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The figures disappeared into the air. “Mom was a Starborne fae and Dad was a shifter, or Verdanshade. Technically we shouldn’t exist—pregnancies that result from those pairings always end in miscarriage. At least until us. It’s what makes us so powerful, because we kind of got the best of both worlds. We’re strong, we can shift, and we can wield a wide array of magic, but we aren’t as beholden to our instincts. Like have you noticed alpha barks don’t really affect you?”

I perked up a bit at this. “Actually, I have.” I guess that explained why Roland Thorne’s commands seemed to roll off me. “Is that why I don’t seem to fit the supposed ‘omega stereotype’ either? Everyone seems so surprised I’m not submissive.”

Ezra grinned. “No, that’s just because you’re a bitch.”

“Ha ha,” I replied sarcastically. “But for real.”

“Omegas actually run the whole gamut personality-wise, but tend to have their willfulness beat out of them once their designation shows, because that’s what alphas typically want. Not me, of course, but you probably know what I mean.”

My face paled, and my heart bled for the poor omegas stuck in this world. Although considering I’d heard the same pre-conceived notions about omegas from shifters on Earth, had it been any better for them there?

“Anyway, that’s why Alaroth was so interested in us,” Ezra continued. “If Mom and Dad hadn’t be so weak and short-sighted, we could have grown up here, where we belong. Instead, all they did was fuck us up.”

I had only recently learned the full extent of Mom’s failings when it came to raising Ezra, so now hearing that she wasn’t even a shifter herself, it made even more sense that she couldn’t relate to his struggles. He had a right to be angry, but the bitterness he refused to let go of had led us here, and had led him to thinking he could just give me away as a gift to a fae king in return for teaching him about his heritage and power.

“Ezra… we need to talk about why Mom and Dad left, and what they were afraid of. I know you worship Alaroth, but…”

A growl resonated through his chest. “Ourking is going to unite the realms, Mar. Earth is a mess, and humans suck. You know that just as well as I do. The shifters there are pathetic, and vamps are vermin that need to be eradicated once and for all. King Alaroth will reshape and rule both worlds, bringing us into a new era of happiness and prosperity. Mom and Dad were just too stupid to understand his vision.”

Fuck, this was bad. Ezra sounded like a brainwashed cult member, Alaroth sounded like an egomaniacal fascist, and Earth was in big trouble. We had a lot of shit to work through, but the thought of this fae king being the one to solve our problems… yeah no, he was probably just going to kill or enslave everybody.

And apparently, he wanted me and Ezra to help him do that.

“People are going to die, Ezra. You realize that, don’t you?”

He shook his head. “Soldiers, yes. But the king has no interest in unnecessary casualties or genocide.”

“Unless they’re vampyrs,” I replied sarcastically.

Ezra snarled as he turned to me, his face contorting in disbelief. “You really care about those abominations? After everything they did to you?”

“So far, it was nothing worse than what shifters have also done to me.”

“Yes!” he bellowed, beating his chest with his hand. “And I killed them!Allof them! Just to save you and bring you here! Why do you question my judgment and love for you? Haven’t I earned your trust by now?”

I saw red, my hands shaking as I raised one and pointed a finger at him. “You gave me to him like I was a prize, like I was a gift!”

He pointed a finger right back at me, poking me in the chest. “Yourpack couldn’t stop the vamps, couldn’t stop the shifters, but I COULD AND DID! Do you really think after all that, I’d put you in a position where you’d be in danger?”

I grabbed his finger and pushed it away. He really had been blinded by his resentment. I’d been in this realm for less than a day and could already see right through Alaroth and imagine exactly the kind of world he’d shape. “Yeah, I think so! Because you’re too obsessed with that silver-haired despot to see that he’s manipulating you!”

Ezra’s chest began to heave, and he opened his mouth to yell at me again when a voice sounded behind me. “Silver-haired despot? That’s a new one.”

I jumped and turned around, finding Alaroth leaning against the wall with a bemused look on his face.

“God dammit!” I yelled. “Would people please stop doing that?”

He walked towards us and laughed. “Ezra, you told me you would try to extol my many virtues to your sister to help win her over, but it appears she hates me more than ever now.”

Ezra dropped to a knee, becoming flustered. “My deepest apologies, Your Majesty, she…”

Alaroth raised a hand to cut him off. “Yes, she is a difficult one, isn’t she?” He stopped in front of me and looked me up and down in disgust, pulling on the hem of my tunic and rubbing it between his fingers.

“Surely we can do better than this?” he asked, gesturing to my outfit.

I tugged it back from his grip and smoothed the rough fabric down. “Surely I can do better than a fae fascist for a fiancé, but alas…”

Alaroth’s eyes darted towards Ezra, waiting for him to put me back in my place, and the look on my brother’s face was murderous.