Page 105 of Blinding Light

It was a lot.

Leaving the doctor, Moargan lit a red cinder cigarette by the window. He needed some time to process all that information.

Ludo Fandi was going to die. That was the easy part. Convincing his lover to be his father’s executioner was perhaps more of a challenge.

“Tell my Royal Consort that we’ll meet in the canteen. Guidehim there if he doesn’t know where it is,” he told a passing nurse.

When Moargan entered the royal suite, he expected his father to be sitting by the bed as usual, holding his mother’s hand. Instead, Milanov was pacing in front of the window, hands in his black pockets.

“What’s wrong?”

His father turned around, crossing his hands behind his back. His restless gaze darted between the bed and Moargan. “I’m not sure.”

“The doctor said she was having a rough week.”

“Look at her eyes.”

Moargan gazed down at his mother. She was asleep, perfectly tucked under the satin sheets, though her breathing was shallow and uneven. “She’s fidgety.”

“See her fluttering eyes? It’s the Dariux. It’s her brain fighting the visions. She hasn’t had those for years.”

Moargan looked up. “Do you mean she’s having visions right now?”

“She could be.” Milanov brushed an impatient hand through his hair. “Her mind wants to. Those stupid drugs—” His father kicked against a low table, and it slammed against the wall. Pills scattered around. “They make her forget.”

“Well, that’s the whole point, isn’t it? That she forgets?” They’d had this conversation countless times, but he couldn’t bear telling his father that. Hope was a danger in itself.

“Maybe it isn’t.” His father groaned, cupping his face and pressing into his cheeks. His violet eyes flared with a pained expression. “Maybe we’re wrong.”

“Father, no.” Moargan rolled a stool by his mother’s bed and sat down. He grabbed her cool hand and looked at her slender fingers, slack in his grip. “How many times did you tell us the same thing when we were kids? Her brain can’t live with hergift, that’s why we had to leave her here. Because she can’t function with the visions she gets.”

Moargan wanted to believe his father, he really did. But disappointment was an all-consuming emotion. One that ravaged anything else in its wake.

“I know. I know.” Milanov sank down in his chair and dropped his head. “She’s fighting, I can feel it. She’s fighting a battle she can’t win. But she’s still trying, my lovely Norma.”

“You know what the doctor just told me?” Moargan traced a fingertip over her smooth skin. “Mama knew Cyprian’s mother. From before. It’s her fund that’s been paying for Celia’s treatment for all these years.”

“You see? There’s no such thing as coincidence. I told you this.”

“Did you know?”

Milanov shook his head, a smile sliding onto his face. “But it doesn’t surprise me. Your mother was full of wonder.”

“Tell me something real?” Moargan asked. He’d heard the stories countless times, and he would never get enough.

His father sat forward and cupped his mother’s free hand in his much larger one. “She and I were so fiercely in love. I was obsessed with her, much like you are with Cyprian. But she wasn’t Dariux. And my parents, who were believers of the elite, would only allow us to get married if Norma would undergo artificial injections. Of course, she said yes. We were young, invincible. I can still see her lying in that hospital bed, smiling up at me. Full of trust. Nothing could go wrong, right? Then we had you.” A nostalgic smile curled Milanov’s lips. “Two years later came Helianth. We were so happy, son, the four of us. So happy. Until it began. Her brain started to blacken out. Soon, it became serious. She started having visions, but unlike you and me, her body was burning with fever whenever she got them. She became ill.” A heavy sigh fell from Milanov’s lips. Grief was struck on his handsome face. “Then one morning, herheart just…we drove her here as soon as we could. And I stayed alone, with you and Helianth. My two hearts. And now…” He got back up and started pacing once again. “The Dariux in her is being tugged at. She’s having visions. And I won’t leave her alone, son, not when she’s like this. Fighting to connect. I can’t.”

What if she wakes up?

“Son…please tell me that Cyprian’s Dariux is developing.”

“Yes.” Moargan hesitated. “But he wanted to keep it between us for now. It feels foreign and is a lot to take in.”

Milanov sighed, looking relieved. “That’s good enough. For now. The awakening of the Dariux is a privileged, intimate happening. Aviel only admitted his abilities a year after he’d first shot fire with his eyes. But I believe it’s time we understand Cyprian’s destiny.”

“His destiny?”

Milanov nodded. “Fate. That’s what this is all about, Moargan, and you know it. He is not just your bonded, or your chosen one. He is your fated mate. We are all part of the Dariux. A unique path has been designed for every one of us. The question is, when will our paths all come together?” He stared out the window. “The last time your mother’s eyes fluttered like they are now is when Aviel returned home.”

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