Page 22

Chapter twenty-two

Roisin

M other dropped her gaze to Father. “Forgive me, please?”

“I love you, Niamh. There’s nothing you can do that would change my feelings for you.”

“But I’ve kept a secret from you for years.”

Father’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“Your grandfather died at the hands of a Siren.”

“What does my grandfather’s death have to do with your secret?”

“Everyone comprehended your father despised the Sirens because of it,” Mother said.

“The same way we despised the Trappers.”

“But we only despised the ones who hurt us, not all humans,” Mother said. “Your father seemed to blame them all.”

“He believed it was the Siren Queen herself who killed him. It wasn’t until later we learned it was her evil twin sister. By then, he’d found it hard to not despise them. ”

“Every Fae understood not to mention Sirens to your father when he was the king,” Mother said. “When he requested I sing at your two hundredth birthday ball, I didn’t understand where my unusual power came from. It wasn’t until Saltine…”

“You’d believed your voice had tricked me into thinking I was your mate,” Father said.

“Aye.”

“But I recognized you were mine, and it wasn’t a trick of magic.”

“You did.” Mother’s eyes welled with tears. “I wanted to believe you, to believe I was yours. It wasn’t until Saltine did her spell that I realized for sure my power hadn’t tricked you.”

“I remember taking you to Saltine’s house, but you never said what happened, and it wasn’t in your memories when I marked you.”

“She’d placed a blocking spell on that moment so you wouldn’t see. She thought you wouldn’t want me if you learned the truth.”

“I always want you.”

Mother sucked in a deep breath, then said, “Saltine’s spell revealed I had Siren blood in my veins and that was the reason my voice tricked men into thinking they were my mate.”

Father stood slowly.

Mother rushed on to say, “She did a spell to remove the power of the Sirens and made it so I wouldn’t inadvertently pass it on to any of my children as had happened on the rare occasion in my family. It was such an unusual power, and it didn’t happen often. No one understood where it came from. There were rumors, of course, but we didn’t believe them. Siren offspring always stay in the Autumn Court and become Sirens, so we didn’t think it was real.”

“But it was real?” Father asked.

Mother nodded and bit her lip. “Do you hate me?”

Father frowned. “Why would I hate you?”

“I lied to you for years. I’m a descendant of the people who killed your grandfather.”

“Oh, Niamh, I’d never hate you. You could tell me a thousand lies, and I’d still love you. You could have been the one to kill my grandfather, and I’d still love you. My love for you is endless.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing that would stop me from loving you.”

Mother sniffed, then buried her face in Father’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her while she sobbed.

“I can’t believe you kept the secret for so long.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “Why?”

“Saltine said I needed to.”

Father kissed her forehead.

“So that means we all have Siren blood in us?” Aislinn asked.

“Aye,” Mother said.

A ripple of murmurs ran through everyone, but I stared at Mother and Father. The absolute love and devotion of fated mates had made me want to keep the rest to myself, but I had to consider Brandon, who’d sacrificed himself to help me.

“There’s more,” I said, standing once again. “Do you know, Mother?”

“Know what, sweetheart?”

I tilted my head to the side. “You don’t know, do you?”

“I’ve told all my secrets.”

I hauled in a breath. “While Father was unconscious, I went to Earth.”

Father let go of Mother and opened his mouth.

“That’s not all. I went to the Winter Court.”

His mouth snapped shut.

“The Demon King told me we’re related to Sirens. I learned your secret, Mother, but I didn’t believe him. You know what else he told me?” I looked around at my siblings, then settled my gaze on Mother’s face, so I’d be sure she didn’t know this secret. “That we’re also related to him!”

The shock on Mother’s face wasn’t fake. She didn’t know. Father’s face was equally shocked.

“They’re holding Brandon, a member of the Fellowship who was protecting me, hostage, so I’ll return with the family. The Demon King wants to talk to Mother in particular, but he wants to meet the rest of us. The rest of his family.”

“No,” Rian said, standing too. “They’re lying.”

“Why would they tell me the truth about the Siren heritage and lie about the Demon part?” I asked .

“I’m not sure,” Rian said. “They’re planning something. Perhaps they were the ones who sent the Trappers after us.”

“Stop. The Trappers came from a person drinking from the Infinite Spring. The power corrupted them,” Ciara said. “It’s why the Fellowship protects it.”

“No, the Fellowship protects us,” I said.

“The two springs connect so the same thing,” she said.

And so, the bickering went on between my brothers, sisters, and their fated mates. Mother and Father huddled together whispering, but each time I tried to listen to their conversation, my sister or brother would drag me back into the argument.

“Enough,” Father bellowed. “Sit.”

Everyone startled and returned to their seat.

“Your Mother and I will go to the Winter Court with Roisin.” He glared at me as though he wanted to yell at me for going. “Rian, you’ll stay here until I return. As will the rest of you.” He glared at each of my siblings. “No more arguing. Period.”

“Father?” Saoirse asked.

“Aye?”

