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“Damn,” the other human, Maggie, wheezed from near his mate. Where was Diana? And why was Maggie here now? And what had his mother just said?

Rhaego tried to process her words but couldn’t wrap his mind around them. The king seemed to be in the same boat. He stared at the back of Ishara’s head as though he’d never seen her before.

“Darling?” the king called, drawing Ishara’s attention.

A growl built in Rhaego’s chest. He’d never heard the male use such endearments, and after what he’d done today, he didn’t like it.

“I’m sorry,” Ishara whispered, staring at Yaskan. “He’s your child.”

No. This couldn’t be true. “You’re just saying this to keep me from killing him,” Rhaego rasped, stepping around his mother. His claws sharpened, head dipping.

Before he could make it a step, Aurora was there, holding him back. His purr threatened to rise at the contact, though the timing couldn’t be worse. His mate. She was safe. She was with him. He’d made it to her. And now he needed to get them both out of here.

She lifted her palm to his cheek, pale brows furrowing. “You have his eyes, Rhaego. You have his nose and his hair.” His fever flickered. He peered at the king, who gazed back with irises the color of stone. He’d never before noticed the similarity.

“It’s my fault. All of it,” Ishara croaked, stepping to his side. “We were married once but never conceived. After it was over, I just…I couldn’t let him go.” A look of longing lit her expression as she turned her focus on Yaskan. “And then he became king, and…I knew it was wrong. I was already married to Moushef when I learned of Rhaego. I made the choice to claim him as his father. Neither of them ever knew of my deceit.”

Rhaego’s lips parted, but the king beat him to speaking. “Why?” Yaskan boomed, looking stricken. His gaze met Rhaego’s, and they stared at each other, seeing the other clearly for the first time. But Yaskan’s expression was one of…loss. Grief. Anger. “I had a child, and you took him from me?”

The flare flashed in Ishara’s eyes, revealing the frenzy in her heart. “You always spoke of your devotion to Tuva, our duty to help our people. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you,” she said, brows lifting. “You’re a great king, my love. But you can’t be a father and a king.”

“Bound not to blood. No kin but my subjects, no love but for Tuva.” Khurrik recited the familiar oath each ruler took before their throning. The oath that forsook all ties. A king could not claim a child nor a wife. Their loyalty was to their city alone.

“If you’d learned of him, I knew you’d abdicate,” Ishara admitted, her face pulled tight in pain. “I couldn’t do that to our people. Tuva needed you.”

“It wasn’t your choice alone to make,” he cried, voice going hoarse. “All this time, I could’ve…” His eyes grew glassy as he glanced back at Rhaego, chin lifting. “We could’ve…”

Rhaego’s life, lonely and fatherless, played through his mind. Moushef had never known Rhaego wasn’t his. Had he sensed it though? How different things could have been with Yaskan as his father. Would he have taught Rhaego to be cold? Or would fatherhood have softened the hard male?

The king had pined for Ishara for as long as Rhaego could remember, but now he wondered if what Yaskan had really pined for this whole time was connection, family. The one thing a king of Tuva could not have. Would he have given up his throne for Rhaego? The king stared at him, and the sorrowful look in his eyes made Rhaego believe he would have.

“I’m sorry.” Ishara’s head fell. “I knew I’d made a mistake when the Goddess cursed me.” Full of guilt and pain, his mother’s flare-ridden gaze slipped to Rhaego. “It was always my fault. You were never the blight, buckling. I was.”

He blinked. The lie that had molded his existence was too unfathomable to process. Rhaego was numb to it. He stared at the king, the rage he’d felt for the male for what he’d nearly done to his mate still coursing through his veins. But it was hate for his father. How could that be?

Seeming to sense his turmoil, Aurora squeezed his hand. He hadn’t even realized she’d been holding it.

“You stole our lives, Ishara!” Yaskan roared, chest falling as though emotion had caved it in.

She nodded, accepting his words even as tears fell. “I know. And now I need to ask you for a favor.”

The king laughed humorously, gray eyes bulging.

“Help your son and his mate escape.”

The king’s head snapped back, her request hitting him like a slap. “You cared only of my duty to Tuva before, yet now you wish me to abandon that loyalty?”

Rhaego clutched Aurora to him, eyes trained on the king. Khurrik hadn’t been lying. He’d surrendered when he’d found Rhaego fighting through the halls after catching sight of his mating marks. The young buck had helped him slash his way through the palace, as horrified to learn the king was willing to separate mates as he had been. But though he’d cut communication temporarily, the soldiers milling through other parts of the palace would realize something was wrong any minute now. If the king didn’t choose to help them, this would all be for naught.

