“I know you have questions,” Erwin ended the silence. He spoke to Lerick. “Please, ask them, Your Highness.”
“Cousin, you know I no longer hold that title.” I heard the leather chair squeak with movement. “As you just told the girl.” I didn’t need to look to know his attention rested on me. I could only imagine what was going through his head. To be faced with the daughter of his missing cousin… I was sure it was overwhelming.
Erwin had been right. It’d been stupid for me to run away. All it did was peak Lerick’s curiosity, and now he knew exactly who I was.
“Force of habit,” Erwin responded. “Forgive me.”
“What is going on Erwin,” Lerick got right to the point. “Who is she?”
I cringed, bracing myself for the inevitable confirmation that I was exactly who Lerick feared me to be. I didn’t know how he’d react once Erwin confirmed the truth. I prepared myself for anything.
“I assumed you ascertained that information when you interrupted our conversation in the hallway.”
I fought off my threatening grin. I was normally annoyed by Erwin’s antics, but I couldn’t say I minded them at that particular moment.
“Stop avoiding the question.” Lerick slapped a hand against the armrest. “Now is not the time for clever words. Tell me… is this who I think she is?”
I finally tore my gaze away from the adjacent bedroom. I met Erwin’s stare and dipped my chin. There was no point in denying it any longer.
Erwin released a long sigh. Then, he rose from his chair across from the prince. “Lerick, allow me to introduce your second cousin, Amelissa Allaway… Lassandra’s daughter.”
I sucked in a breath, but I managed to get to my feet. I was prepared for whatever reaction came my way.
Lerick remained seated—absolutely stunned despite already deducing the truth several minutes ago.
“It cannot be. Allaway? As in… Arthur Allaway? The draekon?”
Horror filled my chest. Erwin’s slip had allowed Lerick figured out the truth of my heritage.
The dishonored prince might’ve been shocked to learn of my existence as a half-elf/half-human, but to realize I was really half-draekon… the gods only knew how he’d handle that blow.
“Yes,” Erwin stated with a calm I wasn’t close to being able to convey. “Arthur Allaway is Amelissa’s father.”
“Mother above.” Lerick’s back slammed into the chair. His eyes grew hazy and distant—lost in his own thoughts. “It cannot be.”
“But it is,” Erwin lowered himself into the chair and leaned forward, forcing Lerick to meet him in the eye. “You cannot be too surprised. You and I both knew how attached Lassandra became to the emissary during his visit.”
I watched the pair of elves, gnawing on my bottom lip.
Lerick’s head snapped up. “Where is she?” I assumed he meant my mother.
“I don’t know.”
“Horse shit,” Lerick growled, finally getting to his feet. “You’re lying.”
To his credit, Erwin didn’t look the least bit bothered by his outburst. “I’m not. I know Lassandra is on Draekon. As to her exact location, I believe only Prince Brion of the Draekon knows that information.”
My entire world came to a halt. I could hear my ragged breath in the eerie quiet. What was Erwin thinking? How could he drag Brion into this?
Every instinct screamed for me to do all I could to protect Brion. I didn’t care if that meant fighting my new-found cousin. I wouldn’t let anyone threaten Brion’s safety. Not without putting up a fight.
My reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Lerick’s lips pulled down into a deep frown. “What is wrong with her?”
I became doubly irritated that he spoke about me as if I weren’t right in front of him.
Erwin sighed, sounding like an elderly man exhausted with the whims of youth, “She and Brion share a gliminee bond. It makes her rather sensitive to his wellbeing. I would watch how you speak about him.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” Lerick threw his hands in the air. “A gliminee bond? As if things weren’t already complicated enough.”
“I agree with you, but it’s true nonetheless,” Erwin said.
Lerick muttered in elven. Even if I could understand the language, the words were too quiet to be heard with my normal hearing.
“Lassandra is on Draekon.” Lerick crossed his arms and stared at the far wall as he struggled to rationalize the news he’d received.
