonia, I could not bear to be apart from her any longer, and rushed back to Malovia. I figured there was no reason to keep this secret from you any longer. And at least now you know.”
He waited for us to say something, but Arthur and I remained quiet. I wasn’t sure if there was anythingtosay.
Ethan nudged me, and I managed to spit something out. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why didn’t my mother recognize you when you met her at the courthouse during Ethan’s trial?” I demanded. “She acted like you were a stranger she’d never met!”
“I changed my appearance. I didn’t always look like this,” Lucien replied. “After my identity as Anastazy Ignacy was laid to rest, I used my illusion magic to morph my features, to turn me into someone who did not resemble who I once was.”
“Illusion magic doesn’t work like that. It’s not permanent,” I snapped.
“It can be, if you are a powerful enough illusionist, and are willing to push your magic to the limit to meet your goals,” Lucien said. “The effort of changing my features drained my powers and almost killed me, if not for Lady Magdalina. She saved my life when my magic was nearly spent to the point of taking my life.”
“Youknew!” I rounded on Lady Magdalina. “You knew my father was right in front of me all this time— and you never—”
“She isn’t the only one,” Lucien said in a gentle tone, like he was trying to calm me— and I hated it. He didn’t have that right. “My parents were aware I was alive.”
“Babcia and Bapa knew you faked your own death?” I gaped.
“Yes. I’ve spent the past year hiding in Ireland, at the family mansion,” Lucien said. “They knew all about my plan, and although they didn’t approve, they have kept my secret all this time.”
So my grandparents had lied to me, too? No wonder they hadn’t done anything elaborate to Anastazy’s headstone. It was the greatest clue I could’ve ever had, and it went right over my head.
Arthur appeared more miserable at the admission than I did. I couldn’t imagine how he felt. He’d grown up without Mom. What was worse, our grandparents had known our dad was still around, and yet they’d never told him.
How could they have kept something like this from us? I already felt abandoned by them since they left for Ireland. Now I’d learned they’dliedto me, too.
“I tried to leave clues, to let you know I was still nearby,” Lucien said. “I’m sorry if they weren’t clear.”
