Page 47 of Till Kingdom Come

“Theirs was a tragic story,” he said, and I knew he was talking about my parents again.

“Really? I heard that my father was cruel to my mother and kept her mostly out of sight and captive in her rooms.”

“It was a complicated situation,” he said, a little hesitant. He looked as if he wanted to say more.

“I suppose it is when one person is holding the other one captive.” My tone was bitter, to say the least as I glared at him. “Are the rumors I heard true? Tell me.” I said, gripping the side of the table. “You said you knew my father. Was he abusive to my mother?”

“From what I understand, Brendan kept Ashlin in a room fortified with iron to weaken her. She couldn’t use her powers to get free. He was insanely jealous and possessive. She only managed to escape after you were born and when some of her women helped remove the iron from the doors. Brendan was enraged and thought she’d left him to be with another man.”

“Wait a minute. Why wasn’t he affected by the iron in her room?”

“Elves, though related to Fairies, aren’t affected by it. We mine iron ore deposits.”

“I’ve worn armor and fought with swords all my life.”

He shrugged and nodded. “Then you must have inherited your resistance to it from your father.”

I was silent for a moment, a bit lost in all the thoughts swirling around in my head. I didn’t necessarily believe him, and I was done listening to him trying to defend the man. My poor mother had been ripped away from her home and taken to this frozen wasteland, where she was locked away and then violently abused and assaulted—was it any wonder she left me as soon as she could get away? She must have hated the very sight of me, just like she hated my father. Complicated, my ass.

I’m not sure if I said any of that out loud or if Hendris just saw the stricken look on my face, because he leaned forward and spoke to me.

“Killian, your mother loved you. She refused to be parted from you. It’s a part of why she took you with her when she left here.”

“I don’t see how she could have loved me. Besides, shedidleave me. Not that I blame her—who could?”

“Everyone who ever saw you with her could see how much she loved you. She was quite protective of you.”

I couldn’t help the little sneer in my voice when I answered him. “She left me with a mortal stepfather who never cared about me. Who sold me to the Fairies the first damn chance he got. She must have gotten over ‘how much’ she loved me pretty fast.”

“I don’t pretend to know anything about your life after you left here. I don’t know what kind of man your stepfather was or why she married him. But she must have had her reasons. She felt she couldn’t take you back to her home.”

“Why not?”

“Because her family had vowed to kill you on sight.”

I fell back in shock and simply stared at him. Was that why she’d had the glamour put on me? To hide me from her own family?

“Wait. Did my mother put the glamour on me to hide me?”

“She must have. Yes.”

Hendris swirled the red wine in his crystal glass as he waited for me to absorb what he’d said. He seemed to be carefully choosing his words. “How much do you know about the Blood Throne?”

“Not much, it seems.”

“You and I have never had much chance to talk without Bracca being present—not from the first time you strolled into my throne room with your Fairy Prince and proceeded to take over.”

I blushed a little at that, but he quickly spoke up. “That came out wrong. I apologize.”

I set my glass down hard on the table and stared at him. “None of this was my idea. I hope you know that. I was simply living my life in the mortal world when the Fairies took me. I’m as much of a victim as you in a way. But I won’t hear anything against ‘my Fairy Prince,’ as you call him either. That’s my husband.”

“I know that, and I meant no disrespect.” He quirked up a corner of his mouth. “Well, perhaps I did a little. Fairies and Elves are traditional enemies, Killian. But you mustn’t think I have any accusations or even complaints about you saving the Blood Throne. It means a lot to our people. And I don’t consider myself a victim. I love Daeneid and it was definitely dying, along with the Elven people. You saved us, you and your prince. And I’m grateful to you.”

I inclined my head the slightest bit. I wasn’t sure where he was going with all this, but I felt like he was trying to warn me about something. “What are you trying to say, Hendris? Just say it.”

He shook his head. “I just wondered if you knew about the curse on the throne before you came here. If they told you what you were getting yourself into?”

“Getting myself into? That sounds ominous.”

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