Page 35

DRAKE

M elodina looked so small in my large bed.

Her little hand fisted the edge of the sheets; her eyelids shut as her chest rose and fell with even breaths.

The female healer, Ralani, stood at Melodina’s bedside.

Her arms were outstretched, her hands hovering over Melodina’s body as an aura glowed from Ralani’s palms. The same teal-colored aura that consumed my daughter.

Our daughter…

It was still hard to process that Ember and I had conceived a child together.

This little life that I stood next to. Ember was at my side, her fists pressed against her lips, and she watched the healer at work.

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She flashed me a grateful smile, then returned her attention to our daughter.

The teal aura dissipated, and the healer lowered her arms to her sides. She looked toward Ember and me. “She will be fine,” Ralani said, a soft smile curving her mouth. “She just needs a little bit of rest. She’s in a deep sleep now as her body is recovering. ”

“Has there…,” Ember swallowed as if fighting for composure. Her eyes shone with moisture, and my gut clenched. “Will there be any irreparable damages to Melodina?”

The healer’s eyes shone with understanding. She shook her head. “No. Thankfully, her energy was just drained.” She dipped her head toward me. “You have a strong daughter. Not many would have survived such an intricate spell as a Soul Drain.”

My muscles unfurled as a wave of relief washed over me. I nodded at Ralani. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. I will be back to check on her once she awakens.” Her gaze flitted from Ember to me. “I will leave you two then.” She curtsied and then circled us before sweeping out of the room.

Once the door clicked shut behind us, Ember faced me. “I…want to thank you, Drake. For saving my daughter.” Her eyes filled with tears as she gave a wet smile. “You didn’t have to go back for her. But you did. So…thank you.”

“There’s no thanks needed, Ember,” I said softly. “I will always be there for my family.”

I didn’t miss the flare of unease that flickered across Ember’s eyes. My lips thinned before I added, “Why don’t you and Melodina stay here?”

Ember’s brows rose. “Here?”

I nodded slowly. “Yes.” I reached out and grasped her hands in mine. “We can be a family, the three of us. Now that Melodina’s in my life, we don’t have to be apart ever again.”

For a brief moment, I thought I saw sadness flash across her face. Then it was gone. She shook her head.

“Melodina and I are leaving once she’s fully healed. ”

I blinked. “Leaving? And going where?”

Ember gave me a dry look as if that were obvious. “Back to my home.”

Anger whipped up within me. “You mean, back to the human realm?” I spat.

Ember ripped her hands from mine, her eyes hardening. “Yes,” she said, her voice firm. “My home. Where Melodina has friends, school—a life.”

I shook my head fiercely. “That’s no life, Ember, and you know it. What happens when Melodina comes of age and her magical abilities start to manifest?”

Fear washed over Ember’s face. “Manifest?” She whispered.

“Yes! Something every fae child goes through,” I snapped. “She’ll need someone to help her reign in her abilities. And as my daughter, her abilities are sure to be powerful. How will you hide that from the humans?”

Ember licked her lips. “I-I’ll find a way!” She shot back. “After all, she is my daughter too, and that makes her half-werewolf. Who's to say she won’t take after me? What if she has no magical abilities?”

I barked in laughter though there was no mirth behind it.

“Like that is even possible.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Let’s just say for the hell of it that she doesn’t have any fae abilities.

Don’t you wolves go through a first shift where your bestial side takes control?

You plan on hiding that from the humans too? ”

Ember’s skin paled, her gaze unseeing as she stared at the floor.

I stalked toward her, gripping her shoulders.

Her head whipped up, her gaze colliding with mine.

In her eyes, I read a slew of emotions. Fear, anger, hurt, desperation.

They melded together like a storm cloud building with electrical activity.

“Why can’t you just stay here, both of you, with me?” I asked, hating how desperation laced my tone.

Ember’s chin wobbled, her eyes bright with tears, before she blinked them back. Anger flashed in her eyes. Throwing up her hands, she sliced herself out of my hold. “You don’t want me, remember? You never have.”

My mouth fell open. “Ember, that’s not?—”

“Don’t you dare say that isn’t true,” she hissed, her fangs lengthening. She jabbed a finger at me. “I was rejected by you , remember?”

My mind raced back to the day I stood in the gardens with Ember, Rosalana at my rear.

We can’t be mates…

Those words still haunted my waking moments and plagued my dreams. My heart writhed as I looked upon the hurt that still twisted Ember’s features. I set my jaw, and any words I had left to say died in my throat.

Ember’s upper lips peeled back. “You just want Melodina. Not me.” She bared her fangs at me. “You can’t have her,” she growled.

“Momma…?” A small voice croaked.

Both Ember and I whipped our gaze toward the bed. Melodina’s eyes were fluttering open. Ember rushed to sit beside her on the bed. She smoothed a hand down her dark hair.

