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She’d said something similar there. Was it a coincidence?

“Hey…” My words trailed off—she was already gone. The darkness surrounded me once again.

Finn avoided me at breakfast and disappeared shortly thereafter. But I didn’t care. I was far from ready to talk to him again anyway. The coursing heat of his betrayal, along with something new, still flooded my system.

It felt suspiciously like guilt, which couldn’t be true.

Curse that stupid white tiger. She was the one who didn’t understand.

I’d been named after my mother, and she was dead. The entire time, my ex-best friend knew about this! He’d hid this from me. How was I supposed to feel?

How much more was I supposed to take?

I couldn’t face anyone, not right now. I didn’t need to since Damen had given me a refuge. Instead of socializing, I spent the morning setting up base. And really, my new room was quite pretty. I had been too exhausted and distracted to notice the more minor details of Damen’s craftsmanship.

The man had even decorated the walls and trimmings with gold. Hopefully, it was fake. Otherwise, he really was that terrible with money.

Either way, I hadn’t technically accepted this finery as a gift. I was simply a resident of this establishment. So, there was no reason not to enjoy the riches life had bestowed upon me.

I was quitting school—no more French class for me. I had a space all to myself. I had money—no matter that I couldn’t access it yet. Finally, my little introverted heart was at peace. And now, no prying eyes stalked my every movement.

I lay back on my beanbag chair and studied the strange cherubic paintings on my ceiling. They almost seemed like something from an art history book. Did Damen hire an artist?

I should probably ask him, but then he might flirt with me. Some of the angels were naked, and I’d rather not bring attention to that aspect. Anything with nudity and Damen should be avoided at all costs. What if he grinned crookedly and tempted me to kiss him again?

I had to be ever vigilant.

Ignoring these things was for the best. Life was bliss—

There was a loud knock on my door, and I glanced up as Bryce popped his head into my room.

“Hey,” he said in his usual commanding way. “I need to talk to you.”

I raised my eyebrow, disappointed at the rudeness. Was it not clear that I was busy?

“Brayden wants to talk to you, too,” he added, and the other man followed behind him, smiling apologetically.

Brayden did? Well, if Brayden needed something, it might be important.

I turned onto my stomach, watching as they entered my space.

“You’ve been hiding in your room all day. We’ve been waiting for you to come out.” Bryce gestured around the space, ending at the window seat. “Go sit over there so you’re not sprawled all over the floor.”

“I’m not on the floor,” I argued. I was sitting on a bag filled with polystyrene beans. “And what do you mean ‘all day’? We just had breakfast an hour ago, and I was sleeping before that. I haven’t been hiding.”

“You were sleeping?” Bryce scowled, his eyes tailing over me in disapproval. “That’s even worse. It’s the middle of the afternoon. Is that why you’re still wearing those unsightly pajamas?”

“Finn was there,” I said, not commenting on his lack of fashion sense. “So it wasn’t that late.”

“Finn was there because he was waiting for you.” Brayden rolled his eyes .

“Which, by the way, was also something I wanted to talk to you about.” Bryce crossed his arms, bracing himself on the corner of my vanity. “Nobody outside of the family should be seeing you in your pajamas.”

I made a face at him, noting the warning look that Brayden shot in his direction, but decided not to comment. Why was he so obsessed with what I wore?

Anyway, it didn’t matter. Finn hadn’t even looked at me anyway.

“Sit over there, please.” Bryce changed the subject and looked between me and the window seat. “Properly.”

I sighed and stood. There was nothing better to do, and the quicker we got this over with, the faster he’d leave. Therefore, I dutifully obeyed.

Bryce cleared his throat as he began, “Brayden and I were discussing some of our previous oversights regarding you—”

My alertness sharpened, and I sat up straighter.

“—and we realized that in all the confusion, neither of us had thought to go over the basics.”

Oh. So he planned to lecture me? “The basics of what?”

Brayden sat on the bench beside me. “We completely forgot to tell you about our family. You didn’t even know about our mother.”

The last of my annoyance faded away, and my hands twisted in my skirt. It was a wonder I wasn’t shaking.

