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“Yes, she is alive,” Rurik answered with a hoarse voice laden with so much emotion that it was impossible for him to hide it.

He lifted to look at her sickly pale, yet beautiful, face with his heart aching in chest.

She is alive, and she will stay with me.

She would live in his lair just as she had before, and he was determined to hear her laughter in it. He was determined to smell her cooking that always made him seek his own food. To hear the sound of a page turning, or her light feet pattering around.

He wanted to walk through his tunnels wondering where he would find her. He wanted to see her sitting by the entrance of his cave so that he could come to sit beside her in the sun – he wanted to share in that moment of tranquillity that was rare for a warrior like him.

But most importantly, Rurik hoped Amalia was still the same way she was before and still wanted to be beside him.I threatened her not knowing of her plans.

There was a long pause before he backed off the table so he could allow her to rest peacefully.

Like he had been waiting for him to move, her father rushed forward to check himself.

Every muscle in Rurik’s body tensed at him coming so close to her precious form, but he didn’t do or say anything as he checked for where her wound had been and listened to her heart beating himself.

Watching him smile at her face before stroking her soft hair back, Rurik’s eyes inspected over him now that they were in the light of torches.

His eyes may be darker, but they were blue like hers, and his hair was blonde. Even though his hair was tight with little ringlet curls whereas hers were large, almost straight around her face before they twirled towards the end, they had similar features. Even the tan colour of his skin was the same.

He is truly her father.

“You said her mother died. How did you know this if you were a prisoner?”

“Strolguil told me.” Her father turned his head to him with a look of guilt clear in his features. “After he discovered me when I was patrolling the area, he knew Amalia must have been close. He found the cottage, and Hellena tried to fight him.” He gave a laugh, but it held no humour. It was too forced and shaken. “Her mother was a white wielder; only I had wanted to learn dark magic. She stood no chance against him.”

He stepped away from Amalia to stand on the other side of the table so that it was between them.

“I cannot express what I felt when he threw her head in my cell and told me he found Amalia.”

Rurikcouldimagine what he felt when his eyes gently fell over the Witch who just moments before had been dead.

“Why did you change her memories to make it so that you were a human?”

He gave a shrug.

“We worried if she ever saw me use magic that it would make her remember. She would have been curious to know why I stopped, because once I took her memories, I never used witchcraft again until the day I was captured. Soldiers often leave their families for long periods of time, so it gave me an excuse to leave so I could scout the lands.”

“And you made sure she did not know what Dragons or covens were so it would not remind her of the prophecy.”

“Yes, exactly. We sheltered her to the best of our abilities.”

Things were beginning to make sense. Amalia had never lied to him, she had just told him the version of the truth she knew.Her mother had warned her of the black moon because of this very night.

Rurik walked over to lift her head so he could see better.

“You used dark magic on her.” Rurik couldn’t contain the growl that left him when he saw the two finger strokes of red liquid on her face as well as his own. “You used her blood to cast.”

Just knowing that made his skincrawl.

“We could not see!” he bit back. “And you do not get to cast judgement on me when you did not get her permission to do what you just did.”

That growl grew as Rurik shot his head to him. His nose crinkled and tension shot through him.

“You do not get a say in what I do with her!” Then he approached him, his height only slighter taller than his. It was enough that he took a step back when he tried to tower over him with menace leaking from him. “You do not get a say when I saved her life, when you intended to let her die by doingnothing.”

He took another step back with unease, but Rurik could tell he was angry. His eyes were slitted while his teeth gritted.