“Yes,” Erwin confirmed.
“Why?”
I found my voice, and it was filled with disapproval. “Because my mother and father are leading the rebellion against King Roderick.”
Rather than look surprised, Lerick groaned and rolled his neck back. “Mother above, of course Sandra is involved in that mess.” He drew his gaze back down to Erwin. “Do you remember what it was like growing up with her? Everywhere she went, she was sure to find trouble.”
Erwin smirked. “And drag us into it, then try to lay the blame on us when her father found out.”
“And she almost always succeeded on that front. There wasn’t a thing she could do to earn that old elf’s disapproval.” Lerick’s eyes grew darker and the smile faded from Erwin’s face. I detected jealousy, but also regret in Lerick’s words.
“You didn’t get along with my mother.”
Lerick coughed to clear his throat. “Your mother and I got along very well until her father made me one of her babysitters.”
I frowned. “You?” I glanced at Erwin for an explanation. He obliged.
“As the king’s only child, Princess Lassandra was heir to the throne. You’ve already heard how protective he was of her.”
I nodded, remembering Erwin share the story of my mother’s life and subsequent disappearance.
“Lerick and I were tasked with keeping Lassandra out of trouble once she reached her teen years. Other than us and the guards her father assigned to shadow her every step, Lassandra was cut off from a normal social life.”
“You told me King Aquin practically suffocated her,” I replayed his words in my head. “That’s why she ran away with my father.”
Lerick whirled on Erwin. “You knew?”
Sadness covered the word, “Yes.”
Betrayal shined deep in Lerick’s eyes. “For how long?”
Erwin sighed and ran an agitated hand through his short, blond hair. “The morning I found Lassandra vomiting in the lavatory. You know we never get sick. Not unless we are dying or—”
“Pregnant,” Lerick finished. “Mother above, Erwin. You should have told me!”
“Lassandra swore me to silence,” Erwin confessed. “I didn’t find out who the father was until she disappeared one week after Arthur Allaway’s departure. I’d seen them meeting in the gardens at odd hours. I’d found them reading together in the library. But I hadn’t considered Lassandra was in love with him until they were both gone.”
Lerick had started nodding his head, following along with Erwin’s thoughts and agreeing with his reasoning. “I never believed the story Arthur abandoned King Roderick’s army to be with a maid. He was an honorable male. He’d never disrespect his king in such a way.”
Lerick shifted his eyes to me. “But to protect his unborn child… I could understand his decision under that circumstance.”
“She was pregnant with Arlin, my brother.”
Lerick looked surprised. “How many of you are there?”
I glanced at Erwin. He dipped his chin. I returned my attention to Lerick. “Three. Arlin, me, and Alorie.”
“One half-breed couldn’t have been enough for Lassandra and Arthur, could it?”
I flinched at the callous words. I shielded myself by wrapping my arms around my midsection.
Erwin stepped forward and growled, “Watch your tongue, Lerick.”
The male looked between us and sincere regret covered his expression. “Apologies. I didn’t intend for that to come out the way it sounded.”
I nodded, but I didn’t say anything. I don’t know why his words hurt my feelings. I didn’t know the elf at all. I’d known what people would think if they found out the truth of my dual-race blood. I’d been sheltered from such reactions from those closest to me. Brion and Erwin had barely batted an eye when they learned the truth. But the best I’d expected from the rest of the world was to be treated with disdain. The worst? Hatred and violence.
“Truly,” Lerick continued to plead his case. “I only meant that their first child was an accident. I applaud them for escaping to save the child’s life. But to exacerbate the situation by having two more children… it seems irresponsible.”
I could see where he was coming from, but that didn’t lessen the sting of hearing your birth described as irresponsible.
Seeing my face, Lerick groaned. “Not that I am not happy to meet you. Indeed, I am glad your parents decided to risk everything in order to live toget—"
“You will come to realize, Lissa,” Erwin interrupted, abandoning his protective stance in front of me, “that our cousin has never been good at keeping his foot out of his mouth.”
