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“I’m not here on a social call,” he informed me. “I’m here to take Elix home.”
My gut twisted. “What?”
“She doesn’t belong here,” Saint growled. “I should have never brought her here in the first place. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Jace. A lot.”
That doesn’t sound good.
“Yeah? About what?”
“It wasn’t just work that kept me away from here all those years. It was your selfishness. Our mother wanted us away from you. That’s why she was always talking about getting us out of the palace,” he said. Every word drove a knife into my chest, but before I could respond, Elix’s voice piped out from the doorway.
“That’s not true, Saint.”
His head whipped around to look at his sister at the threshold, and he was on his feet again, relief coloring his face. “You’re okay!”
Her mouth curled up into a sneer of annoyance.
“Of course I’m okay,” she replied, sidestepping his embrace. “Just because I don’t jump when you call doesn’t mean I’m dead. Why are you here kicking up a stink?”
His arms dropped, and his face shadowed.
“You need to come home with me, Elix,” he told her urgently. “You shouldn’t be here, in the palace.”
Elix smirked lightly and ambled toward the desk, perching on the edge next to me. Saint’s eyes narrowed more.
“You really need to make up your mind, big brother,” she said sarcastically. “I need to stay home, I need to come here, I need to go home, I need to leave there… I can’t keep up with your whims anymore.”
“I made a mistake, but I’ve really been thinking about it, E, and yeah, you really don’t belong here. When everyone finds out about your bloodline, especially about your paternity?—”
“No one is going to find out. The only ones who know are in this room… and Cirilla. None of us are going to breathe a word,” I interjected, worry causing my pulse to quicken. I glanced covertly at my mate, wondering if she was buying into her brother’s ranting.
“And Lysandra,” Saint added. “Lysandra knows, too.”
“If Lysandra was going to tell anyone, she would have by now,” I insisted. “Stop trying to freak out your sister, Saint. What’s wrong with you?”
He glowered at me and started pacing the room. “Our mother knew about Elix. She never wanted her endangered, which is why she wanted to take her out of here,” Saint pressed. “I was an idiot to put her back in here.”
“And you think she’s safer with you?” I scoffed, my initial vow to keep my cool forgotten.
“Safer than having to take on the Royal Guards when they find out she’s got Agnan’s blood running through her?” Saint hissed, his eyes darting toward the door. “Fuck yes!”
“That’s never going to happen!” I insisted, leaning forward.
“You’re wrong, Saint,” Elix interrupted, silencing us both. She turned her dark waves toward her brother. “I’ve also thought a lot about it, and while you’re right about some of it, you’re wrong about the most important part.”
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Saint muttered, eying her.
“Sit down. Both of you.” She waved her hands for us to back up, and reluctantly, we reclaimed our spots. “I believe you’re right—Mom did know that I wasn’t Dad’s, and that I possessed dark magic. But she didn’t love me any less for it,” Elix said quietly.
“No, Elix—” Saint started, but she cut him off.
“Let me finish for once,” she snapped. “Let me say my piece without being interrupted.”
He gaped at her, and I swallowed a grin, turning my head away before he could see me.
“But Mom didn’t just love us, Saint. She cared for Jace, too. She was worried about him, tending to the kingdom so young and on his own. And she had to know that my powers, my bloodline, would affect everyone if the information was everrevealed.That’swhy she wanted us to go.That’swhy she was so fixated on getting us out of here before it could come out.”
Saint gaped at his sister, his verdant irises unblinking, understanding settling in as if her words struck his core.
