Page 62 of Fated to the Demon Lord

I stared at her, aghast. “What?”

“Your father didn’t abandon us when you were little. No—we left him. I don’t know if you remember, but he would fall into these terrible drunken rages. I took most of the beatings.” Her voice tightened slightly. “He never touched you until one night he was so drunk he nearly struck you in your sleep. That’s when I knew we couldn’t stay.”

“You told me he went away… that it wasn’t possible for us to keep the house anymore.”

“Because I wanted you to distrust him if he ever came back.” She exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t sure how much you remembered. You were older, but I often sent you to the neighbors during the worst of it. When we left, I changed my name, and we started over. But then—five years ago—that worst-case scenario finally came true.”

My chest clenched. “He found you.”

Mother twisted her hands in her skirt. “He recognized me, and I knew it wouldn’t take long for him to ask around, learn my new name, and discover where we lived. He had this gleam in his eyes, and I feared Denara. I feared for all of us.”

I beheld the terror in her pale face as I whispered, “So you killed him.” The words came out of me strangely detached. My sympathy for my father had ended long ago when mother had told me he’d left, so to find out the worst of him, or his gruesome end, didn’t bother me.

But when my mother did the same thing—disappeared with no explanation—that destroyed me.

That moment revealed a pattern, and I was the common factor.

A haunted look passed through Mother’s eyes as she relived that night in her mind. “Yes, but a soldier saw me, and I had no other choice but to flee. I’m so sorry, Denara. I never wanted to leave you or Gerand. You being here and alive is a miracle.”

I wished her explanations were enough. “Do you know what I had to do to survive?” I asked in a low voice. “And now I find out that you are a hedge witch, that I am a hedge witch.”

“Humans distrust hedge witches, my dear. Not to mention your father was aware I had powers. The last thing we could afford to do was draw attention to ourselves.”

“Yes! But you could have told me!” The words burst out of me, so loud that birds resting in a nearby tree took flight. I glared at my mother, breathing hard, the fury burning in my veins.

“I knew that if you realized you had such power, you would be too tempted to use it.” Mother gave me a gentle yet condescending smile.

That only spiked my rage further. “I could have saved him, Mother! If only you had taught me, I might have protected Gerand. Instead, I was useless…” A tear leaked down my cheek. “I was powerless. And I lost him. I lost the only person who never left me.” I swiped at the multiple tears now flowing.

Mother started to cry as well. “I’m sorry. Ever since we heard demons had attacked your town, we have been searching.”

“Don’t act like you care now.”

“Oh, honey. I never stopped caring. There is nothing I can say that can prove it, but all my actions were for the sake of protecting you and your brother. The soldier who saw me immediately raised the alarm, and the authorities chased me into the demon lands. I thought if I stayed away, you’d be safe.”

“But we weren’t,” I snarled.

“I know. I soon learned how unforgiving the demon lands could be.” She rolled up her sleeve and showed a brand mark on her arm. “I was taken captive almost the instant I entered their lands. Eventually, I met Bargoth, and with his help, I escaped. My captors chased us all the way here, into Misophae. My powers had been growing ever since my captivity. I had been trying to escape with my magic. I’d learned a powerful protective charm and cast it over this town. It instantly became a haven for demons searching for a more peaceful life. But I didn’t realize the consequences.”

“What consequences?”

“The only way the town stays hidden is if I remain here. The moment I leave, the magic falls apart. It nearly killed me when I found out. But you see, I couldn’t come for you. And I convinced myself that you were safer where you were—to even send someone to drag you across demon lands would have been dangerous. I only escaped my captivity because of Bargoth’s help. But Denara, I’m so sorry for what you went through and that I wasn’t there. Please, I beg you to forgive me.” She opened her arms, leaning in slowly, giving me time to pull away. I didn’t, and her arms wrapped around me. Gods, it felt so familiar as if no time had passed.

She’d been through so much. Logically it made sense—why she stayed away, how she had gotten trapped here, the danger of the demon lands, and yet there was one thing I couldn’t let go of and feared I never would.

I stepped from her, my shoulders tense, and my body more brittle than before. I brushed at my wet eyes another time. “I want to forgive you, I do. Your words are everything I ever wanted you to say…”

“But?” Mother prompted.

“Gerand is still gone.” Bitterness coated my tongue.

Mother nodded, devastation coming across her face. “We’ve searched, but we’ve turned up no leads so far. I swear we won’t give up on him. I understand you will do what you have to do, but please, at least stay the night. Get some rest?”

“We will stay the night, but Lord Vaelor needs us to keep moving. We’ll leave in the morning. But I’m not giving up on Gerand either. I will find him.”

“Then hopefully, between the two of us, we’ll locate your brother and bring him to safety.”

That was all that I wanted—my little brother safe so we might read stories late at night and I could chase him around the cabin again whenever he pretended to be too grown up for his big sister.