Page 155

Her whole body was shaking, but she refused to go, her hand still holding my arm. Damn. I hated Ezra but he’d picked a good one. If Alaroth hurt a hair on her head, I was going to burn this place to the ground.

Alaroth bared his teeth, finally relenting. He took a step back, smoothed down his jacket, and then turned towards Nivardi. The poor male had just witnessed that whole tantrum, his eyes wide with fear.

“I expect the troops ready at sunrise, Captain. I believe I will say good night now.” Then he grabbed my chin. “Don’t make me wait too long,” he hissed.

I refused to answer, merely meeting his eye in silent protest. He let me go with a push, his heavy, angry footsteps echoing as he disappeared.

Breathe, I told myself. After I finally got my heart rate back to normal, I turned my focus to my brother. “Thanks for your help, asshole.”

He shook his head slowly, staring at his hands. “I… I don’t understand…”

“Whatever,” I mumbled. I turned around, putting my hands on Canna’s shoulders and rubbing them slightly. “Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”

Tears glistened in her eyes. “N-no, thank you. I just want to go to bed now.”

I pulled her in for a hug. “Sorry you got bonded to my brother. Let me know whenever you need a break from him.”

She let out a small laugh. “I’m not so sorry. He is a good male.”

Yeah, so good he stood by while another male threatened violence against her and his sister. So good he’d killed his own parents.So good he was willing to lead an army and kill untold numbers of people, just because someone told him it was his destiny.

But poor Canna had probably only known the weird, vacant alphas who were stationed here. Ezra must have seemed leagues better by comparison.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and then walked over to Ezra, who still looked stunned, grabbing his hand and leading him out and back to his rooms.

Then it was just me and Nivardi.

“So… that how these things usually go?” I asked with a nervous laugh.

He sighed. “Honestly, that was quite tame for His Majesty. But I am sorry I wasn’t able to intervene.”

I waved him off, heading back to my chair. Canna hadn’t finished her wine, so I took it from her setting and downed the rest in one go. “This is probably a super awkward question, but… did my dad have any family? I’ve met some cousins on my mom’s side, but my dad’s is still a mystery.”

He got up and moved to the chair next to me, bringing a full bottle of wine with him. He refilled both our glasses. “Time is such a funny thing. For you, the story of your parents is a long-ago tale, something that happened before you were even born. For me, it’s still a fresh wound, refusing to heal.”

I supposed twenty-seven years was nothing if you lived to be in your hundreds or thousands. “If it’s too painful to talk about, I get it. Sorry if my being here is difficult.”

He didn’t reply, just drank his wine while I looked around the room.

So awkward.

“Well, I should probably get going before Alaroth gets too angry.”

I stood to leave when Nivardi’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. “No, it’s fine. I can talk about it. Please, stay.”

I didn’t really want him to talk about my dad if it hurt him, but between all my options for company at the moment, his was the least offensive.

I slid back into my chair, and his grip on my wrist released.

“You’ve seen how the alphas are here. The king prefers to keep them barely above beasts, but that conditioning never seemed to stick with Jaelis. He was bright, ambitious, and… a good friend.”

Oof, my dad stole his best friend’s girl? Not cool, Dad.

“When shifter designations are made, alphas and omegas are immediately taken from the havens. He’d never mentioned his parents, or if he had any siblings, nor did I ask. I’m not even sure there are any records you could search, either.”

It was a bummer to hear I likely wasn’t going to ever meet any shifter cousins, if I had any, but I was glad to hear my dad hadn’t been a mindless grunt like the alphas currently being trained here.

My body began to feel heavy, and I yawned, about to tell Nivardi I was heading to bed now, but then he continued talking.