“She said she loved you.”
Kywyn didn’t hide his tears.
“And she said that you loved me. She told me all the time.”
“I did,” Kywyn said, voice gruff. “I do.”
Sean’s heart squeezed out a few throbbing beats while he mastered the sudden urge to break things. How was he supposed to handle this? A…father. A man who’d wanted him from the moment of his conception but hadn’t been allowed to have him. A man who wanted him on a throne.
Putting some distance between himself and Kywyn, Sean focused on the glitter in the air. “I worry you expect great things from me. I don’t think I’m the man you’ve been waiting for.”
He turned to find Kywyn swiping a tear from his face. The older man’s eyes softened. “I’ve been waiting for you for decades. As to the rest of it, you’ll realize your destiny when you’re ready.”
“How do I know when I’m ready?”
“When you no longer deny it.”
Sean sighed. “That’s a shitty answer.”
Kywyn nodded like he agreed. “I’m afraid there will be many answerless questions.”
“Right.” He took a cleansing breath. “What’s the first step, then? Can you answer that one?”
“I can.” Kywyn approached and grasped Sean’s shoulders. “You need to meet the Council. Isobel and Autumn were coronated as Sovereigns at age twenty, as is custom. You and David will need your crowns if you’re to take your rightful places. You are an important member of our Council. You will help govern our people.”
But he didn’t want a crown. He didn’t want notoriety.
“What about you?” he asked. “Aren’t you the Sovereign?”
“I have served as Sovereign for a very long time. When you’re immortal, you don’t wait for death to usher in the new generation. It’s your turn now.”
Sean swallowed. He’d known it was coming, but still…
“And then you train,” his father said. “Lhynion Sidera was the best fighter thelavaniéhave ever known. You’ll follow his footsteps.”
“What about David? What if he follows Galadaine’s footsteps?”
Kywyn released his grip on Sean’s shoulders. “Focus on what you can control. The pieces will fall where they will.”
The pounding behind his eyebrows grew impossible to ignore. “Isobel says I need to put on a show. That the realm is depending on me to be a…Savior.”
“She isn’t wrong. With the Luster fading, people have grown desperate. Zealots are out there, watching for any sign that you aren’t the man they expected. Galadaine’s Followers want to see the Exorcism disbanded and seek your destruction. When it all comes to a head, there could be rebellions. Riots. Insurrections.”
That squeezing feeling returned to Sean’s chest, making it hard to breathe. “I need time to adjust, to wrap my head around this. I don’t want to meet the Council. I don’t want to be coronated. I just…I need some time.”
His father pulled him in for a hug. “It’s okay. It’s fine. We’re immortal. We have the luxury of time.”
With a sinking feeling, Sean squeezed his eyes shut. “Why do I get the feeling that’s not exactly true?”
Kywyn released him. “Because it isn’t. But it’s okay sometimes to pretend that it is.”
CHAPTER 19
ANNA
Later that afternoon, sitting cross-legged by the windows in the library, Anna’s body ached. She winced as she shifted, trying to find a comfortable position. For such a basic training session, Cathaire had certainly worked her raw.
Across from her, David pressed the tips of all ten fingers onto the tabletop between them, deep in thought. “So, you’re saying shepreyedon human men?”