Lerick snapped his mouth closed and grimaced.
I found my voice. “I understand this isn’t easy news to take in.”
Lerick’s eyes filled with appreciation.
“And now Lassandra believes she and Arthur are the subjects of the cursed lovers prophecy, hence their decision to lead the rebellion,” Erwin provided the information.
“Truly?” Lerick leaned back on his heels. “Sandra believes she and Arthur can end hundreds of years of war and mistrust?”
“Truly,” Erwin confirmed.
“And you said Prince Brion of Draekon, her bonded partner,” he lifted his eyebrows toward me, “is the only one who might know of Lassandra’s location.”
“Correct.”
“Well, why is she here?” He, once again, gestured towards me.
“That is a long story,” Erwin answered with a heavy sigh. “One which may be best to address tomorrow. Would you agree, Lissa?”
I nodded, more than eager to end this conversation and get back to the safety of my private room. I’d avoided catastrophe so far this evening, and I wasn’t one to press my luck.
“Of course,” Lerick murmured. “Of course, this is a lot to take in. I-I just don’t know what to say. I cannot believe Lassandra is alive and well after all this time, let alone she is helping Arthur Allaway lead the rebellion against King Roderick.”
“Perhaps it is best if you say nothing at all,” Erwin wisely advised. “You’ve proven yourself inept at finding the right words.”
“Quite right.” Lerick straightened and tugged his tunic. “We must return to the ballroom. Our absence will have been noticed.”
The last thing I wanted to do was go back and pretend I didn’t just reveal a dangerous secret to one of my long-lost relatives. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off with the way I was feeling.
“You’re right,” Erwin said. “But I believe Amelissa was on her way to retire for the evening when I… stumbled upon her.”
I narrowed my eyes. More like when he intercepted my escape.
“Very well.” Lerick bowed his head in farewell. “Perhaps we can break fast together? My guest rooms should be adequate.” He shot a hesitate, but hopeful glance my direction. “I would like to hear more about Lassandra and her family.”
I opened my mouth to decline his request—I had no desire to speak about my parents or siblings to someone I barely knew—but Erwin beat me to it. “That would be agreeable. Nine o’clock?”
“Nine o’clock sounds wonderful.”
And just like that… I found myself with another elven family member who was too pushy for my taste.
10
“Again.” Erwin bent into a squat, lowering his center of gravity for my incoming attack.
It was the morning after the ball and the impromptu meeting with the ex-prince Lerick, and Erwin and I faced one another on the sandy beach, in the middle of our usual training session.
Breakfast that morning had been an uncomfortable affair. I’d answered all of Lerick’s questions while I stirred around an unappealing bowl of oatmeal. At least, I answered as many as I could.
Lerick had been shocked to learn my parents abandoned me and my siblings in Caldiri many years ago. He swore the Lassandra he’d known would have never done such a thing. His fervent denial only served to put me in a bad mood. Which turned out to be great for training with my elven powers. I’d spent the last thirty minutes lobbing bolt after bolt Erwin’s direction. Lerick, annoyingly, chose to impose his presence on us during our training. But the worst part was he liked to interject with questions that popped into his head as he watched, and sometimes he even critiqued my abilities. I thought about throwing a silencing bolt his way more than once.
I heeded Erwin’s command, swung my right arm back, then drew it forward as I envisioned a blue bolt flying across the sky, right towards the steel shield Erwin used to protect his torso. The bolt hit its target. Despite Erwin’s lowered stance, he stumbled back a step before he regained his balance.
“Well done, Lissa!” He hollered across the beach. “This is a major improvement.”
I stretched my arms across my chest. The muscles had started to ache after the fifteenth throw. “Thank you.”
“Perhaps it’s my presence which is responsible for your improvement,” Lerick offered good-naturedly from under the shade tent he’d erected, on the side of the beach closest to the estate.
