Page 70 of Clash of Kingdoms

She didn’t interrogate me. She pressed a kiss to my forehead and stroked my hair, letting me release everything I needed for as long as I needed. She rubbed my back and stared down at me, waiting for me to return to a sense of calm.

“Aurelias left with his brothers yesterday to search for supplies for the detonators,” she said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

I sat up, no longer leaning on her for support.

“You don’t have to tell me what happened, honey. But I’m here.”

I always told my mother everything, so now, I told her the truth, the whole tale.

She continued to stroke my hair and said nothing. Didn’t get angry. Didn’t cast her judgment.

“I threw him out, never want to speak to him again.”

“I’m sorry…”

Now my eyes were dry, so dry they were red and irritated. I expected her to say more, but she kept her opinions to herself.

“Did he explain himself?”

“He said he wouldn’t feed from me…but wouldn’t tell me why.”

“I think it would be disrespectful to your father if he did. I think it would be disrespectful to all of us.”

“He would have told me if that were the reason,” I said. “And I thought he wasn’t allowed to feed on our people.”

“Your father granted them permission—but only from volunteers.”

I felt blindsided. “He never told me that.” Which meant Aurelias had been doing this a long time, even back in Delacroix. He’d probably never fed on animal blood once. There had been other beautiful women he’d spent his nights with.

“I’m sorry.”

“He’s been lying to me since the beginning…”

She continued to rub my back.

“I’m so stupid.”

“You aren’t stupid, honey.”

“Well, I feel really fucking stupid right now.”

“That man has risked his life to protect you multiple times. He’s risked his life to protect your father. Even now that the relationship is over, he’s still here, trying to find what they need to destroy the crystal. His deception is a direct contradiction to everything he does for you.”

That was why I hadn’t suspected his betrayal.

“It was perfectly reasonable for you to assume his love was real, that his character was as true as yours. You aren’t stupid, Harlow.”

I’d grown tired of discussing him, especially now that I wanted to start crying again. My mother made me feel better momentarily, but she couldn’t erase a pain as profound as this. “You said you had something to tell me…”

Her fingers glided through my hair. “I’ll be joining your father today. I think he could use some support right now.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Until the vampires have what we need for the detonators, there’s nothing we can do right now. The demons won’t be able to attack again for several days. The kingdom will be safe in my absence.”

“Yeah…”

“Would you like to come with me?”

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