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I squeeze her hand, hoping to convey that she’s not alone. Whatever this is, I will be here.
Wisteria glances at me, her face softening. She scoots the tiniest bit closer to me, a move I’m certain both of our dads have noticed. She then turns to look at Emperor Emrys again, sitting up straighter.
“Poppy is not my biological daughter,” Emperor Emrys begins.
“WHAT?” My dad shouts.
Wisteria just stares at her dad, like she’s not sure what to think.
I relax further back on the couch, contemplating what he’s said. I feel like it was fate for Wisteria and me to end up married. Now, I realize it reallywasfate. She was always supposed to be the one I was to marry.
Emperor Emrys ignores my dad and just looks at Wisteria. “You know that I wasn’t supposed to be emperor.”
She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “Right. You were third born.”
He nods. “I haven’t told you everything.”
“I think I remember hearing about this,” Dad says. “The entire fae royal family was killed, right?”
Emperor Emrys nods. “Yes. Every single member of my family was slaughtered. No doubt I would have been too if I hadn’t been away when the murders happened.”
“I didn’t know that,” Wisteria says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Why weren’t you there when it happened?”
“Because I was living with the elves,” he answers plainly.
“Elves?” I ask the question, but it’s echoed by Wisteria and my dad.
Elves are so rarely talked about among supernaturals. The only thing I do know about them is that, long before the Dragon War, there was a war against elves. Much like dragons, they were targeted for their strength. They barely made it out unscathed and they’ve never fully been able to recover their numbers. Unlike dragons, they were unwilling to mix their blood with any other supernatural. Due to there not being any elf sightings in centuries, it was believed they were completely wiped out. Then again, elves are not the first supernatural species thought to be extinct only to come back.
Emperor Emrys ignores the question. “When I heard what happened to my family, I knew I had to come back to rule. My wife had just passed away, so I brought my daughter back to the fae court to try to rule through the deviation. The monarchs didn’t want me as their emperor—I wasn’t raised as the heir or even the spare. My parents and I thought there could be no possible way that I would ever rule, especially considering my oldest brother had four children of his own.”
I let go of Wisteria’s hand and slip my arm around herback. I pull her closer to me and she relaxes slightly as she leans into my side.
“The day the monarchs were going to vote on whether to keep me as emperor or choose somebody else, Wisteria was particularly fussy. I think she missed her mother. Her nanny couldn’t console her, so she brought her to me,” Emperor Emrys says, continuing his story. He has a glassy look in his eye that I can’t quite read, but it’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen from the fae emperor. “When the monarchs realized just how powerful Wisteria was, they decided that they couldn’t get rid of me, only because they wanted herto be their empress. At the time, they didn’t realize why she was so powerful.”
“How does Poppy come into this?” Wisteria asks.
He frowns. “When they realized how powerful you were, and then they realized that you’re the first born daughter of the tenth generation since the dragon alliance was signed, they wanted to make sure that you would become their ruler. You were, after all, their savior.”
Wisteria rolls her eyes but keeps her mouth shut.
“Poppy’s mother and father had both passed away in a tragic accident, leaving her alone. The monarchs insisted that I adopt her, so she could become the one sacrificed to the alliance. At the time, you were all I had. I didn’t want you to be forced to marry a dragon shifter. So I went along with it.”
My dad huffs his annoyance. “Is this your true feelings about my people?”
“No, no, no.” Emperor Emrys shakes his head, turning to my dad. “I don’t hate dragon shifters. In fact, I have a lot of respect for your species. I just didn’t want to be parted from my only child. She is the only piece I have left from my life with the woman I loved.”
“What about Cypress and his mom? Don’t you love her?” I ask.
“I was forced to marry her.” Emperor Emrys’s eyes flash red for a split second, then back again. “It wasn’t my choice. It is not a marriage of love, but one of politics—nothing more.”
The faeforcedhim to remarry after his wife’s death? The more I learn about them, the more glad I am that Wisteria is free from that life.
“So this is the news that you came to tell us? That you tried to force a non-royal fae off as your daughter?” Dad’s voice is low, a sure sign of his temper.
“While it is part of it, it’s not all.” Emperor Emrys clears his throat, turning to look at Wisteria again. “There is something you don’t know about your mother—something nobody knew until very recently. After you were sent here, the monarchs started looking into your origins. They wanted to know how you are so strong. And they found out the truth.”
“The truth?” Wisteria sits up straight.
