Page 59 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

‘No, I haven’t but people talk. I promise that if I want to know something about you, I’ll ask you,’ he said firmly. ‘But I will confess that I’m curious as to why everyone seems so fearful of your family name.’

He held my gaze steadily. He wasn’t lying, he hadn’t been gossiping about me – but why not? It would be easy for him to satisfy his curiosity. Then again, maybe it was a chance for me to satisfy my own. ‘How about this?’ I gambled. ‘I’ll tell you about me if you tell me about Fatima.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘Well now, youhavebeen digging, haven’t you?’ He bit his lip and for the first time I sensed he was nervous.Whatever this was, it was my ticket to ensure he didn’t get the Eternal Flame, I was sure of it.

‘You want to know about Fatima?’

‘I want to know why you’ve sent her millions of pounds.’

‘And if I tell you, you’ll tell me your history?’

‘That’s the deal.’

Wordlessly, Fraser sank onto the rocks. He ran his tongue over his lips and for a second I assumed he’d refuse, but then he cleared his throat and lifted his gaze to mine. ‘All right.’ His gaze was serious. ‘Beatrix Stonehaven, you’ve got yourself a deal.’

My skin chilled as I wondered if I’d made a deal with the devil.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Fraser was still shirtless and I couldn’t help but feel like he was using his abs to his advantage. Ab-warfare. ‘I didn’t grow up in Witchlight Cove,’ he said finally. ‘But you already know that.’

‘I do, but it sounds like there’s more of a story there.’

‘There is,’ he admitted. ‘It’s quite a long one.’ He glanced at Eva who was pacing impatiently in the sand. ‘Why don’t we take her for a walk? We can talk as we go.’

‘Sure.’

It was a crying shame when he pulled on his shirt and buttoned it. When he pulled on his leather jacket, I found myself focusing on how well it fit him. It really worked on him; then again, I doubted there was much he could wear that I wouldn’t like the look of.

He snagged his shoes but didn’t put them on, preferring to stroll barefoot in the sand.

‘Fatima?’ I asked impatiently as we started walking.

‘I didn’t grow up here,’ he repeated, picking up where he’d left off. ‘I grew up in a small village off the northern coast of Scotland.’

‘You’re Scottish? Your accent isn’t very strong.’

‘Well, you tend to mix a lot in magical communities – and I’ve worked hard to lose it. There are too many memories associated with that time of my life that I’d rather forget.’

‘What happened?’

‘The plan was to leave with my mum,’ he said quietly. ‘She was the reason I stayed as long as I did – I’d wanted out for years. My dad… He wasn’t a nice man. He was a walrus shifter, a big, ugly brute in both his human and animal forms. He caused us a lot of pain, especially my mum.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, and I meant it with every fibre of my being. I was lucky to have grown up in a warm, loving home and my heart ached that he hadn’t experienced the same.

He pressed his lips together as he tried to maintain his composure, but I could feel his agony. Grief and anger were intertwining until you could hardly separate the two. ‘So you got out?’ I prompted softly after several long minutes.

He shook himself. ‘I did, but not soon enough. My mum … she was a planner. She wouldn’t leave until everything was in place. If we’d gone a day earlier, Dad wouldn’t have found out and she’d have been okay.’

There were so many things I wanted to say, but none of them felt like enough.

‘She was in the hospital for months, but in the end there was nothing they could do. God, I looked for any type of magic to heal her – and that was how I learned about the Eternal Flames. The day I found out there was one here, I went to the hospital – I was going to kidnap her and bring her here. But that was the day she finally lost the battle.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ I said helplessly.

He nodded. After another minute, he cleared his throat. ‘In answer to your question, Fatima runs a retreat for women like her – likeus. She found us at the hospital and promised there’d be a place for Mum when she got out. But Mum never did get out.’

He drew in a long breath. ‘I came here for a fresh start. I’d already saved enough money for both of us to start over, but I was on my own. Working helped me to avoid thinking about Mum, so I focused on earning all the money I could and giving it to the community.’

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