“I’m right here, sweetheart,” Ember told Melodina, her tone soothing .

Melodina smiled through her tears. She reached out and hugged her mother tightly around her waist. Ember returned the embrace.

“I missed you, Mama,” Melodina cried, fat tear droplets slipping down her ruddy cheeks.

Ember’s eyes filled with tears. “I missed you too, Mellie. You’re safe now. It’s all over.” She pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “No one will hurt you ever again.”

My chest swelled with emotion as I watched mother and daughter reunite. A knot lodged inside my throat; though I swallowed, it wouldn’t disappear.

“That bad man, the one with the long white hair,” Melodina said, “he took me because he said his land needed me. H-he took me to that room and hurt me really bad. I was hurting in a weird circle on the floor.”

Ember shushed her daughter. “There’s no need to talk about it,” she said softly. “Just focus on resting and getting better, okay honey?”

Melodina stiffened. I raised a brow as the child slowly pulled away from Ember, a frown creasing her small brow. “Mama, the fairies do exist. That man showed me a unicorn outside and his pointed ears. Fairies are real.” Her lower lip trembled. “Why did you lie to me?”

Ember’s face twisted as if she’d been run through by a sword.

“Sweetie, I-I never meant to lie to you,” Ember said, her voice tight with sadness.

She reached a hand for Melodina, but her daughter shrank back, her frown deepening.

Ember’s eyes widened in shock. She lowered her hand.

Ember blinked, licking her lips, then added, “I never told you of your heritage because I was trying to protect you. ”

Melodina’s chest heaved as she fought for breath, her breathing quickening. “He said I’m a fairy too, Mama! Or fae is what he said.” She pointed at her mother. “And I saw you turned into a big dog!” Her eyes popped wide.

I would have smirked, having found the scene amusing, if it weren’t for Ember’s stricken expression and my daughter having a panic attack.

I moved to comfort her. That’s when Melodina’s gaze swung to me.

Her eyes were questioning as she cocked her head, her tears ebbing.

Her breaths slowly began to even out as she assessed me, her blue eyes—a mirror image of her mother’s—narrowing slightly.

“You’re that man that was in the room with me,” Melodina said, blinking up at me. Her eyes slowly widened in realization. “You saved me from the weird circle! Who are you?”

I stared at my daughter in open astonishment. I was still reeling from the fact that I was conversing with my daughter, my five-year-old daughter, who I was meeting for the first time. I stepped forward till I stood right in front of her, staring down at her—my lips parted.

Then Ember heaved a weary sigh. She looked at Melodina. “This man is your father, Melodina.”

Melodina’s head whipped toward her mother. Her body froze, unnaturally still. She gaped at her mom. Then a fresh stream of tears spilled down her cheeks in rivulets. “Y-you said my Papa was dead,” she gasped with a sob.

Ember’s own tears rained anew. “I-I’m so sorry, Mellie. Please know that I couldn’t tell you about your father for your protection!”

A knot of anger festered inside my chest at Ember’s words.

Does she really think I posed a threat to my own daughter? !

Ember placed a hand on Melodina’s shoulder, but the child tore away from her contact.

Melodina shrank in on herself, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

The child obviously felt betrayed and hurt by the lies her mother had told her all these years.

Ember’s hand hovered in the air, her fingers quivering as she stared at her daughter—as if lost, unable to piece together the damage she’d caused.

Ember’s hand slowly sank to the bed. She slammed her eyes shut and bit her bottom lip hard.

A flicker of guilt flared inside me but was shortly extinguished by anger and hurt, especially for my daughter’s tears.

I sat on the bed next to Melodina. As soon as the bed dipped under my weight, Melodina clung to me, her small arms wrapped around my waist, her tiny fingers digging into my sides.

I held her close to me, whispering soothing words to her in the language of the Fae.

The foreign tongue seemed to calm her, for her crying lessened.

“Melodina, we have to go home,” Ember told her daughter. “Once you’re rested, we’ll leave.” Her gaze held mine, determination glinting in the deep blue of her eyes.

I opened my mouth, a wicked retort on my tongue, when Melodina said, “I’m not going home!”

Both Ember and I stilled.

“What did you just say?” Ember asked, her brows raised.

Melodina turned her head to face her mother—her eyes blazing. “I said I’m not going home. I want to stay here and be with Papa! To learn more about Papa!”

Horror washed over Ember’s face. I allowed a wicked smirk to tug at my lips.

Ember glared at me, but before she could say anything else, I looked at Melodina and said, “You can stay with me. You and your mama. We can all be a big, happy family.” I cupped her cheek, smiling down at her. “How does that sound?”

“Now, wait just a min?—”

“Yay!” Melodina cried, hugging me tighter.

If Ember had the power, I knew her glare alone would smite me where I sat. I simply grinned back at her.