Page 67 of Crown of Ashes and Desire

My blood froze. Before I could respond, golden light flashed beside me, creating temporary blindness.

When my vision cleared, Melo stood in her human form, flame-red hair cascading down her back, completely nude and utterly unashamed. In one fluid motion, she slammed Sarp into the wall, forearm pinned to his throat, her other hand splayed on his chest with turquoise magic crackling between her fingers.

Sarp's eyes darted everywhere except at her, his face burning red. "Could you perhaps—clothing?—"

"Speak of this to anyone," she hissed, ignoring his discomfort, her voice deepening to an otherworldly register when ancient fox magic swirled around her, “and I will tear your still-beating heart from your chest and feed it to you.” The intensity of her emotion had triggered the transformation—fury at Sarp’s intrusion and fear for my safety combining to bring forth her human form.

Sarp didn’t even seem to register the threat, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that was almost painful. “Kiraz,” he whispered, the name spoken as a prayer from his mouth. “She’s…she’s his daughter?”

His voice held a vulnerability I’d never heard before—raw emotion breaking through his carefully constructed facade.

After a moment, his mask of humor slipped back into place, though it couldn't quite hide the emotion in his eyes. "You know," he remarked, his voice deliberately light, "you're absolutely magnificent when you're promising to disembowel me. Has anyone ever told you that your eyes literally glow when you're contemplating murder?"

Melo blinked, clearly thrown by this rapid shift. "This isn't the time for jokes, human!"

"You're stunning when you're angry." Sarp's smile didn't reach his eyes, which still held the shock of revelation. "I appreciate the imagination of a woman. Makes me wonder what other talents you're hiding beneath all that…ferocity." He paused, his grin turning wicked. "Though I have to say, most people at least wait until the second meeting before pressing themselves naked against me. You fox spirits certainly don't waste time."

His gaze traveled appreciatively over her face, lingering on her lips. Melo's grip loosened slightly, confusion flickering across her features as a flush crept up her neck.

"You're infuriating," she snapped. "And Hakan cannot know about Kiraz."

"Completely agreed," Sarp said, though his eyes never lost their amused spark. "Which is why I have no intention of telling our brooding shadow prince that he's managed to procreate. Though it does explain his perpetual bad mood—fatherhood does that to a man, I hear."

I stood, watching this bizarre exchange with growing disbelief. “He chose power over love, over any future we might have had.”

“Ada, I’m his oldest friend—his brother in everything but blood—I’ve had the unique privilege of watching him destroyhimself and everything good in his life for five years.” His voice cracked slightly as emotion broke through. He gently removed Melo’s arm from his throat, though he kept hold of her wrist. “Including you, Ada.”

He ran his free hand through his hair, his usual composure completely shattered. “A child,” he whispered, more to himself than to us. “Hakan has a daughter.”

“You knew,” I said, realization dawning. “About me. After he left.”

“I checked on you,” he admitted, all traces of humor gone. “Not often enough, clearly, since I never discovered…” He swallowed hard. “I lost track of you after your release from the sanctuary. By then, you’d moved to the coastal villages with your family.” His expression was a complex mixture of wonder, grief, and something like anger. “Gods, Ada. A child. His child. I knew about the sanctuary, about your breakdown. I tried telling him once, after his father’s spell started to fade, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Spell?” Melo demanded, still poised for attack despite Sarp’s hold on her wrist.

"After Hakan discovered his heritage and drove Ada away, he spent nine months in regret. When his guilt threatened Daddy Dearest's plans, Erlik ripped Hakan's all memories of you away without his consent—to ensure his loyalty, to sever his connection to Ada."

I went very still. The words settled into my mind slowly, each syllable reshaping everything I thought I understood about the past five years.

"What?" I breathed.

Sarp's expression shifted to surprise, then concern. "I thought you knew? I thought he told you?"

"Told me what, exactly?" My voice remained steady, but I could feel something cold spreading through my chest.

"Erlik erased Hakan's memories of you," Sarp said carefully, watching my face. "For two years, he didn't even know you existed. The spell made him forget why he'd driven you away, forget what you meant to him."

I sank onto a nearby stone ledge, my hands folding carefully in my lap. I glanced at Melo, she was as equally shocked as me. "He didn't remember me at all."

"Not for two years, no."

I closed my eyes, processing. "That's why I thought he was dead. Why I never sensed him." Understanding dawned quietly. "The spell didn't just hide his memories—it severed our natural connection completely."

"Ada—"

"I felt him disappear from the world," I continued, my voice distant. "Not because he rejected me, but because Erlik literally tore our bond from his mind." I opened my eyes, meeting Sarp's gaze. "When did the spell break?"

"About two years ago. The memories returned gradually."

---