Chapter 53

AURORA

I was startled, and I couldn’t help but rush over, pulling the chain from her grasp.

“Enough! I won’t let you hurt him!” I demanded.

Lila didn’t stiffen like she had the previous night, but she did step back a bit. I wondered if she was trying to hide from Fai that I could have any control over her.

“You’re still defending him. I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re quite attached to him and that fox, aren’t you?” she said, her voice matching her remorseful expression.

“They’re my family, and I’ll do whatever it takes to stop you from hurting them,” I told her.

“Family? You still believe in that?” Lila laughed, folding her arms as she looked at me. “You never understood the constraints of family, even after how your own treated you. You still hold onto the idea that there’s such a thing as people who will always love and never betray each other.”

“It doesn’t matter what my parents did. Rin’s family accepts me and loves me as one of their own, and that’s all I need with him,” I replied.

“You were accepted because you’re useful in controlling that fox. Why else would they care about you? You were born from their ultimate sin, after all,” Lila said.

“They were wrong. It’s not a sin to be intimate with the person you love,” I argued.

“But it is when that person is supposed to be your own daughter,” Fai chimed in, a knowing smile on her face.

“What?” I whispered.

Rayne was quick to scold her. “The circumstances of Aurora’s birth are not your business or anyone else’s!”

“You’re very protective of her, especially knowing she’d never choose you. How does it feel knowing she still longs for your brother’s presence? This girl has no intention of waiting for you to save her,” Lila told him.

“She doesn’t need me to save her, and I’m not jealous of Rin anymore. I’ll always care for Aurora as my family and protect her in any way I can!” Rayne shot back.

I barely registered their exchange, my mind spinning from what they’d just suggested. Were my parents not my real parents?

“What do you mean by their ultimate sin?” I dared to ask. “What did they do?”

Lila looked pleased with my discomfort. “Exactly what Fai said. It’s a shame that Jekia and his sons never wanted to tell you the truth. Emelio found out and told them. But let me enlighten you where they never intended to. Yes, that man was your father, but he was also your grandfather. He was never really attracted to his wife. His attraction was to his beautiful teenage daughter, the one who ended up giving birth to you for him before her mother became enraged and got rid of her.”

I felt frozen as I listened, my mind flashing back to my childhood. Oh God, she was telling the truth. There were so many signs that I’d never understood. There was an old bedroom that they never used and kept locked most of the time, but I’d unlocked the door once and gone in. It looked like a girl’s room that hadn’t been used in years. But my father had caught me and scolded me for hours afterward.

Then there was my mother and how she used to rant about lust and whores. I’d often heard her muttering under her breath as she looked out the kitchen window at the backyard, and sometimes I even saw her out there at a certain spot, staring down at it and mumbling.

Was that where my real mother was buried after she’d killed her?

Rayne’s voice brought me back to the present. He spoke softly, though his anger was still evident.

“It doesn’t matter where she came from. She didn’t ask to be born, and she’s always belonged with us.”

I slowly knelt beside him and hugged him. “Thank you, Rayne,” I whispered.

“I meant what I said,” he whispered back, resting his head against mine. “It doesn’t matter where you came from. You were always meant to be part of our family.”

“How touching,” Lila scoffed.

“It’s quite nauseating, my queen. What’s the point of keeping this Dog here? Are they coming soon?” Fai asked her.

“Silence!” Lila commanded. Fai immediately backed down, and the Faerie queen turned her attention back to me. “I don’t have time for these petty matters. Now tell me, how did you break my hold on him and turn my butterfly blue? I know you did this!”

I glared back at her. “You brought it on yourself. I’ve learned how to use what you’ve given me, and I’m going to use it against you,” I warned her.

“You? Use my power against me? Don’t make me laugh. You’re just a human. Humans are nothing compared to us, especially not a weak one like you,” Lila scoffed.

She moved a few steps to our right, looking towards the large archway that opened to the balcony overlooking the kingdom. “However, you have been quite useful in all of this, even if you have managed to thwart me a few times. You should have just let him impregnate you; then things would have fallen apart easily without me having to take both of you.”

Rayne was livid. “I would’ve never let it happen, even if she hadn’t stopped me. I’ve been carrying around this guilt, feeling like I betrayed my own brother. You’ve made me do things I’m not sure I can ever make up for. And for what? So you could steal what my father earned fair and square?” His chains clanged loudly as he yanked on them.

I stayed close to him, my eyes darting around the room, ears straining for any sound. There was something else happening here, something Rayne was trying to keep Lila and Fai from noticing. My fingers brushed against the small dagger hidden in my skirt. Sionn had given it to me the night before, telling me I’d need it, but not why. I had a hunch, but it scared me. I wasn’t sure I could do what needed to be done when the time came.

Fai took Rayne’s bait and shot back, “Your father was only given his position because they liked him! That’s the only reason! You’ll see soon enough that our queen is the rightful ruler of this world!”

Rayne shot her a glare. “You’re only following her now because you’re scared. You know what’s going to happen when we put a stop to this,” he retorted calmly.

Fai scoffed, “Like you or any of them would kill a woman. It goes against everything you stand for.”

She fell silent when Lila held up a finger. She wasn’t looking at us or Fai, instead she held her head high, as if she was listening for something.

“Have you seen any of my Mages this morning?” she asked Fai in a hushed voice.

Fai looked taken aback. “No, my queen. I assumed they were guarding the perimeter and Flora,” she replied.

“So that’s your game,” Lila muttered. She straightened up, standing her ground. “I’m not a fool. I can sense you, moon dog! I know you and that fox are here! Stop hiding and face me, unless you’re too scared!”

The room fell silent. I felt Rayne tense up next to me. He was sniffing the air, his eyes growing wide.

“They’re here. But how…?”

Before I could respond, something was thrown into the throne room, landing at Fai’s feet. Her scream echoed through the room. I turned to see what had caused her terror and immediately wished I hadn’t.

It was the head of the green-haired male Faerie.

I quickly looked away, trying to keep my composure. I didn’t have to try hard to find something else to focus on. Two familiar figures had appeared in the archway leading outside, their eyes locked on the golden Faerie standing between us.

“It’s time to end this, Lila,” Jekia declared. “Now let my son and our lady go and face your fate.”