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She sat down, angling her body toward me. “I wouldn’t say it was a complete waste,” she said, pulling something from her back pocket.
She handed me a thick stack of folded paper. I gave her a puzzled look but took it from her. She watched as I unwrapped it and scanned the documents, shock hitting me when I saw my family’s name.
“How?” I asked breathlessly.
“I grabbed them as soon as we heard the commotion. I hope some of these are what you need.”
My arms went around her before I realized what I was doing. Her laugh was soft and filled with surprise, but she hugged me back.
“Thank you.” I released her and sank to the floor, spreading out the pages she’d snatched. Neverra joined me, and we searched through the documents. I let out a small cry of victory when I found a bundle that contained my family’s birth records. Neverra leaned close as I read through them, my breath hitching when I came to the lineage.
“What does that mean?” she asked, her brow furrowing as she focused on the records that listed my mother, father, and Gabby but not me. I flipped to the next page and found a separate document used in Eoria and eventually across Onuna—a right of ownership for a child that wasn’t yours. It had my name neatly written across the top.
I placed the pages down, my stomach twisting.
“It means,” I swallowed and sat back, “that Tobias was right. I was adopted.”
Neverra’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
* * *
I sat on the couch, chewing on my thumbnail and staring at the neat stack of papers. Such a small thing to define my life, or was it even my life? I had no idea. A million and one thoughts ran through my mind, all screaming and hateful. One last hurtful barb Tobias had thrown at me.
Neverra had finally left to clean up and check on Logan, but I’d had to force her to go. She hadn’t wanted to leave me alone, but I didn’t want the company. So I did what I always had when something happened. I retreated inward, where I could protect myself behind my impenetrable scales, teeth, and claws. There, I was safe, even if they were only mental right now.
I showered and threw on one of Samkiel’s shirts. It engulfed me, his scent bringing me comfort. Back on the couch, I pulled my thighs to my chest and rested my head on my knees, wrapping my arms around my legs. Who was I? Mer-Ka wasn’t my name. Dianna wasn’t my name. Who were my real parents, my real family? And why did no one tell me? Gabby looked like me. I knew it, but maybe I was wrong.
The wounds on my heart had just begun to heal, and now it felt like they’d ripped open again. They festered, and that cold, unfeeling rage threatened to overwhelm me again. Pain speared through me, and I struck out, toppling the table and scattering the papers across the floor. Lies. My whole life had been nothing but lies. This was just another one, but it felt so much worse. My chest ached like it was seconds away from caving in on itself.
I heard the now-familiar whistle of a god riding the wind. I had not realized it, but subconsciously I listened for that sound. My gaze snapped to the window, and as I tracked the silver light across the sky, the devastating and destructive rage eased. A cooling calm settled over me, a balm against my aching heart. The beast inside me felt him near, knew we were safe, and decided to rest instead.
My first instinct was to hide the documents, but Samkiel wasn’t Kaden. He wouldn’t be mad at me. He wouldn’t punish me for seeking this information. Samkiel would never make me feel less than, but he would be upset with me when he found out I’d gone to Onuna without him and ran into the damned Irvikuva.
I took a shuddering breath. In the intimate moments we had spent over the last days, we had made promises to each other, both spoken and unspoken. We had promised to talk and turn to each other in times of need. I picked up the papers and righted the table. Hearing his armored boots against the stone floor, I set the documents on the tabletop and went to meet him.
Samkiel saw me and stopped. I didn’t know why I was nervous. Maybe it was that I’d never had someone to share anything with besides my sister, and now I was raw knowing she wasn’t truly my sister.
Samkiel’s helmet melted away, revealing the beauty of his face. Gods, I could barely comprehend what I felt for this man. He looked me up and down, curiosity and sparks of silver glinting in his eyes. “It’s yours,” I said, touching the hem of the shirt.
“I see that. I think I might prefer this over the small lacy items you wear, but only slightly.” Samkiel closed the distance between us in two long strides and bent to kiss me. I turned my head, shaking it.
“Hey,” he cupped my chin, turning my face toward him, “don’t do that. Don’t pull away from me. We are not going back to that. Kiss me, Dianna.”
I pressed my fingers to his lips as he leaned down again, stopping him. I looked up at him through my lashes and whispered, “I did something.”
His brows drew together as he mumbled against my fingers, “What did you do?”
I dropped my hand to his chest and looked down, staring at the bright armor. “You can’t get upset.”
His voice dropped an octave. “I make no promises.”
I sighed and met his gaze. “I went to Onuna again.”
“Dianna.” His eyes flared pure silver as he stood up straighter. “Who took you?”
I waved him off, unfazed by the power display. “It’s not important.”
“We talked about this. Dianna, you could….”
