Page 14 of Fate of the Sun King

“What do you mean by yet?”

I shrug my shoulders, suddenly unable to meet his inquisitive gaze. I’ve suspected the truth for a while, but for some reason, it’s hard to say out loud. I’ve never in all my years heard of it happening. And what are the odds that this woman my father stole, tortured, and tossed into Nostraza is my mate?

They’re basically zero. And yet, I can’t ignore the way she makes me feel.

The word has been cycling through my thoughts for weeks, twisting me up until I barely recognize myself. But in the best possible way.

Gabriel doesn’t press further, and I’d rather not tell him anyway. As much as I do trust him not to screw me over intentionally, I must always consider that what he does isn’t always his choice.

“What happened there in the square? With the low fae,” I ask, deliberately changing the subject.

Gabriel blows out a sigh as he takes the hint. “Things are getting worse. They keep pushing, and the harder they do, the more Atlas digs in his heels. Erevan keeps trying to get him to listen, but Atlas won’t hear it.”

“What is his problem?” I ask, having never really understood why Atlas treats them with so little humanity. At least with my father, his disdain for the low fae has nothing to do with how he actually feels but rather what he can use them for. He simply doesn’t see them as anything but tools to achieve his own ends.

Gabriel shakes his head. “I don’t know, but it’s all going to blow up soon. I’m worried about what will happen if something doesn’t change.”

“Have you considered getting them out?” I ask.

“Of course I have. But where would they go?”

“To the other realms.”

“This is their home, and they don’t want to leave. Besides, too many of them are afraid to wander the countryside…”

He drops off, leaving the thought unfinished.

“Because of my father.”

He nods. “While this situation isn’t ideal, it’s better than being enslaved and forced to work to death in the mines, or so I have to believe.”

I grind my teeth, thinking of the shame my father brings to The Aurora. We’re an embarrassment. Monsters living under the guise of gilded royalty.

“Anyway,” Gabriel says, polishing off his coffee and standing up. “I should get going.”

“You won’t say anything,” I confirm again, and he nods.

“For now.”

“Thank you.” I hold out my hand. We grip forearms before he releases me and stalks out, his wings pulled tight to ease his way through the stream of bodies. Leaving my coffee untouched, I toss a few coins on the table and exit the café, heading towards our home base.

Entering through the back, I find the main floor vacant.

As I head towards the stairs, my stomach lurches, knowing Lor is nearby. I can’t help the way I’m drawn towards her. I’ve been trying to give her the space that she needs, but fuck, it’s so hard. Everything about her calls to me. Pulls me in.

Does she understand what a mate bond means? She grew up sheltered from the ways of our people, and I suspect she has no idea. She must feel what I feel, though. She has to know it means something, if only she’d stop fighting it so hard.

At the top of the stairs, I find her door open. She’s sitting on her bed with her legs crossed and eyes closed, wearing the Heart Crown. She keeps trying to speak to it, hoping it will wake up and release her magic.

I watch as her eyebrows draw together, taking this rare opportunity to just study her. She has no idea how beautiful she is. How I feel so lost when I’m around her. I scared her that night inside Heart when I pushed her too hard. I need to figure out how to get her to open up again.

The tension in her shoulders and neck tells me the Crown remains frustratingly quiet.

“You can come in,” she says, her eyes still closed. Of course she must feel my presence, just like I’m constantly aware of hers.

“No luck?” I ask as her lids slide open, and I stop to lean against the bedpost. Her gaze drifts over me, and I feel it like a touch against my skin. She quickly looks away and pulls the Crown off her head, tossing it onto the bedspread.

“Nothing.”