Page 60 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

“The part you can. That you believe you might be in a mating ritual. That this mating ritual is what might have given you the fourth affinity.”

I sank into the nearest seat. “That could lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions.”

“Not doing so may lead to coven division worse than we saw in Caves,” she replied.

There was another problem. “Getting caught out like this is becoming a pattern. Me only offering them information when I get caught or put on the spot. I don’t want them to lose trust in me by coming out and acknowledging something else I’ve concealed.”

“Then let it come from me,” Wild said. “I was the one to screw this up. Why don’t I take some of the heat for a change?”

“Because they’ll think I forced you to do it because you’re my sex slave,” I said sarcastically.

Wild didn’t laugh. “This is something I’d like to handle, my queen.”

“For a start, less of the my queen would be good,” my cousin said. “But I’m with Wild here. Let him do this, Tempest. And maybe you could consider whether the coven should know the truth about how your family died.”

I immediately shook my head.

“You shouldn’t have to share anything you don’t want to,” she hurried to add. “But this could be an opportunity to counter that pattern you see forming in their minds—the one where you only tell them things when you’re caught out. Why not tell them that a demon killed your family? Why not tell them that’s why you know more about demons?”

My reply was dry. “Use some truth to tell another lie?”

“It’s not completely untrue. You learned what you were because of the journeys back to that memory and finding yourself by the north mountains. That unlocked knowledge of your heritage and everything else too.”

It was a stretch but not untrue. “That may do more harm than good. Frond could twist it.”

“He could, but the emotion when you speak of your family can’t be mistaken as being anything other than genuine.”

I rose, already weary at the thought of the day ahead. “We have a meeting to get to.” The other advisors would be waiting. “Rooke, thank you. That was hard for you to repeat, but I’m relieved I wasn’t hit with that unexpectedly.”

She hugged me tightly. “You don’t deserve to be spoken about like that.”

I half did. I couldn’t expect people to ignore their instincts. “Don’t poison anyone. We’ll do damage control best we can.”

“Sven is on the job too,” she said, and a frown marred her expression.

I said, “Tell him not to exhaust himself controlling the outbreak. We can help, too, and if the coven decides I shouldn’t sit where I am, then that’s their choice to make.”

“Helped by the demons’ magic,” she countered.

I’m sure it was, and I felt guilty for being the source of division when I was aware of the effect it would have against us in the end. “Wild, we need to run this by the advisors too. You know what to say?”

Wild had been part of the council for years. He also grew up in the lion’s den with his asshole parents. I had no qualms in him divulging too much or letting something slip. He was well-versed in reading the room. “I do. Will you tell them about your family too?”

He dropped the silence charm, and we left the room, Rooke hurrying the other way.

Would I relive the most painful memory I had to convince others I wasn’t a threat to them? Would I let them into my private emotions when they hadn’t earned the right to see them? People like Frond and Josie and Bedwyr included?

I sighed. “Some things should just be mine. Is that a bad decision?”

“There is no good or bad decision. There’s just your decision.”

“That’s something a slave would say.”

Wild laughed under his breath. “Do what feels right to you.”

Neither choice felt right.

That was the problem.

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