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Arianna and I locked eyes, both caught off guard by his admission. There was something else in her expression, though. Something close to acceptance. Bomani’s word clearly carried weight with her. But my own confusion swallowed that thought quickly enough. At least I knew now he wasn’t going to kill me.

But that name, Starvos Belento Eari, meant nothing to me.

I had never heard it. Not once. Yet something in my chest stirred at the sound of it. Like my body recognized the name even if my mind didn’t. I opened my mouth to ask, but Bomani’s voice rumbled low and final, cutting me off.

“I never thought I would see this day. The Queen’s child… returned.” He let the words settle between us like an old truth finally spoken aloud. He knew my mother. Or at least the woman who claimed me as her son. That thought struck a nerve I didn’t even know existed. Who was she?

I knew she was a queen. Until now that had only been a story. A legend people told me. She had been real before the name. But now the story had a face. A weight. And it left me wondering something I wasn’t sure I wanted answered. Who was I supposed to be? “You knew her?”

Bomani nodded, his expression was almost gentle as he studied me. “She came to me, your mother. In the first months after you vanished. Broken… as ever. The saddest soul I have seen since leaving my home.” His eyes darkened slightly. “I almost pitied her. Almost. But she was still alive—and lucky to be.” He paused before continuing. “She has done things for you, Starvos. Killed for you. I have taken many souls in your name.”

My mind refused to understand what he meant. This man, this monstrous creature, had killed innocent people for me. Blood had been spilled in my name before I had ever even stepped into this world. And that realization didn’t sit well with my spirit.

The idea of being so lost in grief that you’d condemn another soul to death felt almost barbaric. My chest felt as heavy as my thoughts. I had to shove the questions aside just to stay present, or my mind would have collapsed under the weight of them. My mouth hung open as I struggled to think.

The only thing that pulled me back was the press of his shadow against my body. Bomani stepped closer, towering above me. “When you entered the shed earlier… I sensed it. That same floral scent she wore when she begged me to help find you. I opened the door. I had to see.” His voice dropped lower. “And now… I know.” Bomani leaned forward until his breath brushed against my skin. His voice fell to a quiet warning. “You need to remember who you are.”

Before I could think about it, the words slipped out. “I want to know,” I admitted.

I had never struggled with my identity before. These last few days had forced me to question things I had never even considered asking. A long time ago, I stopped thinking about the idea of a biological family, about where I had come from. I accepted the knowledge I had been given, and that had been enough.

Even if it wasn’t much, there was nothing I could do to change it. There had been no point dwelling on people I believed didn’t want me. So I accepted it. Without question. And somehow that had left me more lost than if I had ever challenged it. Mark had questioned things before I even had the words—or the framework, to understand what questions I should be asking. There had never been an alarm bell in my mind telling me something wasn’t normal.

But now I knew there had been another life. Another mother. A woman who had the capacity, the desire, to love me.

And somehow it hurt more knowing she had searched for me and come up empty than if she had never searched at all. I wasn’t just a wound to the land. I had been a wound to her heart. “You have no idea how badly I need answers,” I said quietly. “I have nothing to go on. Just what you tell me. And that name—Starvos? I’ve never heard it in my life.”

Every part of me wanted the knowledge everyone else around me seemed to possess. It felt like walking through murky water, trying to piece together a puzzle buried beneath debris, finding scraps when what I needed was the whole picture. And somehow I knew the portrait forming around me was far bigger than I was.

“That’s where we come in,” Arianna cut in. “I had my doubts. But I trust Bomani. If he says you’re him, then you are. I know Valentina’s father will help you, too. But if you want to protect the ones you love… you need to learn how to fight. This war will not be kind. And it will not be clean.”

My earlier suspicion had been right. Bomani’s word carried more weight with her than mine ever could. I was grateful for him. But as my eyes trailed over his towering frame, I knew I would still keep my guard up. His face held that wild edge that kept you on your toes.

Nodding slowly, my gaze drifted back to Arianna. The stone-set expression on her face told me whatever waited ahead wouldn’t be solved by talk alone. It would take more than the man I was now to heal a kingdom buried in torment for nineteen years. For the first time in days, though, I felt certain of something.

Even if both of them unsettled me in their own ways, there was something genuine in their words. When they spoke, it felt true, easy to believe. And it was better to have them beside me than standing against me. If she was offering her help, it would be foolish to refuse it.

“I’m ready to learn.” The wind ripped through the clearing as I spoke, kicking loose piles of snow around us as if celebrating my decision.

Bomani and Arianna exchanged a look. Something silent passed between them before their attention returned to me. “We start tonight,” Arianna declared. “You’ll spar with me. Bomani will watch and study your flaws. When one of us is down, begging mercy, he’ll tell us what we did wrong. Then we’ll go again. We’ll keep going until dawn.” Her instructions were clear.

A laugh threatened to escape my chest when she volunteered herself as my opponent. “You sure you want to fight me?” I asked, arching a brow.

Arianna’s face remained calm, though amusement flickered across it. “I should warn you,” she said lightly, “you will be no competition. But for you, Bastard King… I will go easy.”

A small smile crept onto her lips. The way she said it, I knew she meant it. She stepped closer, her gaze fixed on mine. “Val will be waking by dawn. Tomorrow we travel to her father’s estate, but not on foot. Even during the day, too many eyes will be watching. You’ll rest during the journey. Your body will start learning how we move.” She didn’t blink as she spoke. Every word carried quiet certainty.

“Okay,” I said. Whatever came next, I wanted to be ready. And for once, it felt like I had chosen the right path.

Bomani laid down one rule: Don’t stray.

We were to stay within the open field, far from towns, far from curious eyes. It stretched wide, easily the size of two football fields, ringed by towering trees that stood like silent sentinels. Snow blanketed everything, swallowing sound.

A frozen arena.

Before we began, they made one thing clear: don’t go easy on Arianna just because she was a woman. This realm didn’t care about gender. Power was power. And underestimating it could get you killed. We took our positions twenty feet apart, snow crunching beneath my boots.

Arianna crouched low like a feline, her head tilted forward, eyes slitted with a smile that never reached her teeth. She looked just as menacing as she had when she’d pinned me with her shadows. The darkness curled around her like flame licking the surface of the sun, beautiful and horrifying all at once.