Page 62

I meant every word, too. If she died, or if she were left behind in Ash Town for me to never get back to her. Well, I didn’t even want to imagine that timeline. My fist had already started clenching at the thought of it.

The tears that had been settling at the corner of her eyes fell down her cheek as she smiled through them. “It’s not your fault, love. I always knew something was coming. That clock was always meant to run out.” She laughed weakly as her gaze found Valentina’s. “I always expected a man to come for you… not her.” She shook her head as she broke my hold of her to step into Val’s direction. “You got me good, at first. I thought you were just a pretty girl in love with my son.” Another small laugh broke free of my mother’s lungs. “Quite the actress. What was your name again?”

Valentina’s shoulders rolled back as an amused expression crossed her face. Her eyes scanned my mother from head to toe, nose crinkling at the attire. “I do prefer strangers to call me Lady Corpus, but you both can call me Valentina. But we’ll have to get you new garments. Those simply won’t do.” She then offered a sheepish smile to my mother. “I’m sorry if I frightened you. My father allowed me to come on his behalf. If it makes you feel any better… It was the first time I had been in your realm alone. When I used to visit with my father, he had to hold me from…” Her eyes trailed to the scar on Martha’s neck. “From wanting to kill one of you.”

“Such a beautiful name.” My mother smiled as Mark nodded in agreement in the corner.

My eyes bulged at the confession. I didn’t even know how close to death Martha had truly been. I glanced at Val; she held my gaze and softened. The fact that she hadn’t been by herself before, and she had to be contained around them… It tracked, but it was still unsafe. I couldn’t hold her to what she didn’t do; Martha was safe, and she did save her. But testing her luck on my mother sent a delayed chill down my spine. I was just grateful she made it.

I had to shake my thoughts away just picturing it going wrong. I cleared my throat as I asked. “Did you both know?” That probably wasn’t the right question because it was obvious how much they did. It was the only one my mouth could form.

“At first no,” confidently came from the corner of my sight. Mark’s body was lit from the flame of the hearth as he shook his head. He didn’t finish the thought, only letting me think about what it possibly could mean.

Martha finished crossing the space to stand directly in front of Valentina. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “We were actually going to tell him that day anyway,” she turned her back to Valentina to walk towards Mark. He wrapped an arm around her waist, rubbing soothing circles into the cotton. Both looked at me nervously as they continued, “When I had texted you that day, your father had come to the house, and he said he wanted to see you. It was time to explain to you what we knew. There was something different about you. Mystical even. You reminded me of the man who brought you. And there was nothing human about him. No right-minded human would leave a baby with strangers. But I’m glad he did.”

The way they stood in union was almost soured by the information they were giving me. My mother might have been saying it, but it sounded like some wild excuse Mark convinced her to spew. But despite the words that came out of their marital room, they did not look like the couple I once remembered in childhood. Martha’s honey skin was smooth, her hair thick and bouncy down her back, and everything sparkled. Even her smile gleamed with this new life. Mark looked ever effortless. The overgrown hair shadowed brown in his eyes, making them almost coal in color. His outfit was more curated than my mother’s outfit. There was a structure to the tunic that felt more comfortable than unfamiliar.

“We were,” Mark echoed almost too perfectly on beat. I didn’t know if I was trying to find problems in his words or if there was an undertone I was catching. My mind was playing with me. Instead of trusting my words for a response, I nodded slowly.

“I know it’s a lot,” Martha whispered. “We wanted to fight for you.”

Valentina stepped from behind the two of them, finally joining my side. She did it at the right moment because everything was almost becoming too much. There were too many apologies without enough explanation. I understood from their perspective that they would rather withhold information from me than lose me. But from mine it was a betrayal. The ruffle of Valentina’s sleeve brushed along the side of my arm, pulling my attention for a second. She smiled at me before her gaze settled back to my parents.

The waves were calm at my side now that she was there, so I let myself take a deep breath, letting it guide me. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Before all this? I could’ve been more prepared.” My voice rose despite myself. There had just been too much pain attached to the question. Valentina’s hand pressed to my spine. She fully allowed that regulation to course through me. It was the thing I needed to pull back. I didn’t want to scare anyone.

My mother’s forehead crinkled with consideration before she responded. “Honestly, honey, when we started researching, we thought we were losing our minds.” She stepped from Mark’s embrace to approach me. Grabbing hold of my hand, she laughed to bring some light back to my face. “I thought you might be a demon at first. You’d make these little hissing noises as a baby, it was so weird but strangely cute. With all that, we didn’t care. You were ours.”

The door behind us creaked open, and the oak slammed against the door. A cackle followed just behind it as Arianna threw out, “The bastard king? A demon? He wishes.” Her broad form strolled back into view with Kleitos at her side. She looked like a doll compared to him in the doorway. There was something about his energy that carried authority with it. The room reacted to him spiritually as his mere presence commanded attention. The smile on his mouth didn’t match the gravity he carried.

