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“So this is a war room,” I said, aiming for a joke that didn’t quite land.

I got no reply until they both climbed down and closed the hatch behind them.

“Yes, Prince Alex. It is,” Draco said, moving to stand beside the hooded figure. He rested a hand on the figure’s shoulder. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet. He has been waiting as long as your mother to see you again.”

Anticipation built through my body as the figure finally lifted his hood, letting it fall to his shoulders. The face that was revealed I in a thousand lifetimes wouldn't have imagined. It's not that I knew him, but I did. There was a part of me who recognized him as soon as I was in that room above the undercroft.

Thick platinum-blond curls cascaded down his chest—long, like mine, though a few shades paler. The man's face had the same charm, just a bit more chiseled. His nose was rounded but fitted to his face, and his eyes were these beautiful gray-blue set in an almond shape. He was pale but not like Lord Draco, more sun-kissed to balance his platinum. There was a distinctive red burn on one of his eyes. Recognition knifed through me—the snowfield, the lightning, the scar. Him.

He had my frame. My height. He almost looked like… me.

“It’s good to finally meet you, my child,” he said softly. “We have a lot to discuss.”

TAINTED| CHAPTER 15

Reminisce

The room held a breath of silence as our gazes met. Those two words meant everything and nothing at the same time. ‘My child.” That felt like a claim he didn’t have, but somehow my body understood it more than my mind wanted to. My mark that branded my chest tightened underneath the tunic. It was like my soul wrestled against flesh within his presence. But I stood silently, taking him in.

His features were otherworldly; he wasn’t exactly pale like Lord Draco, but sun-kissed the way sand is in summer. The warmth of his hair made him look softer than he was, and his eyes were the purest blue, glacier water, sharp and cold. But it was the features we shared that struck me most. The way our eyes sat just a breath apart gave us both an air of innocence. Our noses sloped into soft buttons the same way. Even our mouths matched, mine only a little fuller. He could have been my twin if not for the difference in tone.

This man should have felt like a stranger, yet his eyes held a different story. They were clear and filled with an underlined excitement that couldn’t be contained. Not even in the low light of the candles was there a bright white twinkle in his irises.

A part of me felt overwhelmed by the sudden revelation, but the inner child in me couldn’t help being thrilled just to be in his presence. When I wondered about who my father would be, I thought he could be some pro-athlete. He was never what I would have come up with because he looked more like a King. What I imagined was never this exaggerated. But honestly, I never pictured it because my family was mine. Getting to meet my biological family was almost one of my wildest dreams come true, but it was surreal all the same.

When Valentina told me I was born of adultery, I hadn’t given him a single thought. Not that I wasn’t curious about him. It just seemed further from possible with all the scrutiny surrounding my birth. I assumed he’d been killed when they discovered he’d lain with my mother. If the King wanted me dead, the innocent party, he must have wanted him too.

His gaze tracked my every movement while mine studied him in return. The silence continued to press between us, no one breaking it. This could have been some illusion of the senses, like the mist. I could have been imagining it all. I couldn’t bring myself to believe my brain would do that to me. Lord Draco had said he’d been planning my arrival, so he had to be a part of that plan. But maybe he wasn’t who he said he was.

My eyes could be deceiving me.

My senses had been the sharpest they ever were. From scent to taste, everything was heightened, so this couldn’t be its only flaw. My eyes couldn’t be lying to me. He looked like me, but in truth, I resembled him. And that scent of his did something to me that couldn’t be anything other than familial. “You could be lying,” I stated, simply cautious. It sounded ridiculous with the evidence right there in his face, but I asked anyway.

Smiling, he said, “That’s fair. I could be,” his head tilted to the side, pondering a thought. “If you’re anything like me, belief doesn’t come easy. You need proof.” His voice carried a tide of ease through the room, like it wanted to coax me toward calm. He ran a hand through his curls, still watching.

His voice coaxed me to speak more truthfully than I wanted to admit to a stranger. “Honestly, this whole week’s been one hit after another. I haven’t even had the chance to question anything,” I admitted. In truth, it wasn’t just his voice that made me want to admit it. It was then that I saw my own features reflected in his, too many to ignore. A part of me wanted to have someone who looked like me to relate to. I never had that experience of having an older version of myself reflecting back at me. I couldn’t deny who he was. I was being forced to face every secret.

With that internal admission, a weight pressed in on me in every direction. I never allowed myself to dream of this moment because it might not have come true. Now that it was here, it was heavy against the spirit. “I don’t think Valentina would trap me…” I sighed. “I just don’t know what to believe anymore.” I knew I sounded defeated and worn. I hadn’t been allowed to be the last few days, and now that this was stacked on top of it, the fatigue was heavy.

The man studied my features, seeing the weight pulling down my shoulders. His own expression changed, a hint of worry creasing his features, his brows pulling together. He took a deep breath before turning to Lord Draco. “Leave me to counsel my child. Do not return until dawn breaks.” His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of war.

My gaze flicked to Lord Draco, expecting him to argue with my so-called father. I had to contain the shock on my face when I saw the fear swimming under his composed stare. The man who made my hair stand up against my neck was shaken. He was usually the picture of calm; seeing someone put something so foreign in his eyes shook me. Who exactly was my father? Could he be more dangerous than I’d imagined?

“Yes, Kleitos,” he said, bowing slightly. Then, to me: “I shall return later.” There was no argument, just compliance from Lord Draco. He backed away from the two of us, then climbed through the crawl space we descended from.

The silence only stretched until the loud clank of metal rattled down the entry point. But it didn’t last as I turned back to Kleitos. One burning question slipped out of my mouth before I had time to censor it. “How do you know Lord Draco?” It struck me as bizarre that he knew my kidnapper. Even if Draco had meant well, he still took me. If I were him, I wouldn’t be able to stomach someone who displaced my child. There would be no room for formalities.

Kleitos' gaze followed the line of me from head to toe as he took another long stare. A frown appeared along his lips before gesturing toward the steel table and chairs. “Come sit. It’s a long story.” He didn’t move, waiting for me to take the lead.

I didn’t know why I obeyed, but like a child deferring to a father, my feet took a step towards the table. He only finally moved when I was sitting, and he followed after me, taking a seat directly across from me. There was no softness in my voice, as I said, “Start whenever you’re ready.” If anything, he owed me that, an explanation. I needed that clarity, whatever it was. It was my story, not just his.

There was no smile on his face the sigh escaped his throat. Wiping a hand across his face, he adjusted himself in his seat before beginning. “It started when Eliza and I first laid eyes on each other. Long before she ever met Victor. I’d left the kingdom for a summer holiday in Siren Cove, up west. I won’t bore you with the details, but it was a night I still remember.”

Knowing how my biological parents looked now, that added a whole mental image I didn’t want to imagine. Scrunching my nose, I shook my head. Even if I had no relationship to them, it sent weird shots through me that only could be described as embarrassing. He caught the cringe in my expression and gave a small laugh, ignoring it.

“We didn’t mate. I just knew it wasn’t meant to last. But she was… lovely.” His voice dipped for a moment as if reliving the memory in the present. There was a fondness there that I couldn’t ignore. Even if he said it didn’t mean much, it must have meant something. “We spent most of the holiday together. And then, once it ended, we never spoke again.”

When he paused for a second too long, I cut in and asked, “Then how was I born?” Because his story didn’t feel complete. It felt like a white lie that he tried to hide behind. It surprised me when he didn’t deny it.