Page 85 of Prince of Never

It was one thing to think I’d been adopted, but it was quite another to realise that I’d been abandoned, swapped for some other poor child.The people I’d thought were my parents hadn’t wanted me, they just didn’t know I wasn’t theirs.If they’d known, would they have cast me aside rather than fight so hard to make me normal?

I shook myself, trying to snap out of the spiral I was spinning into.One thing at a time.Dwelling on it all now would do me no good.Instead, I’d try to go about my day as I normally would.After all, I couldn’t really solve anything until Tarian returned.

A gentle knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and my body stiffened as it opened.I didn’t turn around.I knew it was Sarah, since no one else would come to see me.Except Madam Hetia, but she never knocked like that.

My stomach clenched tight.I didn’t know how to tell Sarah what had happened.I didn’t know how to tell her that I was a changeling, a creature like the one that had stolen her from her family and forced her to live a life in the fae realm as a servant.I wasn’t sure I could bear it if she was horrified by the discovery.

But it wasn’t as if I could hide it from her.

‘Come in,’ I said, nervousness tightening my voice.

‘Imogen?Are you alright?’she asked as she entered the room, the genuine concern in her voice tugging at my heart.I didn’t want her to hate me.

I sucked in a shaky breath, hoping it would somehow ignite my courage.‘Sarah, there’s something I have to speak to you about,’ I said slowly as I forced myself to turn around.

‘If this is about the master, I—’ she said, but a gasp cut her off, her eyes widening as she took in my appearance.

‘It’s not about that.Tarian took me to an oracle and—’ Gods, how did I tell her?How could I tell her in a way that would make it any better?‘Sarah, I’m not human.’

She looked at me, really looked at me, taking in my altered appearance.I waited as she studied me.‘You’re a changeling,’ she said finally.But there wasn’t any accusation in her voice.It was almost as if the pieces of a puzzle had fallen into place for her.

‘You don’t sound surprised,’ I said, confused.

‘The fae have a thing about true names, and most of them keep meticulous records,’ she said.‘All changelings are told of their true names, when they’re old enough to understand.Imogen Summers is the name I should have had.It’s my true name.’

‘What?’Sarah was the human child I’d replaced.She was the daughter my parents were supposed to have.And realisation struck me, something that shouldn’t have taken me so long to notice.The reason she lookedsofamiliar to me was because she looked just like my mother in the photos I’d seen when she was young.How could I not have seen it before?‘I’m the reason you’re here.’Guilt twisted in my gut, tightening, stabbing.Had she been taken to save my life or was there another, less noble reason I’d been shunted away into another realm, into someone else’s life?

Sarah took my hand in hers, surprising me out of my thoughts.‘I don’t blame you, Imogen.You had as much control over this situation as I did.We were only babies.But...’She paused, her eyes dropping from mine for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure she should ask me.‘Will you tell me about them?’

Telling her about the family she should have had was the least I could do, and yet, most of the memories I had of my parents—herparents—weren’t happy ones.‘I’ll try.But your parents...they didn’t like me very much.I think they’d have much preferred to have a daughter like you.’

She looked conflicted, and I realised I’d put her in an awkward position, so I pressed on.‘You look like her, like my—yourmother.When she was young.’

‘I do?’She dropped her gaze to the floor for a moment, seeming to be searching for words.I didn’t blame her for not knowing what to say, what to ask.She probably had a thousand questions, but now that she could have the answers, where would she start?I wondered what I would ask my parents if I ever had the chance.Did I even want to meet them?

But this was different.It must have felt so strange talking to the person who had replaced you.I’d already thought she would hate me when she saw I was fae, but to realise I was also the fae who’d taken her human life… it was so twisted.In her shoes, I wasn’t sure I could have been so understanding.

When she looked back up at me, she smiled.‘I’ll make some tea, why don’t you start the fire?’

‘What about the chores?’I asked.

She waved the words away.‘I think we have more important things to worry about right now.And besides,’—she shot me a sly glance—’I’d say you can do whatever you want, seeing as how you’re the prince’s mate.’

‘I—how did you know?’

She tilted her head, looking at me as if I was an idiot.‘Please, you haven’t exactly hidden the mark.And besides, I saw the way he kissed you.And if you think we aren’t going to talk aboutthat, you are sorely mistaken.’

I laughed, blushing hotly, and she shot me a wink before ducking out of the room.I knelt by the hearth and started a fire, editing my tales in my head.I didn’t want her to share my bad memories of my—her—family when she’d never had the chance to make any memories with them at all.I would tell her about the time her father taught me to ride a bike, and omit the part where I crashed because I’d seen a strange creature with pointed ears and teeth.I’d omit the way they’d yelled at me for lying about it, the grim unease in their faces when I persisted with the story through my tears.I’d omit the doctors’ appointments, the shrinks and priests who’d come to see me, the medication I’d been forced to take that made my head foggy.I’d omit the loneliness that I’d felt my whole life until I’d finally left that house, until I’d met Ethan and Ivy.

Until I’d met Tarian.

Because if they’d had Sarah as their daughter, their real daughter, they might have been totally different people, totally different parents.Perhaps they would have loved Sarah in a way they hadn’t been able to love me.Perhaps they’d always known, deep down, that I was an imposter.

Sarah came back with a tray, and I quirked an eyebrow at the biscuits she’d placed there.They were the fancy ones, not offered to the servants.Sarah shrugged.‘Might as well.’She placed the tray on the table and looked at me eagerly.

Oh yes, she was getting a very heavily edited version of her parents, because after everything else, I couldn’t bear to disappoint her.I took a sip of my tea and began my tale, for the first time realising where my inability to lie came from and having to choose my words exceptionally carefully.

Sarah and I had talked for hours, and not once were we disturbed by anyone, though I constantly expected Madam Hetia to swoop in any moment and screech at us to get back to work.But finally, Sarah had risen from the chair and stretched before picking up the tray of empty cups.When I’d tried to help her, she only shook her head and told me I wasn’t a servant anymore.

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