Page 60 of Luca

Third only to being flirted with by a mermaid and bonding with Cair.

“Pleased to meet you, Leaf,” I said. “You are very pretty.”

She seemed pleased by the compliment, preening like a self-absorbed cat, and fluffing out her bat-like wings, before trotting farther down the bed. She paused to dead-eye Cair—which was fucking hilarious, considering my mate dead-eyed her straight back—before huffing and plonking herself at my feet.

I almost didn’t breathe in case I ruined her peace.

“I didn’t mean to disturb your reunions,” the ogre said. “But I wanted to apologize.” He turned his attention to Cair. “I was hostile. I saw the white hair and… Well, I didn’t want anything else to happen to Zadok because of you lot.”

“I understand,” my mate responded, and I felt his fingers twitch against mine. “You were protecting your home. Your family. I’d have done the same.”

The guy grunted, saying nothing more.

My gaze flipped back and forth between the two. “Um, who are you?”

“Felix Wyne.” He puffed his chest out slightly. “Flick, for preference. I’m your dad’s…” He looked to Zadok for confirmation.

The older Fae smiled softly in return. “He is my partner.”

“Nice to meet you, Flick,” I said, meaning every word, but there was a question gathering on the tip of my tongue that I couldn’t quell. “Is this why you left my mom? Because you were in love with someone else?”

Zadok’s smile faltered, and I cursed my complete lack of tact—even Flick flinched at the bluntness. “No,” he answered, voice laden with regret. “She was— At that time, she was my everything. I had no choice but to leave her.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

There was a pause, but he nodded. “How much do you know?”

“That you opened the portal.” I started counting on my fingers. “That you were the king’s adviser, but suddenly you were erased from everyone’s memories and disappeared without a trace. That’s about it, really.”

“That’s… something, I suppose.” Spinning around, he grabbed the spare chair from beside the door, placing it in the spot he’d been standing. If I said he collapsed into it, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration. “Where do I start?”

“At the beginning,” I suggested. “If you can.”

He rubbed at his thighs, taking a breath. “I was the king’s friend in childhood. We grew beside each other in the palace, and when I hit my majority, I became his adviser. I probably wouldn’t have if I wasn’t a mage, but…” He trailed off, shrugging dismissively. “After several hundred years of his reign, I opened the Veil. I was the official go-between for the Fae and humans for… oh, goodness, um, over four hundred and fifty years. Then I met Rosemary.”

Flick gave his shoulder a supportive squeeze, and for once, I remained silent.

“I don’t think I can ever tell you the story of how we met,” he admitted, voice cracking, and though I would have liked to hear about it, I wouldn’t pry for details he clearly wasn’t ready to divulge. I nodded in understanding. “But I can tell you that… she was my mate. We fell in love quickly, and we kept it a secret from the king because of his disapproval of such relationships.”

His gaze grew distant as he stared at an uninteresting spot on the floor, his fingers twitching in his lap. “Ultimately, he found out. I was already on thin ice for a number of deeds he considered disobedient—one of them being a suggestion to remove the ward to allow the monsters’ human mates to pass into the Otherworld. I was careless, growing complacent because I was so enthralled by love, and I didn’t fully consider the consequences. He banished me here, but not before ordering me to wipe all memory of myself from the Fae people so they wouldn’t come looking for me. He wanted me to suffer, helpless and alone in my punishment. I couldn’t even retaliate because he had threatened her life.”

Zadok blinked, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

My chest felt tight, and all I could manage to say was, “I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t know she was pregnant. We were always—” He cut off that line of thought as he glanced up, remembering who he was talking to. Thankfully. “The day I was torn out of the human realm by the king, we were supposed to meet. She had something to tell me. What if…” He swallowed thickly, his face draining of its rosy color. “Another hour and I might have known about you.”

“Would it have made a difference?” I mused out loud.

“I… I don’t know,” he said honestly, combing a hand through his hair, messing it up further. “It may have even made the situation worse.”

Well, that was depressing to think about, so I tried not to. “How did Cair’s memory return?” I asked, changing the subject, and he jolted upright.

“Oh! A memory erasing spell only works until the subjects see a picture or the full written name of the forgotten party. As I said to Cair—” He cut himself off, cringing as if suddenly remembering something. “His Highness?—”

“Cair is fine,” my mate said, and Zadok nodded in gratitude.

“I believe his father led you both to my secret office in the library, made sure you found me, so that you would be here when you…”Diedwasn’t said, but it was implied. “He always did have a flair for the dramatics.”

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