Page 63 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

“She got her power from you,” I said, accusation creeping into my tone.

But the demon king remained unruffled. “She found your mother and me together one evening in the forest. She threatened to tell the Fates. To have your mother stripped of her Aine status for breaking her vow to them. So, I offered her a spark of what I have in exchange for her silence.”

My jaw dropped. “That’s why you gave her your power? To keep your girlfriend a secret?”

His brow arched as if he somehow still had his sense of humor about the whole thing. “Very romantic, isn’t it? I take it your mother never told you?”

“She never told me a lot of things.”

He sighed. “Yes, that was an unfortunate part of the deal, I’m afraid.” He managed to look sorry for it.

“I don’t understand. You said you negotiated with the Fates to keep me until I was eighteen. But you brought me here anyway. Why keep the secret in the end?”

“When I gave my power to Heliconia, I broke the treaty my brothers and I had with the Fates. Up until that moment, the Furiosities ruled over the dark souls of Menryth, and the Fates watched over the light. For a millennium, we maintained a balance that way. But with Heliconia, the scales had tipped in our favor. According to our treaty, I should have paid for that in my own blood, and Menryth would have suffered the consequences. Instead, the Fates blessed you. It was their way of rebalancing things. But it didn’t come free.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was no longer allowed to step foot in this realm. And I was forbidden from contacting you.”

“That’s harsh.”

He smirked. “The Fates are not as gentle as the priestesses have led you to believe.”

“And you’re not as evil?” I couldn’t help but ask.

His smirk widened. “Your mother sought a balance of her own,” was all he said. “She would put aside her crown and her access to Hel in exchange for being in your life.”

“She let me believe I was someone else’s daughter.”

“She was forbidden from speaking the truth, same as me.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I’d been so angry that Sonoma had kept the truth from me. But if she’d been bound by magic… Did that change the betrayal?

The damage had still been done.

“Why now?” I asked. “I thought you weren’t allowed to contact me.”

“I’m here to collect my bride.” He winked. “I would think Hel’s daughter recognizes a loophole when she sees one.”

I scowled.

“It didn’t work,” I pointed out, needing to change the subject. “Giving up your power for Heliconia’s silence. The Fates found out anyway.”

“They did,” he agreed.

“And now she has more power than anyone in Menryth.”

His dark gaze held no apology as he said, “I would’ve done that and more for your mother.” His expression was somehow both sad and full of love.

For a fleeting moment, I was happy they would be reunited at last. Even though it meant I had to lose her. Lose both of them. Tears burned at that, but I blinked them back, desperate to soak up my father’s company for as long as he was here. “You both gave up everything for me.”

He took a step closer. “And we would do it again in a heartbeat.”

I remained still, my breath frozen as he closed the distance between us. Father or no, he was the ruler of Hel, after all. But he only brushed a warm hand over my cheek. Power sparked at the contact, and he grinned.

“Will I see you again?” I asked.

“Someday, we shall be united at last. Until then, I am always watching over you, daughter.”

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