Page 121 of In The Dark

I’m heir to both realms.

What’s Rydian going to think?If he knew about this—my real father—would he still want me? I might be considered heir to Aurelia, but would he allow me to accept it? But what if he already knows? He would tell me if he did, right?

My thoughts spiral as I think of the king I began envisioning a life with, but now… now I’m not so sure. My future suddenly feels uncertain, my stomach curling at the thought. Rydian just became an enemy.

Maybe not in my eyes, but I would be in his, especially if myfather is King Elion. Rydian would expect me to take Elderheim, not Aurelia. Elynor wasn’t even a Vaelborne.

He’ll never trust me, regardless of how I feel about him. He’ll always see me as his enemy.Gods, I feel sick.

“Please sit, Isa,” Milena says quietly, but my chest tightens, suddenly feeling as if I can’t breathe. Frowning, I close my eyes and take a deep breath and sit, but my legs begin to tremble.

“What do I do?” I ask. Panic threatens to take hold, because whatcanI do? I have no one to confide in.

“You pretend that you don’t know. He’s cruel, and if there’s anything I’ve learned from working with him, it’s that you need to stay one step ahead. Keep it to yourself and use it, because he will use you and he will not apologize for it.”

I bite my lip as my thoughts continue to whirl, sitting with what she’s advised. I know deep down what she says is true, so I’ll keep it to myself. Which means I can’t tell anyone, not Rydian or the others—not even Ezra.

Gods, I want to tell Ezra.He would know what to do, wouldn’t he? But I’ll form a plan and stay one step ahead.

Milena extends her hand. “I need to see what you have.”

Sucking in a long breath, I grab the crystal from the inside of my cloak. A bright yellow glow whirls wildly within the crystal as if trying to escape.

Her eyes go wide, lost to the sight of it. “How did you get this?”

“That’s not important. I just want to know if it’s mine or not,” I say, hoping she doesn’t ask for more information.

She glances at me before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and hovering a hand over the crystal. She’s feeling it—the energy.

I’m silent as she hovers her hand between us, watching the yellow frantically swirl around like it’s aware. She yanks her hand back, eyes snapping to mine, and nods.

Relief washes over me with a rough exhale. “What now?”

“Well, do you want them back?” she asks cautiously.

I pause. That was the plan—getting them back.

But I find myself hesitating if only for a moment before nodding, realizing very quickly that Idowant them back. I want the past that was stolen from me, something that should have never left me in the first place.

“How does it work?”

“Placing them back or taking them?” she asks, and I realize she has only given us the very basics of what it takes to siphon memories. Curiosity tugs at me, and I find myself wanting to learn more.

“Both,” I say.

“Do you want more tea?” she asks, and I nod. “When Elion first started experimenting, I didn’t know what to expect. I went in blind, as it was something no one had ever tried before. I wrote everything in a notebook as I worked, writing down anything significant—good or bad.” She sits across from me again.

“And what did you discover?”

Her brows pinch. “I discovered that us Siphons can’t see the memories, but what we can do is feel them based on your essence. Think of your memories as a web tied to your specific essence signature. Each memory is connected to this web through shared experiences, emotions, or people. Through that signature, we’re able to pull memories tied to those emotions or experiences. They act like markers in a way, allowing the Siphon to identify and target clusters of memories without seeing them.”

“So there’s a chance that whoever took my memories hasn’t actually seen anything?” I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly relieved that no one was able to see my stolen memories—whatever they are.

“Yes, that’s correct. They must know what to look for. All we can feel is a signature tied to that event or emotion, so it’s likelythat when they took something, they took everything regarding that moment.”

Like my parents. Aurelia. My childhood.

“And how do you place them back? Will it hurt?” I ask.