Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 758(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
It’s clear to see he had been, but I have to frame everything as Declan did it or I will lose him. “Declan didn’t like her because she wasn’t royal? She seems to have not been impoverished. You told me her family owned a vineyard.”
“She was somewhat wealthy, but she was only a quarter sidhe. Her grandmother was a troll. The kind that can pass as human but still a troll.”
“Well, you’re only half Fae,” I point out.
His brows rise. “Where did you hear that? Are vile rumors going around? I assure you I am fully Fae. Why would you…he isn’t.” The king seems to think about it for a moment. “Your Devinshea took after our father? Was your Declan also a halfling?”
This is news I was not expecting and yet it somehow makes perfect sense to me. Of course he’s an arrogant prick. He’s literally never had to face what my Dev did. He never had to face discrimination. He was a pampered royal, and the first time he didn’t get what… I have to slow down. There has to be more to this. I know this man. He can’t simply be evil. “Not at all. In my timeline you’re twins, but Declan takes after his Fae side while Dev got his grandfather’s Green Man powers and his father’s mortality.”
He shudders like he can’t think of anything worse. “It must have been hell for him. Growing up, I mean. They would have seen him as bad luck. I’m honestly shocked that my mother allowed him to stay in the palace. I don’t think she would have killed him, but she should have sent him to the Earth plane with the humans.”
“She didn’t realize he was mortal until he was three, I believe. By then she simply loved her child. She couldn’t send him away.” I can’t help but remember this man didn’t want his child. At least he didn’t seem to. “A mother’s love is powerful.”
“I suppose so,” he agrees. “I wouldn’t have thought it of Mother. She was a bit cold and distant. She thought only of the throne.”
“Perhaps because she wasn’t forced to face that choice. I obviously didn’t know Miria before, but I know she loves her son. She made some mistakes with him, but they all came from the fear that she could lose him.”
“She welcomes you?”
“She gave us permission to marry because she was so desperate for her son to come home,” I explain. “He left the sithein shortly after she tried to force him to procreate with a woman he didn’t care for. She was worried they would lose his Green Man powers, and quite frankly, she was scared she would lose him altogether. Following our fears often means walking into self-fulfilling prophecies, but she learned from it. When Dev requested the Goddess Chain, she sent two envoys. Declan and Padric.”
“Who is that?”
Another piece of the puzzle. “He was the head of your mother’s guard and all of her armies. She was also his long-time lover.”
A look of recognition crosses his face. “Her childhood sweetheart. Yes. I heard some speak of him. He died before my brother and I were born. Long before. I don’t think she ever got over him. So he is alive in your time. I suppose he loathes me.”
He knows nothing. “He treats you like a son.”
My answer seems to throw the king off. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he helped raise you. Devinshea, did you feel nothing for the child Zandra gave you?”
He seems to think for a moment. “He was an amusing child, though I never spent much time with him. I only saw him when I managed to get to Zandra’s village and honestly, I was far more interested in her. I did love the way she lit up when she saw him. She was a good mother. She could have had servants, but she preferred to take care of him on her own. It’s how Deinny got in.”
I would bet Deinny was in her life far longer than merely after her son was born. I would bet he loved her always. “He was a father figure to Lee?”
“He and that friend of hers. Neil, I think.”
“He’s my best friend in our time,” I tell him with a wistful smile. “Of course he’s also a werewolf.”
Devilshea sits up a bit straighter. “Yes, there’s word of a wolf prowling around last night. I hope for your sake he leaves with your son and that vampire version of Deinny. I don’t like the idea of that man with power. Why in all the planes would I make the decision to share you with him?”
“Because you love him, too,” I reply quietly, hoping for the same thing but knowing neither Neil nor Danny would ever leave Dev and I in this position. They might wait and watch, but they would never, ever leave us alone. “You don’t share me. It might have started that way, but we’re a happy threesome.” I mentally wince because I’m giving too much away, but I can’t help but poke him to see if there’s some good there. “Well, we were until Myrddin came along.”