Page 69 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“Nadir?” Garnet says, and I blink.

“Yes,” I say. “You know me?”

“Of course I do.”

He nods as he approaches, and now everyone around the table watches me. I run a hand over my head, suddenly feeling self-conscious under the scrutinizing gaze of my ancestors. I feel judged, weighed, and found lacking, though I’m not sure why.

“Why are you here? Where is your father?”

I look around the clearing, noticing several other people staring at us now.

“That’s kind of a long story,” I say.

“Then come with me,” my grandfather says. “I know somewhere we can talk.”

CHAPTER 27

In a daze, I follow my grandfather through the garden until we reach a quiet corner surrounded by hedges. He gestures to a stone bench and invites me to join him. A small table sits next to me, and a moment later, a silver tray topped with a plate of pastel-colored desserts and a decanter of pale wine appears out of thin air. My grandfather chuckles at my blink of surprise.

“The Evanescence provides everything you need. Help yourself.”

I’m not really in the mood for sugar, but alcohol—that I can do. I pour myself a generous glass and knock it back before I go for another.

My grandfather watches me quietly, assessing. It doesn’t make me feel weird for some reason. It feels natural. After I drain another half glass, he folds his hands together and rests them on the table.

“Now, do you want to tell me what you’re doing here? Where is your father?”

I finish the rest of the glass and pour out another before I begin. I recount the last few months. Being sent to find Lor. Finding her. Finding out she’s my mate. Being killed by Lor, apparently, if Zerra was telling me the truth. I rub my chest at the ache sitting behind my ribs. I can’t tell if it’s because of what she did or because I miss her so fucking much. Probably a little of both.

“And then Zerra locked me up and wanted to marry me,” I say. “So I busted out of my room, and I fell . . . here.” I sweep out a hand. “I saw Lor’s magic across the sky. She might be here somewhere, and I have to find her.” I pause. “Where am I exactly?”

My grandfather spreads his hands. “You are still in the Evanescence, but Zerra’s domain surrounds us, and we are at its core.”

“I’m not sure I get it.”

“You don’t have to. It’s one of those things that simply is.”

I shrug and take another long sip of my drink, trying to settle the constant shake of my limbs.

His smile drops off his face a moment later. “Your father,” he says. “I always hoped he would change.”

“He didn’t,” I say. “He’s only become more twisted and cruel.”

“I heard you,” Garnet says. “When you spoke to me.”

I blink. “You did?”

He nods and reaches out to squeeze my wrist. With no other parent figure to talk to, I’d often pretended my grandfather was still alive and would speak with him, but the last time was after the Second Sercen War. I’d returned from the front lines a broken shell of a man. Mael and I spent many years healing together, and when Amya was born, she became the only bright light in my life for a very long time.

I confided in him, talking to him for hours about what we’d seen and done. It felt like he was the only one who’d understand.

“I wish I could have answered you,” he says sadly.

“Can you see what happens to us?”

“Only those who share Imperial magic and only when you call for us.”

“I wish I’d known that,” I say, and he gives me a sad smile.