My mind couldn’t help comparing him to Mark now that they were in the same room. Beside him, Mark looked almost fragile. I used to think he was tall and all fearing. But now I could see where my frame came from; it was telling. I didn’t see him as weaker, but there had felt like there was something… less in weight.

Kleitos didn’t need to demand attention. Silence bloomed for him. Every eye in the room was on him, and to my surprise, Kleitos’ gaze wasn’t directly on me, but the woman in front of me. There was a glint in the pools of his blue that was unmistakably curious. His pupils dilated with a thousand emotions. I knew it was only a moment that had passed, but the way my mother held her breath in his presence, it felt like hours. I swear I heard the faint skip of his heart from across the room. Shaking his head, Kleitos assessed every person before landing on Mark and then finally on me.

The air around the room felt charged with unspoken energy. I felt it in my bones. Mark's face soured as Kleitos scent wafted in the room. The mirroring scents between Kleitos and me were apparent, making his jaw clench.

To my surprise, before addressing the room, Kleitos went straight to my mother. His body bent before her ceremoniously as he took her hand in his. With the softest touch, his lips pressed gently along her back palm. They lingered a breath too long. “What is your name?” He asked softly, not letting her go.

“Martha,” She answered automatically. My mother’s eyes fixated on him as her face became almost unreadable.

“Well, Martha,” He rolled the name on his tongue as he finally stood tall. “Words can’t cover my gratitude for what you sacrificed for my blood,” he murmured. Kleitos gaze traced the line of her arm and shoulder before returning to her eyes. It was as if he were memorizing her. Heat climbed my neck before I could stop it. Not anger. Not quite. Something territorial and ugly rattled through my ribs I’d only just grown into.

My mother’s focus was caught by his; her lips parted. She blinked slowly at him like they were mentally having a conversation through their gaze, and she was captivated by it. Kleitos, on the other hand, had a smirk that grew on his lips that touched his eyes. It only lasted a moment, and if she noticed me watching, she didn’t show it. Breaking eye contact with Kleitos, they moved between Mark and then me. “Who is this?” she asked, voice husky. Martha took a step back as her arms folded into her chest.

“Starvos is my child,” Kleitos answered. His gaze finally found mine as he nodded his chin in my direction. There was a subtleness in his eyes that pulled a tether that was linked between us. It wasn’t a harsh yank, but my feet moved before I could process thought. His arm held out for me as I stepped beneath him. Curling his fingers into my shoulder he tugged me closer.

As I settled beneath him, Mark’s eyes didn’t leave mine. I could see how he was fixating on how Kleitos was wrapped around me, claiming me as his own. A hiss actually broke free of his lips as he finally stepped forward, pulling Martha underneath his own grip. His hand settled against her waist, anchoring her to his side. When she was finally tucked in, Mark finally spoke. “Alexander is our child, too. We raised him, clothed him, fed him. Where were you? You might have made him. But that one is ours.” He said as he pointed his finger at my chest. “Come here,” Mark commanded at me with his finger, summoning me forward.

My face reddened at the request. It was like he wanted me to choose, and the way he was holding on to my mother prickled something in me. There was enough tension in the room that I could touch it; my mind wanted me to walk over there to try and calm him down, but that thread that had synced between Kleitos held me tighter. My feet weren’t allowed to move in that moment. I tried, but the muscles in my feet were steeled to the floor. I didn’t know Kleitos well enough to trust him—but my body reacted as it did.

Kleitos raised a brow, the politeness in his gaze gone, but it was layered in his voice. “I understand you feel a bond with him. I never would want you to think you couldn’t have that relationship. Parents can come in all shapes and forms, but I was answering the question. I am Starvos’s father.” His tone was firm, final. “But it is the most humane thing to do… To introduce oneself to the people who raised my child. There’s no reason to fear me.”

My eyes flicked between them. Kleitos sounded sincere, with a thread of warning woven in. There was a part of me that wanted to try to ease things between the two, but I was unable to speak. It wasn’t wise to try to cut between them.

Mark’s eyes thinned to slit before he shifted his attention to me. “Son, I’ve missed you. I know this is… a lot.” The way he ignored Kleitos felt defiant and wrong in my bones. I couldn’t explain it, but since meeting Kleitos, it was like an invisible thread had re-wrapped itself into place, linking us. Soul-deep. I understood why Mark was defensive. I was his child. He didn’t think he needed permission to speak to me.

Even with the suspicion and anger that coursed through my body when it came to Mark, he was still my dad. That had been unmistakable for many years. If he hadn’t died, well, not even died. I was still trying to wrap my head around this reality of him being here. Besides that, I loved him. “I missed you, too,” I whispered. It was the truth. I couldn’t deny that.

That was clearly a win for him. Just hearing me say it to him. That he still held a position to me was the confidence he needed in that moment. The side of Mark’s mouth twitched into a grin as he pressed further. “Let’s talk, just you and me. I know you’ve got questions.”