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Ellie

“This was definitely not on my BINGO card for this year,” I said as I locked gazes with the person I was meeting.

Aurora Reed gave an elegant snort. “And your disgusting father showing up after decades to try to sell you yet again was?”

“This year? No, but I always knew Kenneth would poke his head out again and try for me,” I answered as I sat down in the private dining room I’d arranged for this meeting. “He will never change, and the gods themselves cannot get through to him that I am not his property to do with as he wants.”

She gave another snort but let me get out the rest of what I was clearly carrying.

“But I haven’t seen you in centuries and—”

“Not by my choice,” she said so quietly that I barely heard her.

I opened my mouth to press what that meant or demand answers, but I realized she wasn’t in good shape. Her aura was flashing signs of pain from nutrition deficiencies.

It almost made me feel bad for what I was about to do.

Almost.

I thanked the manager who came in with the cart, giving her a nod it really was okay.

“Well, as I said, I wasn’t ready for your visit, especially you showing up to camp out at my condo building.

The hospital orders catering from this restaurant all the time and they were able to swing this for me before they open for lunch. I promise it’s all delicious.”

She nodded and smiled at the manager. “It all looks lovely. I appreciate you taking such good care of my daugh—” She swallowed loudly when I cleared my throat. “Stepdaughter. Thank you.”

“Enjoy,” the manager muttered… And got the hell out of there.

I didn’t blame her and wanted to do the same. Really, I did.

As much as I wanted to jump to the questions I wanted answered and could maybe get the answers to finally since she clearly needed help, I didn’t think I could focus until I understood the current situation.

“Why are you so hungry and thirsty? Down on blood? What did you mean that you wanted to see me but couldn’t? ”

She finished delicately hurrying to eat the quarter sandwich she’d taken before having a sip of the iced tea. Her eyes flashed shock. “That’s lovely. Blackberry? So refreshing.” She remembered herself and met my gaze, her eyes full of sadness. “Would you believe a word I told you?”

I snorted. At least she was that honest with herself as opposed to before.

Aurora let out a slow breath. “I won’t ever ask for your forgiveness, Ellie.

I don’t deserve it.” She nodded when my eyes went wide.

“Please, understand now that it’s centuries later—I was a child .

I’m fifteen years older than you. I was thirteen when I was shipped off to be Kenneth’s bride.

I menstruated and that was it. Shipped off. ”

I held up my hand to her. “You’re right that we do need to have this conversation, and I’m not sure I ever knew you were that young.

I don’t know that I can forgive you, but…

I do want the details and to understand.

” I gave her a minute with that. “But I cannot right now. I have too much on my plate and your pain is distracting. So let’s handle that. ”

She sighed. “It’s sort of all tied in, but fine, the raw facts are when you fled I used the last of my squirreled away money to send Theresa away as well.

I knew what I was doing and he spent—he took all his anger out on me.

I accepted that as the distraction to get you both out of range of his insanity.

” She snickered and wiped her eyes. “Inbreeding. Monster.”

I couldn’t have agreed more.

“I sent a messenger to my family, a witness that he had wanted to inbreed and I’d had to send you away for your safety. They did nothing.” She snickered again. “Nothing until he lost the coven and that was enough embarrassment. They sent guards and reclaimed me saying he broke the mating contracts.

“That their daughter was to be the mate of a coven leader, not just any pauper. They took what they could…” She let out a slow breath and quickly wiped under her eyes.

“I’ve been there ever since. Kenneth wouldn’t sign the papers to dissolve the marriage.

I couldn’t be resold. My parents wanted to use me as bait for Theresa so they could have her in their portfolio.

“They knew they had no claim on you, but my mother still wanted me to make contact and—I wanted to contact you, Ellie. If you believe nothing else, please believe that I desperately wanted to check in on you and make sure you were okay. I had no idea how. I couldn’t risk being the reason people found you or you were scooped up. ”

I did actually believe that. Mostly because of her aura. Aurora Reed was an accomplished actress, but the defeat and wear on her… I didn’t think she had it in her at the moment.

“What happened now that you’re here?”

She blinked back tears as she met my gaze.

“I’m no longer sellable or have any value.

