by Wendi Wilson
I knew he didn’t tell her the truth. It was pretty obvious from their reunion the night before that she’d had no idea where he’d been. And when he told her about me, there was no doubt about it. She was shocked and appalled.
“I lasted a few more years by her side, but with each day that passed, I grew more restless. So, much like Peony had done to me, I left in the night. Disappeared, never to be seen again. Never to take my place as king. I didn’t want it. I didn’t want any of it.
“I spent almost fifteen years searching for Peony, dodging my mother’s spies, and secretly helping humans wherever I could.”
“You helped the humans?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t expected that.
“I couldn’t do much,” he clarified. “I healed the soil in a few gardens, so people could grow their own food. Clarified a water reservoir. Things like that. My efforts had to remain subtle, or I’d be leaving a trail for my mother to find me.”
“I’m sure the people appreciated whatever you did for them.”
“Then a few weeks ago,” he continued, ignoring my subdued praise, “I heard rumors of a black-haired, half-human Sylph who had just enrolled in Oberon Academy. I was intrigued, to say the least, and headed this way to see if I could get a look at you. I hid out in Alvaro Forest for days, waiting to catch a glimpse. You can imagine my surprise when my mother showed up.”
“You saw her sneak in?”
“Yes,” he said. “But you have to understand, December. I couldn’t stop her. I could not show myself, or I would lose the freedom I’d worked so hard to keep.”
“I understand,” I said, motioning toward the water pitcher.
He poured me a glass and passed it over. I drank the whole thing in long gulps, suddenly feeling parched. Once I finished, he took my empty glass and set it down. I nodded for him to continue, and he returned the gesture before speaking.
“I waited just inside the tree line, out of sight and out of Sebille’s sensory range. If I got too close, she’d know I was there. I heard the sounds of battle, imagining all the destruction she must’ve been wreaking inside the building. Imagine my surprise when I felt a rush of raw, unadulterated power just before my mother flew through a window, her body engulfed in flames.”
The corners of his mouth turned up and pleasure shown in his eyes. I fought off a blush, his fatherly pride doing strange things to my insides.
“In that moment, I knew what you were. The Zephyr magic I could feel in the wind carrying my mother away from the building, the Sylph magic in the fire that burned around her, it was obvious that you were of both races. As soon as she was gone, I flew up to the busted out window of Finn’s office and got my first look at you.”
He smiled, but it didn’t chase the sadness from his eyes. He blinked a few times and cleared his throat.
“You look exactly like her,” he said, “except of course, for the black hair. Same nose, same chin. Same fathomless blue eyes. After a moment of shock, it hit me…you were mine. A child that I never knew existed.”
He stood and stepped toward me before squatting down on his heels in front of me.
“A child that I would have raised with the love even greater than that which I felt for her mother.”
I couldn’t stop the tears that flowed down my cheeks if I’d tried. A myriad of emotions swirled through me, the lump in my throat making it hard to breathe. I’d longed to hear words like that my whole life. I’d longed to feel the love those words described.
“In that moment, I made a decision. I went to Finn, told him what I was, and that I wanted to help him and the students prepare for the war that’s inevitably coming. He believed me because I told nothing but the truth. He could taste the honesty. Since he didn’t directly ask me if I was the son of Sebille, I didn’t have to lie. He accepted me as a teacher and asked me to be your mentor. You know the rest.”
“Did you tell him?’ I asked. “Does he know she’s your mother, now?”
He barked out a bitter laugh, saying, “I did. I agonized over my confession, sure he was going to make me leave here. Leave you.”
“What did he say?”
“The old bastard already knew,” he said with a smile. “Apparently, he recognized me immediately, but decided to let me keep my secrets. He knew I was being sincere in wanting to help, and that’s all that mattered.”
I laughed, some of the emotional tension in my chest easing. Cris’s eyes crinkled at the corners with his grin, and a sense of peace washed over me. I didn’t have all the answers I wanted, but I finally knew at least half of the story. A weight lifted from my chest, and I breathed deeply.
“So, what now?” I asked.
“Well, I didn’t get fired. Finn is letting me keep my positions as teacher and mentor, but I’m on probation. I don’t mind, though. As long as I get to stay here. With you.”
He stood, holding out his palm. I took his hand, feeling that spark I’d felt the first day we’d shaken hands in his classroom. I realized, then, what it was—a spark of recognition.
I let him pull me to my feet, only a foot of space between us.
“We can figure this out as we go,” he said, a flash of uncertainty crossing his face.
