Page 40 of Eclipse of Fate
“You have a death wish, buddy?” He eyes Alaric, brows raised high. I turn to face Alaric too, and he shrugs.Shrugsabout pissing off the king, who holds extremely powerful shadow magic. Taking a deep breath, I shake my head and make my way over to the books that fell. Ambriel crouches down to help me pick up all that has fallen. She reaches for some loose parchment and a portrait with a sharp inhale. I thought maybe she cut herself with the paper, but with the look on her face growing more pinched, worry settles over me.
“What is it? Are you having a vision?” I ask her.
“No,” She shakes her head as she stands with the portrait. “Why is this here?” She asks as she turns back to face the table, and the door where Maki has stopped. Trent crosses the room and takes it from her.
“It’s my uncle Declan. I don’t know who the woman or child are. I found this with some things in my father’s desk.” Her eyes go wider as she turns to look at Alaric. He quirks an eyebrow at her, still lounging in the chair, as though he has no worries at all. When she is speechless, he sits up, bracing his hands on the arms of the chair.
“What is it, Ambriel?” She’s shaking her head now, her mouth gaping like a fish out of water. I take the portrait from Trent andrealize it’s the same one that was with the letter to me. I’m so confused by her reaction, and judging by the look on everyone else’s faces, they are just as perplexed.
“Ambriel?” I ask, placing my hand on her back.
“Alaric… it—it’s, Ma. And you when you were just a babe.” Everyone in the room looks between the two of them with deepening furrows in their brows. My mind is jumping back and forth with the information. I’m trying to process what she’s saying. “I’ve seen this man before… in Ma’s chest at home. She normally kept it locked up, but after you died…” She’s talking to only Alaric now, as he slowly makes his way over to us and plucks the parchment from her to look at for himself. “She used to cry herself to sleep looking at the items in that chest. I was curious. I had to look at the things inside…This man, he is your father, Alaric. There were letters, but they were always signed -DR.” Realization dawns, and I feel my mouth drop at the same time Trent shakes his head.
“Uncle Declan didn’t have kids or a wife.”
“He didn’t because our Ma couldn’t marry someone that she wasn’t mated to by the gods, because she swore her allegiance to the crown as the queen's war maiden.” Everyone is silent as we let the news settle. And my eyes flick between Ambriel and Trent as I understand what her words are also saying. Sadness washes over me at the asinine rule of my ancestors. Love is what it is, no matter the titles placed on each person. There is no right for anyone to say that it's not allowed.
“Who’s going to be the one to tell Dax that the thorn in his side is Uncle Declan’s bastard and our long-lost cousin?” Trent says, letting out a boisterous laugh as he slaps Alaric on the back. I take a deep breath and look at Alaric in his wide eyes.
“No one is going to say a word about this to him. Let me talk to the king.” I rest my hand on Alaric’s chest before I leave, right over the shield that marks his skin under his tunic. “Talk to Trent. I’m sure you have questions about your father.” He nods his head, his normal cocky demeanor gone, as he looks lost at the memory of his parents. One who still thinks him to be dead, and the other who’s already crossed the veil. My mouth turns down at the corners, thinking about everything that must be going through his mind, and as I make my way to find Dax, I shake my head. “It makes sense now, the feeling I’ve been getting from Alaric.”
Chapter thirty-four
SIX YEARS AGO
A breeze blows throughthe grass of the field I’m lying in, causing it to wave like a ripple in a lake. It’s a warm day already, though the sun isn’t even at its highest point. I don’t have any lessons until later. My father was pulled into a meeting late last night and has yet to return. Miles will be taking over combat training. I’m grateful for the break from my father’s constant scrutiny.
The sound of someone’s approach forces me to lift my head from the ground and shield my eyes from the brightness, attempting to see who it is. Dax has a wide grin on his face as he steps in front of the sun, shadowing me and lettingme see him now.
“What the fuck are you grinning about?” I chuckle as he drops down next to me, and I prop myself up on my elbows.
“I got Miles to cancel combat training.” He laughs, and I sit up, fully shaking my head and the grass from my hair. How he gets the adults in this fucking territory to do everything he wants and has them fawning over him all the time is still a mystery to me.
“How did you manage it this time? And the real question… what are we going to get up to now that we don’t have to kick each other’s asses?” I knock my shoulder into his, and he laughs again, pulling a bottle from behind his back. He’s always trying to get me to drink this shit whiskey; that’s his drink of choice, but I prefer bourbon. I guess the one taste I got from my father. A smirk lifts at the corners of my mouth.
“Well, I guess you would manage it. We going to the lake?”
“Vi and some of the other girls are already there, waiting.” His smile widens.
“Did Vi bring any of her Castenelle friends along with her this summer, or are they just the girls from Ravendene?” I ask him as I stand and extend my hand down to help him to his feet too.
“Three.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and we both laugh boisterously as we begin the walk to the lake, passing the bottle between the two of us as we go. Honestly, I know Dax just likes having fun with Vi, but he has to see that the female has fucking doe eyes for him. She will do anything to appease him. It’s kind of fucked up, but her friends all seem to love the idea of being fucked by him or anyone who is in his inner circle when they come here too. Who am I to deny a female what they want, especially when it ends in me blowing a load into one of their mouths?
As we skirt the town center, Dax mumbles ‘incoming’ under his breath a moment before Trent catches up to us.
“Hey, are you guys going to the lake?” He bounces on his toes, his already long legs matching our stride. The kid is likely to be as big as Dax and me when he’s fully grown. Dax grunts, and I laugh before I answer for both of us.
“Yea, and you can fuck off. No kids allowed today. We have things todo.” Dax side eyes me but doesn’t chime in, and my grin splits my face.
“Oh, come on! I want to swim, too. I won’t even bother you guys.”
“Unlikely,” Dax mutters, and I slap him on the back, letting out a chuckle.
“Oh, come on, bro. We were about his age when we got our first taste.”
“Taste of what?” Trent asks curiously.
“Pu…” I start to respond, but Dax quickly interjects, punching me in the stomach. The word comes out like a PAH, with a burst of air connected to a laugh.