He might’ve been right, but not for the reasons he suspected. Annoyance and anger seemed to be my fuel.
“Let’s take a break,” Erwin offered, already throwing his heavy shield onto the sand, shaking out his own arm. I might be immune to elven bolts due to the magical benefit of my royal bloodline, but Erwin was still susceptible to my attacks. “Water?”
I trekked over to the tent. “Yes, please.”
I snatched my waterskin from the shaded spot in the sand and pulled off the cap, taking several large gulps of the refreshing liquid.
Erwin did the same, but his drinks were interrupted by more of Lerick’s questions. I swore, he hadn’t stopped since the start of breakfast. “I still don’t understand, Erwin. How did you know she was part-elven? I cannot sense any of our blood in her.”
Erwin wiped the moisture on his lips with his forearm. “It helped that her blonde hair stood out in Draek. It’s very rare to see evidence of distant Avelin blood on Draekon.”
“Hmm… I suppose you are right.” Lerick allowed, his gaze growing distant before he snapped back to reality.
“So you worked as King Aquin’s ambassador, all the while believing you might have found his daughter’s child. Yet, you said nothing?”
“What was I supposed to say? ‘King Aquin, I think I might have found your granddaughter?’ Think rationally. The king would have torn Draek to the ground if he believed for one second his daughter might actually be there.”
I lowered my canteen. “I thought you said King Aquin was a kind and just ruler?” Someone like that wouldn’t destroy a city full of innocents.
Lerick scoffed.
Erwin shot him a glare. “Do you have something to say against our king?”
“Absolutely not,” Lerick leaned back in his folding chair and waved a hand in the air. “What you said is true. King Aquin was a kind and just male.”
I sensed Erwin’s temper rising. I intervened in the interest of getting information. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, that King Aquin has never been the same since Lassandra’s disappearance. He still rules fairly enough for most, that is true, but his grief has driven him a little mad. He is quick to anger and fast to level life altering punishments on people he once held dear.” Lerick gestured to himself.
I felt a pang of pity for the disowned prince.
“The king still grieves, that is true,” Erwin jumped to his sovereign’s defense, “and he
reacted badly those first few years, but he has since gotten control of himself. He sent me on a peace mission for a year, for Mother’s sake. I tried negotiating with our enemy, authorized to strike the deal I best saw fit, all while King Aquin still believed they had something to do with Lassandra’s disappearance.”
“Exactly.” Lerick leaned forward and rested his arms on his bent knees. “Aquin still thinks Roderick is responsible for his grief. Do you truly believe he would ever make peace with them?”
“I do.”
Normally, I would’ve applauded Erwin’s loyalty—it’s an honorable trait to possess—but after hearing what Lerick had to say… I wasn’t so sure.
Lerick noticed my expression. “What is your opinion on this matter, Amelissa?”
“I do not know His Majesty.”
“No, but you know people. Do you truly think someone could broker peace with a person they believe is responsible for all of their unhappiness in this world?”
The vision of an elder elf mourning the loss of his only child played in my head. I saw the male keening in despair, holding the tiara of his missing daughter.
I blinked, and the scene under the tent returned. I took another drink of water. “It doesn’t matter,” I replied. “King Roderick broke the negotiations when he ran Erwin out of Draek.”
Lerick frowned. “That was not what I asked.”
“As I said, I don’t know His Majesty and I will not make assumptions about his motives based off what either of you say.” I looked pointedly between the two disagreeing elves. It seemed my bold behavior stretched from Erwin to include my newest cousin, as well. I was a far cry from the timid, fearful recruit who’d first stepped foot in the draekon castle.
“The only thing that matters to me is my sister. And Lin, if he is not too far devoted to this pointless rebellion to be saved.”
Lerick snapped his fingers. “Ah, that’s where I heard that name before. You called me Lin at the ball.”
Surprised with the change in subject, I could only nod.
Freed Page 6
