His gaze bores into me. “Because you and I—like it or not, we’re connected.”
He feels it too.
“My mother had an affair, and she got pregnant with me. In Avylon, there are many polyamorous relationships, open relationships, and the likes. However, when a couple declares monogamy, it’s taken seriously. Adultery is enough for one to be exiled by their fellow fae. My parents had gone through the monogamy ritual long before I was born. So when my mother had an affair, it’s no surprise she kept it secret. Especially as a Royal Fae.
“When I was born, I looked just like her—there were never any questions about her fidelity. We might never have known at all, except—”
I wait with bated breath for him to continue. “What happened, Rainer?” Based on the nightmare I witnessed, I think I know where it’s going. “Did your father find out?” I whisper. “Did he kill her?”
Did Rainer witness it all?
He was only a child.
Rainer glances up at me, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.
“Worse,” he says hoarsely. “When I turned eight, the magic from my real father’s bloodline was triggered. A bloodline my mother knew about. But she thought because I looked like her—like a faerie—that I would be unaffected by his bloodline. She chose to keep her secrets and protect herself instead of facing the truth and protecting me. She chose wrong.”
His aversion to blood.
Pushing me away—especially when I was bleeding.
Feeding on Fern.
Demons.
“Who was your father, Rainer?” I ask gently. My head grows light. “What was he? Fae?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Not fae at all.”
thirty-four
Who Was Killed?
Alessia
“He was a demon. A vampyr specifically,” Rainer says. “I’m half-faerie from my mother’s side and half-vampyr from my biological father’s side.
I try not to hyperventilate as my breath comes quick and shallow. It takes a few minutes of focusing on my breathing to calm my body. My skin is sweaty, flushed. I shouldn’t be surprised. I should’ve seen this coming.
Ken had mentioned demons tonight—how they’re hated.
Even Rainer straight up told me he was a demon.
How did it take me so long to see the truth?
Perhaps it‘s because I never imagined such a thing to exist.
He needs blood.
He’s a vampyr.
My mind spirals in circles.
“But you eat doughnuts,” I say lamely. “You like them.”
He chuckles. “I do. I need food to survive, just like other faeries. But I also require blood to replenish my energy and restore my magic.”
I blink a few times, trying to comprehend the idea of drinking blood.