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Connak bumps me with his elbow, a knowing smile lighting his features.
“And your attitude from Kerr, I’m guessing?” I sarcastically inquire.
“Noctis taught him to speak before he thinks,” Zivol divulges, stirring shit the same way Isolde does, but with a bit less tact. “Kerr taught him how to talk to the ladies. His charm comes from me.”
Ecaeris groans. “Breakfast has been lovely, as meals tend to go with you three—”
“You don’t get to walk out now,” I cut him off, grinning. “Tal said you weren’t supposed to meet him until noon, whenever that is. You have nowhere else to be until then.”
Connak snorts. “She speaks the truth.”
“Have you not heard?” Noctis asks, shaking his head. “I’m sure all three of you have somewhere to be. There was another beast attack this morning.”
My back snaps straight. “When?”
“Maybe an hour ago?” Kerr responds as he picks at his food. “Two guys limped toward the clinic as we were passing. They didn’t want any assistance, and sent us on our way. Prideful guys.”
“Lucky guys,” Zivol mumbles into his tea. At least, I think it’s some sort of hot tea… “They weren’t too injured, but they didn’t want to talk about the attack.”
The prince shoves his chair back. “We have to—”
“No. Wait.” I place my hand out to stop Ecaeris from standing. “What do you know of the beasts?”
“Not much,” Noctis tells me.
“Please don’t lie to me,” I whisper, though my gaze is hard as I stare at him.
“Ada,” Ecaeris admonishes.
Kerr gives me a dark smile. “How did you know?”
“Intuition,” I smart, shrugging one shoulder. “I wasn’t hand selected to be a Mongrel for my charm.”
He nods, conceding to me. “Isolde mentioned she told you the story of Elias.”
“She did,” I confirm.
“Elias wasn’t always a man,” Kerr confesses.
I tilt my head as I observe the queen’s husbands. After Isolde’s story, I had briefly suspected as much, but it wasn’t a question I was ready to ask or could follow up with any facts. It was just the way she recounted her run-in with the beast in the forest.
“We didn’t care for him at first,” Zivol admits. “But then he told us why he was here.”
“Why he thought he was here,” Noctis corrects. “He still had his memories of the dark island. His time on earth. The things he had done.”
I lean forward as I quietly add, “Spiran chose him to give Isolde the gift of a child.”
“She did,” Kerr agrees. “And we were all thrilled for a child. Didn’t matter which of us helped to create this life.”
“You think they were all humans from Earth?” I suddenly blurt as the story clicks into place. Isolde told me as much without truly telling me.
Connak jerks his head back. “How did you reach that conclusion?”
“Am I right?” I press, witnessing centuries of memories flit through Kerr’s dark irises. “You’ve seen something.”
After a moment of silence that seems to drag on forever, Kerr nods. “I believe they were once human. Not of our world or the land beyond the ocean. And not mindless animals.”
He waits, watching me as if he’s expecting judgment to float across my features. But I have none. What he’s just said feels like facts settling in my mind, though I can’t sift through all the new information to figure out why I know this without doubt.
