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She shrugged. "I didn't really know either of them. This all happened when I was a baby. Hal took over the duties of raising me when I was one."
"Gods! What happened?"
"My mother was chosen for my father, they were a good match because of their bloodlines. She never really questioned it, especially after she was able to conceive and have me." She rubbed her nose on his chest. "All that changed when she took a trip to the closest paranormal town. Hal told me that she confessed to him that she had begun to feel restless, as if there was something that she had to do. So she packed me up and told my father she would be visitin
g friends and left the city. After a few days of traveling at night because of me, we arrived at a small wolf-shifter town. There she met her true mate." She looked up. "That's also where she met Hal. Her mate had called him in to interview for a squire position. My mother knew that if we left the city, we would need the extra help."
"Right before my first birthday my mother returned to the city and packed up her few precious belongings. She left my father a letter explaining everything and left in the middle of the night."
"My father was furious. He and his family tracked us down to the shifter town and began to kill anyone who stood in his way. He refused to be humiliated by having his mate leave him for a shifter."
Etain inhaled. "By the gods! You're referring to Armand DuSang. This was what started the skirmish that led to so many people being killed and Magnus taking over the city." He pulled back and stared down at her. "You're a DuSang?" he whispered.
She sat up scowling. "No. I am Vivian Mercy and before that I was Vivian Bergson. I am not like him."
Etain sat up quickly. "I didn't say you were, but darling, you are the last of a royal bloodline."
"Two," she said softly.
"Two what?"
"Two royal bloodlines. My mother was the last of her line, DuCoeur. It was why she was chosen to be my father's mate."
Etain shook his head. "I was in the city when you were born." He smiled at her. "I wish I could have seen you as a baby. But unlike Prince Magnus, no one but royals were able to step foot on Level One." He blinked as understanding filled his eyes. "That's what Hal meant when he said you have a past that could come back to haunt you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought it might have been a past lover here in the city." Vivi snorted. Etain's eyes widened. "You're not a...? I mean you've been with other men right?"
Vivi put on a vapid expression and clasped her hands in front of her. "Oh no, I am a virgin. All females are hormoneless robots waiting for their one true love before indulging in carnal pleasures." Etain looked at her in shock. She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner. "Of course I'm not a virgin! I'm over seven hundred years old. A girl has needs."
Etain slumped forward a bit. "Oh thank the gods!"
"You're relieved?"
He looked at her incredulously. "Absolutely! Can you imagine if you truly had waited? No man could live up to those expectations. No matter what I did, it would be a let down." He shuddered. "No. Thank. You. I do not wish to hear details about previous lovers, but I do understand you having them." His eyes turned serious. "What happened to your mother?" he asked gently.
"Father caught up with her and her mate and ripped them apart. I was with Hal at the time. We were just returning from the market. He had taken me on an outing to give my mother and her mate some time alone. He said as we neared the house you could smell the blood. He waited until my father stormed out looking for me before running into the house. He grabbed what my mother had packed for us, whatever valuables he could sell and ran."
"He later heard that when my father returned to Noctem Falls he was challenged by Magnus with the backing of the other families. He was killed, and Magnus was confirmed as the new Elder and ruler of Noctem Falls."
Etain frowned. "I was there when your father lost what was left of his mind and turned on his own family for backing Magnus. When Magnus killed him he was like a rabid animal. Javier BelleRose as the ranking Founding Family member was the one that confirmed Magnus as prince."
"It takes four royals to confirm a new prince, otherwise anyone strong enough would just take over." She scooted down, and Etain got comfortable beside her. "My mother knowing she was leaving the city for good left her recommendation for Magnus signed with her blood for authentication. I think that's what drove him to murder. My mother inadvertently started the end of his reign."
Etain rubbed his head over her hair. "I don't think it was her. DuSang started to unravel years before your mother ever left. I think her leaving a letter proved to the others the reality of his instability. By the time he had massacred the shifter town and then turned on his family it was too late to simply bring him before the other families."
Vivi's heart was in her throat. "Does that change how you feel about me?"
Etain looked down at her. "How would that change things between us? You are no more your father than I am the Queen of the Fae."
She felt her eyes fill with tears. "All my life I have felt as if his darkness weighed down my heart. Knowing what he had done, the people he murdered, the lives he destroyed, made me want to help people; to somehow atone for his sins."
"My darling, they are not your sins to atone for." He placed a hand over her heart. "Let my light protect your heart. You are free of him."
Vivi thought that what he said was simply a gesture until a soft light began to glow under his palm. Moments later, she felt his warmth seep into her very soul. The guilt and sorrow she had carried all her life began to dissolve and float away. When the light dimmed she felt better than she had in centuries. She hadn't felt so carefree since she was a child and ignorant of the havoc her father had caused.
"Thank you," she sighed as the bands of guilt relaxed allowing her to breathe easier.
"You are my mate, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you, no matter your name."
"Maybe I could be Vivian Vi'Aerlin instead," Vivi whispered lowly almost afraid of his reaction.
