Page 59 of Luca

I was nodding before Zadok even finished asking the question, and with a nod of his own, he approached the bed, reaching out for my hand. Cair tensed at the sudden movement, his eyes boring into the older Fae—who apologized and turned his palm face up, letting me be the one to initiate contact. I offered my mate a patient smile, watching his shoulders visibly slacken before placing my free hand in Zadok’s.

A gasp lodged in my throat as a zip of electricity danced across my skin.

Zadok’s eyes widened, and within one blink and the next, my palm was heating, familiar magic-induced goose bumps trailing up my arm before a fusion of purple and green light filtered out from the gaps between our fingers. Slowly, he withdrew just enough for me to examine the emerald flame engulfing my hand, flickering recklessly as if it were caught in a draft. It didn’t burn as a typical fire would, though it was warm, like sinking into tepid bathwater—an ironic analogy, I knew, but it was the only comparison that came to me.

The threads of magic tickled as they snaked over the valley at the base of my thumb, tracing my knuckles before wrapping around my wrist. It pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat, and I couldn’t help thinking how serene I felt.

“The green light was mine,” I muttered, smiling as the flame chirped.

“Hm?”

“When I woke up, it was lingering at the edges of my vision, almost like I was coming out of a haze. Then it… comforted me when I started to panic.”

Zadok bobbed his head emphatically. “Now that your magic is fully unbound, it will try to protect and guide you, offer you aid whenever you need it. It is a shield.A friend. It is a part of you, but also its own being with its own personality. It’s a… magnificent gift to possess, and once you learn how to channel it, you’ll see just how much more there is to it than merely power.”

His own violet swirls warbled as if in agreement before both entities disappeared with a flourish, though they weren’t gone entirely. At least, mine wasn’t. I could still feel it buzzing in my chest, more intense than before.

It was enchanting, and I couldn’t wait to explore it further.

There was a beat of silence that fell over the room, and I glanced up from staring at my fingers as they flexed out the residual sensation to see Zadok watching me closely, reflecting. His face flipped through several expressions, as if this entire scenario was finally hitting him, and he didn’t know how to take it.

“I still can’t believe…” He sighed, tears welling in his eyes. “I didn’t know you existed.”

Well, that answered my main question, I supposed, and the way he said it, the regret pouring from him seemed genuine. He hadn’t yet given me a reason to think he was liar, and his initial reflex wasn’t defensiveness or hostility. From our brief encounter, I suspected that he wore his emotions on his sleeve, much like I did. Excitement, fear, worry… it was all there, playing out on his face in real time. His nerves weren’t fake—as a connoisseur of anxiety, I could tell—and no alarm bells were ringing, so it wasn’t difficult for me to believe him.

Cair also wouldn’t have been so neutral around him if he sensed even a sliver of trickery, so I had to trust our judgment. There was still so much more I needed to dive into, though. More I had to dig up and figure out. I just had to list everything in order of importance. “I have so many questions for you.”

He chuffed lightly, a barely there smile returning to his face. It seemed authentically fond. “You wouldn’t be my son if you didn’t.”

The easy way he’d said those words made my heart thump.

He already accepted me.

There was a knock, and my gaze shifted to the stranger standing in the doorway. He was a hybrid—an ogre and… a Fae? His demeanor seemed larger than life, bold and unapologetic, though he barely reached Zadok’s shoulders—not short, by any means, but being a half-blood like me, he was on a similar wavelength in the height department. He had green skin, as would be expected of an ogre, yet his eyes were unmistakably Fae, black and enthralling.

There was a striking pink scar that sliced through his left eye and carried on down to the bottom of his cheek, cutting through his copper stubble. His hair was a deeper shade of red, cropped at the sides with two plaits on the top, trailing between his small black horns and stopping at his nape. He had muscles for days, and more scars littered his arms, but I tore my gaze away before it became a little too intrusive.

“Fuck,” the guy said bluntly, grinning around two protruding tusks. “I thought it was some trick.” He huffed a laugh, turning to Zadok, and I noticed his pointed ear. There were piercings lining the shell, except for an inch or two halfway up where a chunk of flesh was missing. “The resemblance is uncanny.”

Zadok parted his lips to speak, but a rhythmic snicking on the wooden floor stopped him. I frowned, and seconds later a small creature came scurrying into the room, a flurry of green scales and… were those wings?

Before I could get a proper look, it leaped onto the end of the bed, chirruping happily, and my jaw almost hit my lap.

“Leaf, get down?—”

“A dragon?!” I gasped, but the little beast snorted as if unamused.

“She’s a wyvern,” the stranger said, and I swore the creature nodded smugly. I gave her another deliberate once-over, and realization dawned.

Shit, of course. She only had two legs.

“Forgive me.” I offered her a head dip, and after a studious side-eye, she seemed to relent. Tentatively, I extended my arm toward her, aiming to let her sniff my hand and hopefully earn a head scratch, but she swerved the touch, making her boundaries clear. She didn’t retreat from my space, though, so I wasn’t too disappointed. I’d just have to work harder to win her affections.

“This is Leaf,” Zadok introduced her with a sigh. “She’s very friendly, for the most part, but also a total madam. Don’t take her attitude personally.”

Leaf lifted her chin haughtily, and I snorted.

I couldn’t believe I was seeing a wyvern with my own two eyes. This was on the same scale—ha—as mermaids. Two fantasy creatures I’d had a particular interest in as a kid. It was even better learning that she had such an arrogant disposition. Watching a wyvernling judge the world around her would genuinely go down in history as one of my life’s greatest highlights.

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