“Please, my love,” Ishara urged. She closed the distance between herself and Yaskan, placing her palms on his heaving chest. He flinched but didn’t back away. “Help them escape, and if you still want me, I promise to stay here with you.”

The incredulity faded from the king’s face, and a flash of longing swept over his features. Rhaego couldn’t imagine what Yaskan thought of the offer. Would he want her now? After learning the depth of her betrayal?

He thought of Aurora and the desperate craving he had for her and knew the answer. There wasn’t anything she could do, ever, to make him not want her. Even if he hated her, he’d want her.

He saw the moment Yaskan arrived at the same conclusion. His nostrils flared, breath huffing out of him, knowing he had no choice. His eyes bore into Ishara’s a moment longer before he turned his attention on Rhaego. “You’ll be a fugitive, and you will be banished. That’s out of my control.”

Rhaego nodded his understanding.

His glare burned into Khurrik. “You should leave as well.”

Rhaego’s stomach sunk. He turned to look at the male. He had honor and spirit, and now he’d be punished for that. For helping Rhaego.

Khurrik’s chin lifted, expression stony. They locked eyes, and Rhaego sent him a small nod to show he was welcome to join them.

“Follow me,” Yaskan growled. His steps paused, and he pointed at Ishara. “You wait here,” he demanded. She nodded solemnly.

“She didn’t do it.” Aurora tugged at Rhaego’s arm, and he faced her. “It was Diana who sold us out. Ishara went to the dock, waited all night. She loves you so much.”

Rhaego’s throat closed at her words, the welling making it hard to breathe. He cupped the back of her head, drawing her to him so he could press a firm kiss to her forehead.

Slipping out of his mate’s hold, he crossed to his mother. He could tell she knew he was there but refused to meet his eyes. He lifted her chin. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

She glanced to Yaskan, who waited impatiently in the corner. “It’s the best way I know to keep you safe.” Her gaze lifted tremulously. “You’ll call, won’t you? If you can?”

“Of course.” He pulled her into a fierce hug. “Of course I will.”

Ishara pulled herself out of his hold, wiping the wetness from her face. She grinned up at him, resting a hand on his cheek. “My son has a mate,” she whispered, pride pouring off her. Rhaego inflated with warmth.

Her hand dropped, and she stepped away, approaching Aurora. They exchanged words he couldn’t make out, then she embraced her.

“We need to go now ,” Yaskan grumbled.

Maggie shot awkward glances at Ishara as she passed. “Sorry for calling you crazy,” she muttered. She lifted her hand in a gesture he’d seen some humans do, waiting for his mother to slap it with her own. Ishara peered up at her palm, perplexed, and after a moment Maggie dropped her arm. “Uh, no worries.”

They joined the king, who opened a hidden door set in the wall. A dark passageway stretched downward before him, and Yaskan stepped inside, the humans and Khurrik following. Twisting, Rhaego took one last look at his mother, then turned and disappeared into the passage.

Aurora was waiting on the other side when the passage door closed behind him. Yaskan walked ahead, and Maggie and Khurrik walked side by side. The human’s voice carried down the halls. “Tough day, huh, buddy? You did the right thing.” She awkwardly patted the stiff soldier on the shoulder. “Would it make you feel better to chase me around a little? I’ll let you catch me.”

Khurrik’s head snapped down toward Maggie, brows lifting to his horns.

Aurora pulled Rhaego to a stop. Her bloodshot blue eyes were rounded in concern. “Are you okay?”

Warmth coursed through his veins. “I feel the way you described the injured male felt in hospital.”

Her brows rose. “Like you’ve been hit by a car?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. He closed the distance between them and slid his hands over her hips, pulling her against his chest. “Broken, but soaring.” He ran his palms over her body, up her back, across her arms. He was touching his mate. A joy that dimmed all other troubles, albeit temporarily.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, neck craned to peer up at him.

Rhaego knelt before her, bringing her face more in line with his. He slipped a hand along her jaw, then into her hair. The sight of his mating marks peeking through her golden locks made his heart ache. When she leaned into his touch, his purr stirred to life. “Don’t be sorry, little doe. You are my salve.”

Her palm rose to cover his.

“My world is blurred at the moment. I need time to make sense of it all,” he began. “But I love you, Aurora. If no other truth exists in this world, know that will always remain.”

A smile broke across her lips, grin splitting wider by the second.

His fever had always lived inside him, a heat that charred and blistered. He was used to the burn.

But it felt different now.

Aurora’s love tempered it. His fever didn’t hurt anymore. It warmed. Her kindness, her heart soothed his soul.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

Glowing inner light shone out of her eyes, and even in the darkness of the tunnel, he felt as though he were basking in the sun.