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“What could it possibly be?” I ask.
“An admission that my father knew he’d done wrong.” A look of wry resignation crosses Corvan’s face. “For him to keep something like this so close to him, yet buried in plain sight...”
“At least he had enough of a heart to keep it for you.”
His expression turns grim. “I always found it difficult to understand his intentions. I don’t know if he’s left me a parting gift or a curse. Let’s find out.”
He steps out of the pond, water sluicing off his leather armor and his boots. There must be an oil-coating on his armor, because the water dries almost instantaneously.
Corvan wipes away some of the pond-slime and patina, revealing a waterproof wax seal that runs all around the box. He whips out a dagger from somewhere on his body and deftly runs the tip of the blade along the seal, severing it.
He balances the box on his other hand. It’s about twice the size of his hand.
He cracks the lid.
I hold my breath.
There’s another box inside, made of waxed leather and sealed with red wax on all sides. It’s perfectly dry.
Corvan slices around the seal and opens it.
I hold my breath.
Inside are two things.
A lock of deep black hair, tied with a black ribbon.
A sealed envelope made of thick cream colored parchment, the surface textured and luxurious.
I’ve never seen paper like that before. On the back of the envelope is a crimson wax seal bearing an insignia.
Corvan lets out a deep, shuddering sigh. He sheaths his blade and gently picks up the lock of hair and holds it to his nose, inhaling deeply.
He closes his eyes. His expression becomes distant, as if he’s been transported to another dimension.
For a heartbeat, I’m taken aback. Whose hair is that? But then it hits me. From the snippets I overheard of Corvan and Valdon Duthriss’s conversation, I deduce that it must belong to his mother.
Empress Helia Duthriss.
She’s revered throughout the empire. It was widely said that she died of a terrible illness, but now we know the truth, and the truth is mind-blowing and heartbreaking.
How is it that we all grew up knowing nothing at all?
Now it makes perfect sense that Corvan’s a vampire. His mother was from a mysterious tribe high up in the mountains. From a people that have magic flowing through their veins—just as my mother does.
But he’s also half-human, and his human half had to die before he came into his true powers.
How callous of his father to leave him in the dark about all of this, forcing Corvan to figure it out himself.
Was this his way of trying to keep him under control? Was he afraid of how powerful Corvan would become if he knew the truth?
Because if he’d found out what had happened to his mother earlier, Corvan surely would have killed Valdon. By revealing these secrets on his deathbed, Valdon denied his son the opportunity to seek justice.
And he knew—that bastardknew—that Corvan would have no choice but to take control when the empire started to fall into chaos.
Now I can see why Valdon Duthriss was unopposed in Rahava for almost the entirety of his reign.
What a calculating bastard.