“But, Bianca, if you wanted to know, why didn’t you just ask?” Brayden’s face turned sad, and he touched my hand.

Bryce stood, his expression expectant. Meanwhile, Brayden watched me, his gaze unwavering. Sympathy swirled in his gaze, and it caused a shameful heat to fill me.

“You know,” Brayden began. “Dad wants to—”

“I don’t want to talk about him,” I cut him off .

Brayden’s expression tightened, and he glanced at Bryce.

“Tell me about my mother,” I said. Usually, I’d be too shy to seek out this information on my own, but now they were here, trying to reach out.

This, I could handle.

“What do you want to know?” Brayden asked.

“Everything.”

“Um…” He looked at Bryce again.

“Her name was Alyssa Titania Dubois, née Stephens. Her older brother, our uncle, is Arthur Stephens, and her parents, our grandparents, are Oliver and Marianne,” Bryce said.

I bit the tip of my thumb as he spoke. He watched me closely, then continued, “She loved music, art, and plants. She made all sorts of home remedies. She was soft-spoken, gentle, kind—she embodied feminine grace.”

Warmth filled my heart, and the room seemed to brighten. I could picture her now—so elegant and poised, just like a fairy princess.

Brayden let out a laugh.

“What?” Bryce frowned at him.

Brayden gave him an incredulous look. “Are you serious?”

“She was all of those things!” Bryce insisted. “At least to me!”

Brayden rolled his eyes, took my hands, and turned to me.

“Ignore his theatrics,” he said. “I don’t remember much about her, but Bryce isn’t wrong. She was all that. But from what I hear, she was also rebellious—”

“Don’t encourage it!” Bryce interrupted.

“Shut up,” Brayden said, continuing. “Mom was a terrible cook and loved playing pranks. And while it took a lot to make her angry, when she’d finally had enough, she didn’t hesitate to kick some ass.”

I blinked at him, too stunned to speak. But he wasn’t finished .

“Gloria was her godmother, and Mom spent her summers here, always trailing after her. She loved solving mysteries and getting into trouble. Grandfather hated it.”

That sounded kind of fun. “Why did he hate it?”

“She was only allowed out because Grandmother and Gloria are best friends. It’s dangerous for a female fae in this world,” Bryce interrupted. “You’ve seen what can happen!”

Brayden shot him a scathing look, but I was too absorbed in my thoughts to care.

All this new information... She wasn’t just a fairy princess.

She was better.

It was everything I’d ever imagined, but something was still missing. I bit my lip, glancing at Brayden. I wanted to ask, but the words were stuck in my throat.

“What is it?” he asked, gently urging me on.

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the warmth rise to my cheeks. “Do you have a picture of her?” My voice wavered.

“Of course.” Brayden tugged at my hands, waiting for me to open my eyes. And when I did, he smiled. “You only had to ask.”

He looked at Bryce, and my attention turned to the other man. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a heart-shaped locket. By the time he’d finished opening it, the edges of my vision had turned black, and the sound of my heartbeat was all I heard.

I couldn’t speak. I pulled my hands from Brayden, holding them out as Bryce handed me the small frame.

The gold felt hot against my skin, and nervous excitement flooded my body.

As my attention wandered to the picture itself, my breathing shook.

A long-haired brunette woman with rosy pink lips and large eyes smiled back at me.

It was at that instant my world stopped.

The sound of my name echoed through my awareness—Brayden calling for me, first as a question and then in alarm. More commotion pressed in from every direction, fuzzy details in a background that continued to fade from my awareness. Julian was here now, but it didn’t matter.

My body felt numb. It was so cold.

Nothing mattered anymore. I wanted to respond, to scream. But I couldn’t. I was trapped in my mind as Alyssa Dubois’s face stared back at me.

Someone tried to pull the picture away, but I reflexively held it against my pounding chest. I’d let go of her once and couldn’t do it again.

It was my fault. How could I have been so stupid? Why hadn’t I realized?

The things she’d told me, the things she knew about me. The way she’d sing to comfort me in the dark.

I should have made the connection.

Bryce had been wrong.

Her physical death might not have been my fault, but the destruction of her soul had been.