Page 62 of Luca

“I had to. He made sure I knew at every turn that I was on his shit list for creating the Veil. It was a humiliation tactic—make me write my own name on there every time I passed through to do his bidding. Though I wasn’t responsible for whatever was written around the time of my banishment. He must have scrawled it in, then left the records to gather dust.”

I wasn’t usually the type to wish ill on anyone, but the king really tested my patience, and I hoped every single pair of his shoes had a tiny pebble inside. “If you knew he wouldn’t approve, why open the portal in the first place?”

“He did approve,” Zadok said. “Hedemanded I open it. That’s what makes it all especially absurd. He wanted to learn about humankind—to gain an advantage over them. For several years, he was toying with the idea of expanding the Fae realm, of leveling out their lands for his own amusement, but as soon as he realized his people were going over there to cohabit instead of intimidate or claim territory as he’d expected, he ordered it closed.

“I managed to convince him to keep it open. Told him the people would shun him, as many had already begun setting up their lives. Luckily, he was still relatively young, so he wouldn’t risk the revolt, but he hated me for changing his mind. He punished me for it, then ordered the Veil moved to the throne room and warded to prevent human access. It let him closely observe who crossed to and from the human realm, to judge them.” He huffed mockingly. “He enjoyed that sliver of control. It kept him relatively content. For a time.”

I was already well aware of the king’s disapproval of interspecies mating. I’d figured that out the second I broke Cair’s bargain. He must have been absolutely seething inside.Good.“Until you met my mother, I’m guessing?”

He nodded. “He kept me close because I was powerful. I was an asset to his reign until I broke the one rule he couldn’t discipline with a simple beating.”

“Many creatures mate with humans, though,” I argued, a temper rising in my belly. “You weren’t the first, so why did he only punish you for it?”

“I was the first so close to the throne,” he said. “He could grudgingly accept lesser Fae bonding with humans as long as they remained at a distance. Mates mean a lot to Fae, so he couldn’t dictate their existence without causing uproar, but he drew the line at sullying the purity of the Otherworld. He knew I had the power and desire to bring your mother through the Veil to start a family, and he couldn’t allow it.”

“Could you not have lived in the human realm with her?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

It was a romantic question, and that wasn’t the mood of the story.

“I begged him to let me live in the human realm, but he refused. He couldn’t look past his hatred, or ignore the possibility of me one day having half-blood younglings who could wander through. He wouldn’t even let me send her a letter. I’d taught him some binding spells, so I couldn’t overpower him. I’d pledged myself to his service. He was my master, and I couldn’t disobey him.”

“He’s a disgrace,” Cair bit out through his fangs. “It’s even worse that he made you suffer all of that, but your half-blood son still wandered through.”

Zadok hummed. “Though the more I think on it, part of me sees it as justice, in a way. He tried to stop it happening, but he failed, and not only that, Luca is mated to the crown prince. My son and his. It’s two shots fired back.”

“That’s why he tried to kill me, isn’t it?”

“It’ll be a factor, yes.”

“So what are we gonna do about it?” I perked up, but suddenly felt a throbbing in my head. I must have made a pained noise as Cair noted it.

“Nothing yet.” He smiled tiredly, lifting the hand not holding mine to brush his knuckles across my cheek. “We can discuss it when you are healed.”

“But—”

“No buts, sweetheart.” His tone brooked no argument. “You’re exhausted. Whatever else there is to discuss can wait for another day or so.”

I couldn’t exactly disagree with him. Not only because he’d already prioritized my needs above his own, and dragging this out any longer would be totally selfish, but my eyes were stinging and my energy was flagging. That didn’t mean I was ready to sleep, though. My mind was too animated, fueled with excitement at finally meeting my dad and learning why he’d never been a part of my life. I was finding out pieces of myself too, seeing him—how he acted, what he looked like, the fact thatI was a mage.All the bits I needed to begin filling the hole in my chest that had been empty for so long. I didn’t want to put that on hold for even a second. I didn’t want to close my eyes and risk it all having been a dream. I knew, logically, that he was still going to be there once I woke up, but I had waited so long, and having to wait one more day to get to know him, toreallyknow him, felt impossible.

However, my mate was stretched well beyond his limits, and even if he wasn’t, I needed to process—reluctantly admitted. I always rushed into everything headfirst and suffered the consequences later, but with this, I had to take my time. Even if it pained me. My gut instincts were telling me Zadok was a decent guy who’d been dealt a shitty hand, and as Cair always said, my gut instincts were usually spot on. But I still needed to let it all absorb. To let myself get used to the idea that this could all actually work out without a hitch. I wanted to know everything, to learn how to use my magic, to talk to him one-on-one, and I was determined to do so, but for everyone’s sake, I had to be patient.

Well, maaaybe one or two books wouldn’t go amiss, even if they weren’t about actual spell casting. It would help keep me occupied and less maudlin.

For now.

I glanced over at Zadok, catching his eye as he set the chair back against the wall. “Can I ask one more question before you go?”

The skin between his eyebrows creased. “Of course.”

“Please can I borrow some books on magic?” I pulled out the big guns—the baby-blue puppy eyes. “Since I’m being forced to stay in and all, I think it’s only fair that I’m offered entertainment. A consolation prize, if you will.”

There was a beat of silence before Flick threw his head back and barked a singular“Ha”at the ceiling. He patted Zadok’s shoulder. “Definitely your son.”

Zadok shook his head fondly, eying me with a sense of admiration. “I will gather the materials and bring them to you tomorrow morning. Deal?”

I nodded.

Flick tapped his leg. “Leaf, come on.”

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