AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My father was the eldest of two,” Conreth said. “He ruled as king, and his brother Astraus was his best friend.”
My heart stuttered at the horror that gleamed in the fae king’s eyes.
“My uncle used to say he fell instantly in love the first time he met my aunt. She was a hybrid. When the fae love…we love deeply and unreservedly. Our emotions are stronger andwilderthan either humans or hybrids, and my uncle adored my aunt with everything in him. When the first amulet went missing…the king wasn’t told until far too late. The family responsible for keeping that amulet safe was humiliated by their failure, and instead of alerting my father, they covered it up. But by the time the second amulet was stolen, my father knew what was happening. He would have doneanythingto protect the third amulet. So Regner had to try something new.”
Conreth’s words were flat, almost bored. But his hand tightened around the arm of his chair.
“He got to your uncle.”
“No. He got to my aunt. We didn’t know this, but he’d ensured Eirathia was kidnapped as a child. Your people were already in ruins—scattered and hiding. No one would have noticed yet another hybrid missing. There are…ways to see the future. To learn who she would marry. He used a powerful seer.”
“He knew she would be married to your uncle.”
“Yes. And he took her when she was still small enough that she could be shaped. Molded. Created into one of hisspiders.”
Bile burned up my throat. “He waited,” I choked out. “He must have waited years, until they met.”
Conreth’s eyes met mine. “He waited until they had children. Until even while the war raged, they werehappy. And then he unleashed her.”
“What happened?”
“There are herbs that cause madness, even for the fae. Eirathia began lacing my uncle’s food with those herbs, along with the barest amount of fae iron. He began to weaken. His mind began to break. He could sense something was seriously wrong with his wife, and that knowledge pricked at him, pushing him even closer to madness. Regner knew it wasn’t Eirathia who would be close enough to my father to kill him and take the amulet. It was Astraus. My father—so distracted by Regner’s continued attacks—didn’t notice.”
I couldn’t understand what this had to do with Lorian. Conreth gave me a faint smile. “To truly understand Lorian, you have to know our history.” He stretched out his legs. “My aunt continued to work on my uncle. But there was something Regner hadn’t counted on.”
“What was it?”
“They weren’t just husband and wife. They were mates. An incredibly rare occurrence, but one that meant Eirathia eventually managed to stop lacing my uncle’s food—Regner’s dark magic unable to override the soul-deep love she had for him. And that was when Regner struck. He had their children taken. My cousins were young, even by fae standards. Regner told my aunt and uncle they would get their children back when they gave him the amulet.”
“He would never have returned them,” I said.
Conreth nodded. “But my uncle’s brain was muddled. He believed this was his chance. He would take the amulet and use the power to kill Regner once and for all.”
“Fuck.”
Conreth nodded. “Exactly. My uncle was trusted, so when he began visiting various courts throughout the fae lands, they believed him when he said he wanted to ensure a unified response to the threat Regner presented.”
No wonder the fae refused to trust one another now. They couldn’t communicate, and when they did, that communication was based on a lie.
“What did he do instead?”
“Regner had used the book to magically alter many oceartus stones. So they would slowly drain those around them of power. He sent the stones to my uncle, and Astraus placed them in each of the courts.
“Then came the night of his betrayal. Astraus used a heavy sleeping tonic to lace all the food in the castle. He stole the amulet from around his brother’s neck and used a forbidden spell to activate the oceartus stones, draining some of the most powerful fae in our lands. That power was transferred to the amulet, as was my father’s power. My uncle then went from fae to fae in that castle, the amulet taking everything we had to give. When he got to Lorian, my brother woke.”
My heart thundered in my chest. Even knowing Lorian had survived that night and so many more didn’t help.
Conreth sighed. “He’d skipped dinner, choosing to play-fight with one of our nanny’s children instead. When he opened his eyes, his uncle was standing over him, the amulet in his hand.”
I pictured the Taking ceremonies I’d witnessed in the villages and how the babies had screamed and screamed. The blood drained from my face. “He was awake when his uncle took his power.”
“Yes. Lorian loved Astraus. And my uncle had a soft spot for the boy who reminded him of himself—the second-born son. It must have killed him to look Lorian in the eye and take his power. I know it hurt Lorian. But he never spoke a word about it.”
My heart ached for that young boy, who’d been conscious and aware when his uncle betrayed him.
“He learned young that no one was to be trusted,” Conreth said, clearly following my thoughts. “My uncle took the amulet to Regner, my aunt at his side.”
“The children?” I whispered.
