Page 25 of Temple of Magic and Bone

"If it starts bothering me, I will," Elektra replied, following Eiline inside.

Vanth watched the sway of her hips and cursed his dick under his breath.Not the time. Not the time. Not the time.

He considered going and jumping back into the cold river. He probably would have if he weren't scared about what else it held apart from selkies.

Flirting with Elektra felt dangerous, and he liked that about her. He couldn't deny it was also distracting enough to keep him from having a complete meltdown. It wasn't only that she was beautiful; it was the feeling that she was the one person he had met who would understand the dark power in him and not runaway screaming. She knew he was the son of Orcus and hadn't seemed intimidated by it either. He certainly fucking was.

Vanth pushed his hands through his damp hair. There was only one way to find out the truth about all the lost parts of himself. He stopped pouting and went to find his mother.

The house was like a cross between a hobbit hole and if the fae decided they loved cottagecore. Nearly everything was made of wood, and the fabrics used on the curtains and couches looked handwoven.

It was meticulously clean, which seemed out of character for the fae that they had encountered outside, who was covered from head to toe in ash and grime.

Vanth found his mother and Elektra in the kitchen. A cast-iron kettle was already hanging over an open fire, and Eiline was helping herself to freshly made cookies out of a jar.

"Are you sure that it's okay that we are here? Grandfather didn't seem too happy to see us," he said.

"He is happy. He's just been thrown off by the idea of you existing without him knowing. He will hammer out his frustration and worry and come in for tea when he's ready," Eiline replied.

At least she had stopped crying. There were a few things that Vanth really couldn't handle, and her tears were one of them.

Eiline pointed to the direction down the hall. "There is a bathroom through there if you need it, Elektra. You look like you could use a change of clothes. Be careful of the hot water. It's heated from the forge, so it will be boiling."

Knowing that she didn't have any clothes, Vanth offered his bag to her. "Everything in it is clean, so help yourself. We can get your clothes washed and dry tonight."

Elektra took the bag with a grateful nod and headed towards the bathroom.

"You like her, don't you?" his mother said. She might have a curse on her, but there wasn't much that she missed.

"And you don't? One of your precious reapers that I knew nothing about until now," he replied, still pissed at all the lies that he had been told. He didn't want to think about what he was feeling where Elektra was concerned.

Eiline offered him a cookie. "I know you're angry with me, but I have only ever done what I could to protect you. I couldn't trust anyone but Maria within the temple, and I couldn't stay under their protection when I found out that I was pregnant. Lazarus had too many spies, and I knew you would be the most gifted of children."

Vanth took a cookie and ate it, the sugar making him feel a little better.

His mother continued. "You were far too unique to have anywhere near the fae either. It's why I couldn't keep you here. These lands belong to my father, but they are too small for someone with your abilities, and as soon as you stepped out of them, there would be one Fae Lord or another trying to entrap you into their service. They might play nice on the Inferno side of their lands to ensure PR is good, but you should never forget what they really are and what they are capable of."

It was a lecture that Vanth had heard many times before. It was one of the reasons why he was so surprised that his grandfather still lived and that his mother actually loved him. She had always made a point of telling him how much she hated the fae and how they ruled their people.

He said, "And you changed our name from Brokkr to Vanth so they wouldn't connect us with your dad?"

"Yes. My father is notorious enough. As I told you before, I took the goddess Vanth's name for protection. She is a psychopomp and guides souls to the Afterlife," Eiline replied. "I was a devotee of hers."

Vanth's jaw was clenching too tight. He tried to steady his thoughts before opening his hurt, angry mouth.

"I understand why you never told me when I was a child. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me when I came of age so that I would understand some of this. I mean, for fuck's sake, Mom, my father is supposedly the god of the dead," he said and took another cookie. He didn't want to yell at her and had to check himself before he did just that.

Eiline took the cast-iron kettle from the fire and poured steaming water over tea leaves into a porcelain pot.

"There is no 'supposedly' about who your father is, sweetheart. Orcus is your father. That is why your necromancer power is so strong. You get your abilities from me as well. I was never meant to fall in love with him," she said, staring out of the windows at the forest beyond.

A change came over here then, just the slightest shiver of air moving around her, and she stared at the cup in her hand, her expression blank.

Vanth knew that the curse had hit her again, and her temporary reprieve from its power was gone. He took her by the hand and guided her to the chair by the fire.

"Sit down here, Mom. Stay warm, okay?" he said and took the cup from her hand. "I'll make the tea."

Vanth wanted to hurl the cup at the wall. It wouldn't solve anything. It wouldn't bring her mind back or help him get the answers he needed.

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