The sins I committed that they always knew about were outed and it was deemed that I’m an asset not worth saving.

They tossed me out with the kindness of letting me portal to anywhere and one bag of possessions the butler inspected. ”

“After keeping you captive for hundreds of years until they could resell you and get their claws into Theresa?” I checked, disgusted when she nodded. “So you came to me for help to get them arrested?” I frowned when shock lit up her face. “You don’t want to go after them?”

“It never crossed my mind. I’m theirs—I’ve always been theirs to do with—”

“You’re not , Aurora,” I hissed. “You’re not property. They’ve been breaking the law for over fifty years . You’ve had a choice in everything for fifty fucking years now.”

Tears overflowed her eyes in a way I’d never seen.

“The only choices I’ve ever made were so wrong and cursed that I don’t deserve to make anymore.

And yet I still don’t regret them because you were born.

I know I’ll end up in hell for my sins, but you were worth it, and this world needs you, Ellie. ”

Well, shit . What did someone say to that?

I wasn’t sure, but I still didn’t understand what was going on, my mind spinning. “Why are you here then, Aurora? Why did you take your one portal to come see me? Why are you so down on nutrients?”

She waved off the last question. “I’ve been this way for hundreds of years.

Ever since I tried to escape to find you and Theresa to make sure you were safe.

I didn’t bring anything into the family to deserve real meals or blood.

Besides, I’d already been married, and that was a huge strike against me, so I needed to keep my beauty and figure to be resold. ”

Jesus Fucking Christ. How had I never—the mind really forgot things. Or maybe it was because so many women talked like this hundreds of years ago that I didn’t notice.

But to hear her speak of herself like this now killed me.

It really did.

“Why me and not Theresa?” I pushed.

“Because you got your wish and she hates me for ruining her life,” she said but then frowned, seeming confused. “That’s true but not why you first. I don’t know where she is and I do you.”

“And you need my help whereas—”

“I didn’t come for help,” she corrected.

She nodded when I studied her but then sighed.

“Ellie, you’re too kind for your own good.

You’re going to offer it. We both know that.

I didn’t come here for your help. I came to…

You were right. I was selfish and horrible.

I…” She frowned again and was quiet as she seemed to collect her thoughts. “I thought it wasn’t so bad.”

“Now?”

“Now I know I’m a monster, but I’m conflicted because the world needs you,” she whispered.

She shook her head when I argued that was an excuse.

“You cured cancer in vampire children. You did that. You—how many children have been saved from that death sentence? It was an automatic death sentence! You did that.”

I swallowed loudly, knowing the signs of trauma well. “You knew someone.”

Aurora let out a slow breath. “My younger sister. She was five. I was eleven. It wasn’t called cancer back then but the childhood blood sickness.

People thought it might be contagious.” She wiped her eyes.

“They locked her in a tower to die. Months later, servants carried out her rotten corpse and she didn’t even get a real burial.

Why bother for a girl who caused problems? ”

“Most do not know I was the one who did it—made that advancement in medicine,” I muttered. “I would appreciate you not boasting about it now that you’re free.”

Because most knew it was the founder of ASH who had developed the treatment for curing childhood vampiric leukemia.

“Of course.” She studied me several moments.

“I shouldn’t have done what I did. I understand it was wrong on many levels now instead of being so young and misguided thinking protecting a maid was better than the horrors that happened to them at my family’s castle.

That should never have happened. That was the real answer. None of it should ever have happened.”

“But if you say you regret it, you say you regret me being born,” I surmised, comprehending the speedbump we were going to keep hitting.

“Yes, and I won’t ever do that. I do and have always loved you too much for that,” she whispered. “I know I failed you in so many ways and you are valid to doubt everything, but I love you like my own, Ellie. I always have.”

Part of me believed that and I hated myself for it, deciding to get my other answers. “Is my mother alive?”

“I have no idea. I doubt it,” she said too fast, looking horrified.

“What was she? What am I? ” I pushed.

“She said her mother was one of the last—” Aurora slapped her hand over her mouth… And slowly looked at the iced tea. She covered her face and cried when she fully understood what I’d done.

And I felt like the monster. I swallowed loudly and felt horrible.