Page 107 of Reaper's Ruin
He laughed bitterly. “Power. What else? In the other Fae courts, queens can rule. But the Storm Court is old-fashioned. Only men can inherit the throne.”
“And?” Rhyker pressed.
“And she was the older sibling. The legitimate one,” he added darkly. “Daughter of the Storm Queen and King, born in wedlock, the rightful heir in any other court. For a moment, people wondered if he may legitimize women ruling and grant her the throne. But then the king fathered a bastard with a mistress. A son.”
Understanding dawned as the weight of it sank in like a stone.
“She should have been queen,” he said. “But instead, her younger half-brother—born out of scandal but blessed with the right anatomy—got the crown. She’s been furious about it her entire life.”
The pieces began falling into place as he continued, painting a picture of decades-long resentment and carefully planned revenge.
“She and her brother hated each other,” Lord Cassius explained. “But since he only had one daughter, she at least knew that her son would take the throne when he died as it couldn’t be passed down to his girl. That meant eventually, though she couldn’t rule, her child and grandchildren would at least get the honor. But King Aric knew of her desires, and with his hatred of her, he had other ideas to stop her line from taking his place.”
I listened, still trying to decipher how I would ever fit into this political maneuvering.
“What does this have to do with me?” I asked.
Lord Cassius’s lips twisted in a cruel smile. “The King had a tendency to... spread his seed. He fathered children all over the realm, and because he was a Realm Walker, like me, he even fathered some beyond it. Hidden heirs to the throne.”
My heart stuttered. “And I’m one of them?”
“Your father was Aric Skyborne, the Storm King himself,” he confirmed. “You were conceived on one of his many illegal adventures to the Mortal Realm. He had a knack for breakingthe rules, and he found great joy in sneaking to your realm and seducing humans. I guess your mother was one of them.”
The room seemed to spin around me. My father—the man my mother had never spoken of—was a fae King? I was fae royalty?
“But... but even if that’s true. Even if I’m his daughter, I’m a woman. I can’t rule. And I’m a woman in another realm. I’m no threat to Prince Alaric’s rule. It... it doesn’t make sense. Why?”
“Because King Aric suspected Ravenna would do something terrible, even have him killed so her son could take his place. So, he kept a list of all the children he’d sired around the realms. Every last one of them, and he kept it hidden away, only to be revealed in his death. Meaning when he died and Ravenna expected Alaric to take the throne, she’d be thwarted when she learned he had bastards everywhere. Bastards with a claim to the throne.”
“But... that still doesn’t explain why me. I’m a woman.”
“The King had created not just a list of his heirs to be revealed at his death, legitimizing you all and ensuring that his sister could never seize power through her son, but he also secretly changed the law to allow females to inherit the throne. Meaning his daughter would rule, or on the off chance she wasn’t alive, any of his heirs, male or female would take the throne and carry on his line, and Ravenna would be left with no blood on the throne. And then... she found out.”
“So she had him killed,” Rhyker stated flatly.
“Yes. When Ravenna discovered there was a list of heirs, male and female, and a decree secretly granting both sexes the ability to ascend the throne, she was wild with fury that she’d been denied her chance to rule and now it was law that women could rule justaftershe missed her chance. And just in time to ensure her son never would. She knew her brother did this just to spite her and destroy any chance she had of her own bloodline, her son, taking the throne. She killed him and hid the list so no one knewof his heirs or his law putting females into the line of succession. And then, just to be sure, in case it ever came to light he had additional heirs or had signed a law allowing women to rule, she began eliminating anyone who could claim the throne before Alaric—those who knew of their heritage and those, like you, who didn’t. She promised my brother and me wealth, lands, titles if we helped her.”
“And you agreed,” I said, disgust filling me. “You murdered innocent people, including a young woman who didn’t even know she was fae, just for power and wealth.”
He shrugged, unrepentant. “As I said, nothing personal. There are certainly great benefits to having my nephew on the throne instead of one of Aric’s bastards.”
The word ‘bastard’ hit me like a physical blow. That’s what I was to them—not a person, not a daughter, not a nursing student with dreams and hopes—just an inconvenient bastard to be eliminated.
“You killed me!” I snarled, trying to keep from screaming so loudly I’d draw the attention of the guards. “You killed my mother!”
The tears started falling as it all came together. Finally, I understood. I was an heir to the Storm Court throne. A threat to a ruthless woman who would take power however she could. For one moment, one small blink of an eye, I felt for her. Felt her injustice. Understood her rage. The heartbreaking betrayal. But my empathy faded as quickly as the deadly blade had moved when Lord Cassius drove it into my body to complete her revenge.
She’d stolen everything from me. My life. My future. My mother.
“All my life I wondered about my father,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “All those nights staring out the window, wondering who he was, why he never came for me.”
Lord Cassius made a sound that might have been laughter. “Don’t romanticize it, girl. The King didn’t care about you. Not really. You were just another little leftover from his many,manyinterludes.”
I stared at him, the words landing like blows to my stomach.
“You think he sired all you bastards out of love?” He sneered. “You were insurance. A way to ensure his sister would never win their lifelong game. You meant nothing to him beyond your bloodline.”
The revelation stung, but somehow didn’t surprise me. I straightened, facing my murderer with newfound clarity. “So I was just a chess piece to him. And to Princess Ravenna. And to you.”