“If it’s true, is it a good thing or a bad thing that we’re related to the demon royalty?”

“Demons are very loyal to their families, so if it’s true, no harm will come to us, to any of you from the demons.”

“And if it’s a trap to kill you?” Lorcan asked.

“Then you’ll all be in the best place to protect you.”

“What about the Veil?” Ciara asked. “Sir Axis was quite clear you needed to lift the lock. ”

“I’ll need to lift the lock to travel to the Winter Court,” Father said.

I lifted the stone from my hidden pocket in the dress. “The demon princess gave me this. She said it would transport us to the Winter Court.”

Father placed his hand over the rock. “No. We’ll go in our way. Then I’m certain I’ll have a way to get you and your mother out safely.”

I didn’t like his words. Did that mean he’d put his life on the line yet again to put our safety first?

“And just when we thought everything was going our way,” Briana said.

I glanced across the table at Briana, to the man sitting beside her who was her fated mate. Sledge, the Alpha wolf shifter, so different from the Fae Briana had chosen as a mate until his untimely death at the hands of the Trappers.

“Roisin, we’ll head to the tower,” Father said.

“Why?” Briana asked.

“I need to destroy it to unlock the Veil,” Father said. He tucked Mother’s arm through his and led her from the dining hall.

Everyone followed. I didn’t expect them to stay behind. I sidled up next to Briana as we walked out of the palace.

“Can I talk to you alone, please?” I glanced at Sledge beside her.

“Of course.” She squeezed Sledge’s arm, and he dropped behind us a few paces. “Wolf shifters have good hearing. He’ll hear you, anyway. ”

“I understand, but I didn’t want to upset the happiness you two have together.”

Briana smiled. “You saw Mother and Father today. There is nothing that can tear apart fated mates.”

“I saw. That’s why this is even harder,” I said. “Were you truly happy with your chosen mate?”

Briana’s smile fluttered. “I have a lot of happy memories with him. I loved him greatly.”

“That’s what everyone said to me when explaining why you were so sad all the time. Was it worth it though? To love him and lose him? Are the happy memories enough to warrant the pain?”

Briana’s steps slowed and gave us more distance from the rest of the family.

“You’ve fallen in love with a man who’s not your fated mate?”

“I believe so.”

“Oh, Roisin.” She sighed. “I wouldn’t wish that pain on my greatest enemy, let alone my sister.”

“So, I should ignore my feelings and wait for my fated mate?”

She grasped my hand and squeezed. “I can’t decide that for you. Only your heart can tell you if it wants to take that leap into love knowing it will end. If I’d known I’d lose a mate and a child, then no, I doubt if I had the chance to rewrite history that I’d do it again. I loved them both so very much and the pain was so great. It still is some days. Thank Dia fate sent me Sledge to heal my pain, to show me there’s still love after experiencing a loss so intense that I didn’t comprehend how to function.”

I sniffed back the sudden onslaught of tears threatening to fall.

“Roisin, I recognize you don’t like us telling you that you’re young, but compared to the rest of us, you are. Now they fixed the spring you have endless years to find your fated mate.”

“I understand all this, but…”

“But your heart wants him?”

“Aye. I don’t understand how it happened, but it does.”

Briana puffed out a laugh. “I tried to reject Sledge for so long because I didn’t believe my heart would take loving and losing again, but my heart had other ideas too. Sometimes the brain and heart war yet the heart always wins.”

“I’m glad your heart won. I like Sledge.”

“Dia, don’t say that. He already has too big an ego.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the hulking wolf shifter. He smirked at me.

Laughingly, I said, “I doubt his ego can get any bigger.”

“I heard that,” Sledge said.

“I wanted you to,” I said over my shoulder.

“So, who is it?” Briana asked.

“Brandon the Fellowship member.”

“A human.”

Behind us, Sledge let out a low whistle.

“So, you going back to the Winter Court isn’t purely for what the demons told you? ”

“I can’t leave him there. He’s only stuck there because of me.”

“Mother and Father aren’t dumb. They’ll see how you feel about him, and then what?”

I shrugged because I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do about my feelings for the human.

“So long as I rescue him, then that’s all that matters. I’ll decide about the other predicament later.”

“Humans don’t have a lot of later. At least when I chose my mate, he was Fae, and I’d expected him to live forever like me. You’d be signing up to have your heart broken in no time at all.”

My heart was already breaking being away from him, so hearing her say all my thoughts out loud didn’t stop the way my heart raced at the idea we’d soon be back in the Winter Court, and I’d soon be near Brandon again. My skin buzzed with power so fiercely, it surprised me ice didn’t cover my hands.

We caught up to the rest of the family as they stood outside the tower. Father had made the tower to create a contained doorway through the Veil, so he’d still protect Fae when they traveled to Earth. He’d even issued guards to travel with anyone who left. Some Fae had tried it and returned. My brothers and sisters had used it too. I wouldn’t get the chance.

Father was about to unlock the Veil and change Fae history.