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A touch of suspicion took hold. “Did Mira tell you something?”
The king arched one brow. “Only not to call you Harald’s son. The more I thought on such a request is how I brilliantly pieced together all this rambling. Why? Is there something more I should know? I do love a good gossip. I’ll keep your secrets, Heartwalker. Tell me, do not spare any details.”
Gods, the notion of telling this man the truths of my past drew hot sick to the back of my throat.
The king must’ve noted the blood draining from my face. He laughed. “I’m jesting. Gods, boy. I fought the dark fae who lived here in your kingdom. I knew him more personally than my fellow royals.”
“Yes.” I glanced at the sand. “Mira explained the connection.”
“Then you understand that he hunted my wife.” The king’s face hardened for a breath. “I know what horrors were left in his wake. You need not ever repeat any of the nightmares he left with you. We all know, and we understand how deep those scars run. But as a man who’s seen a great deal of those scars, may I offer a bit of advice? If you have a chance at something real, something safe with my girl, do not let those scars win.”
“You’ve my word, nothing matters more to me than brightening her days. I was raised by a cruel man, but I want to be better for her. I want to be someone different than him. I will never hurt her.”
The king nodded. “You are not your father, Heartwalker. I say that with certainty. I knew Harald, and that darkness, that wretchedness he had in his eyes, it’s nowhere to be found in yours. If you cherish my girl as you say, that is all I need to know.”
I cracked one knuckle, pausing for a breath. “If I may, I would like to know one thing.”
The king opened one palm, a signal to continue.
“How did you and the queen kill him? The dark fae?” One corner of my mouth curved into a cruel grin. “Don’t spare any details, Highness.”
Mira’s father flashed his teeth. “It’s quite a bloodthirsty tale and one of my favorites to recount.”
41
The Illusionist
“It’s rather peaceful out here.” I rubbed a bit of the chill from my arms and gazed out over the wide cove.
I’d always found the Ever King’s gardens and coves mesmerizing, but the space on the side of Tait’s chambers felt as though we were entirely alone. Like we’d returned to our haunted isle.
He rose from a crouch beside a newly ignited blue fire. Evidence that his confession about the nights sitting beside a fire and swapping tales was true. Stones arranged in a neat circle had burnt remnants of logs inside and wide wooden benches where a dozen men could sit comfortably were placed around them.
He came to my side, hands tucked into his pockets. “I never needed to survive here, not after the war, at least. I used to think it was bespelled in a way.”
“Why is that?”
“I’d often sleep out here and always wake knowing I dreamed of a life that was different. Peaceful, you know? The sort of life that didn’t exist in the Ever Seas at the time.”
“What were the dreams about?”
“Ah, those are a secret, Vicious. Can’t speak it out loud, or the spell cast won’t take. I might still be searching for that peace.”
“What, you think the flurry of glamour fae in your life isn’t the epitome of quiet contentment?”
He simply chuckled.
I clasped his hand and leaned my head on his shoulder. For a pause we were silent. After I proved to Aleksi and the Night Folk clan I still breathed, my parents remained in the hall with Celine, Stormbringer, and more of the Ever Crew to indulge in the king’s ale and swap stories of the battles fought between our realms.
Strange how stories were now told with laughter instead of hatred.
“I saw you speaking with Daj,” I said. “You survived.”
Tait grinned and looked down at the sand. “The king and I came to an understanding.”
“Which is?”
He lifted his gaze. “That you own his heart as much as you own mine.”