Taking the initiative, I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his waist. He tensed for a moment, then his body relaxed and his arms looped around me, squeezing hard.
That hug marked the start of a whole new chapter in my life. I, December Thorne, the orphan, finally had a dad.
And he was proof that if you had a good heart and made the right choices, blood didn’t matter. He was the Zephyr prince and I was his daughter, and we both made the decision to be good. We would not let our bloodlines define us.
We were who we were, and that was okay. It was better than okay.
It was awesome.
Epilogue
“So, I see you didn’t fare much better than the last time you faced the girl.”
Sebille sneered at the infuriating Sylph as she combed the burnt ends from her hair. He was disgustingly arrogant, so confident in his acerbic wit. Just the sound of his voice grated on her ears, driving her to madness.
“Why is it that I keep you around, Puck?” she asked.
“I do not know,” he answered, his tone blasé. “Perhaps you enjoy my dashing good looks and humorous anecdotes?”
He slumped in the high-backed chair, one knee hooked over the armrest as he sipped a chalice of red wine. He was a useless fool. A buffoon. One that had worn out his welcome in her home.
“I should just kill you and be done with it,” she said, her tone no more serious than if she’d been talking about the weather.
“Oh, ho! You do not want to do that,” Puck called out. “But I would love to see you try.”
“Do not test me, Sylph,” she warned, her back teeth grinding together.
They both knew that a fight to the death between them would be a long, drawn-out battle of which either of them could be the victor. Sebille, as queen, was the strongest of the Zephyrs. Puck, coming from a pristine bloodline and being several hundred years old, was in the top echelon of all the Sylphids.
There was not a faery alive that could best either of them, with the exception of maybe Finn Oberon. And December Thorne.
He smiled at the thought of her, that young slip of a girl that had managed to outwit Sebille. Not once, but twice. And from what he’d heard, with the help of the queen’s own son. He smothered a laugh and attempted to keep his face blank.
“I brought you here, gave you a place in my home. You said you wanted revenge. You wanted to make Oberon and Dobbs pay for letting the council kick you out and ostracizing you. While we succeeded with Dobbs, that insolent king still sits atop his throne. Have you lost your taste for vengeance?”
“I most certainly have not,” he said, leaping from his seat to strike a debonair pose. “I simply prefer to keep things…civilized.”
“The time for old-world manners has passed, Robin,” she said, calling hi
m by his given name in a gentle voice.
Too bad he had never, and would never fall for her ploys. She was truly mistaken if she thought he were stupid enough to do so.
“What would you have me do, my queen?” he asked, bowing low at the waist with an exaggerated flourish.
She smiled then, all teeth and no humor, like the cat of old who ate the canary, as the humans once said. Puck braced himself for whatever terrible deed she had planned for him. And he was certain that it would be terrible.
“It’s been too long since you’ve been home, Puck.”
He sucked in a sharp, silent breath and held it in his lungs. Was she suggesting—
“Your knowledge of the school, the faculty, and its students is outdated and useless to me. I want you to return to Oberon Academy, make amends with Finn and the council, and be my spy from within. Make yourself useful once more. You have a granddaughter there, yes?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Good. Use her presence as a reason for your return. Finn Oberon is a sentimental fool. He will not deny you entry.”
“And what shall I do while I’m there?” he asked, a nerve ticking in his jaw.
“Get me the girl. Then use your proximity to take your revenge on the council. It is a win-win for us both.”
“Yes, your highness,” he said.
With one last bow, he left the parlor, a savage smile etched across his face.
It was the opportunity he’d been waiting for. He would return home. Show his face for the first time in over a century, consequences be damned.
It was finally time for his exile to come to an end. For good.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Oberon Academy Book Two: The Zephyr.
I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you’ll take a few moments to leave a review. I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
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Ready for book three? You can check out Oberon Academy Book Three: The Sylph here!
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank you, the reader, for giving this book a shot and reading it through to the end. Thank you for buying books, for making this job a reality for me.
Without you, it wouldn’t be possible. So thank you.
Thanks to Sam, Kat, Tiea, and Genevieve for helping me work the bugs out. You guys are awesome.
Thanks to my husband, Chad, for believing in me. For always supporting me, even when I don’t want to hear it and just wallow in whatever supposed failure I’ve conjured up in my mind. You always have my back. So, thank you.
And thanks, as always to Molly Phipps: Best cover designer ever!
Also by Wendi Wilson
Shadowed Series
Suppressed Series
Blood Persuasion Series
Unpersuadable Series
