Page 46 of The Calling of Caellaias
Calli gasped, “Oh. King Casimir isn't going to like that. The royal family has always been purebred fae.”
Irritation stirred again. “What the hell is so wrong with half-breeds?”
Calli glanced at her feet and mumbled, “I personally have nothing against half-breeds, but King Casimir is a firm believer in the idea that power comes from status; purebreds are considered the most powerful beings in his eyes. I don't completely agree with that idea, but King Casimir ostracized his eldest daughter because she fell in love with a being that was not another purebred fae. When she left, he had high hopes for your mother. After your mother disappeared, he was devastated.
“King Casimir is not of direct royal descent as he married into the family. His father was a High Lord. He is, of course, a purebred fae, but he does not possess the abilities the royals do. When Queen Ahmeira passed away, she took the possibility of there being any more royal children.”
“So my mom and aunt are the only direct descendants of the queen that can pass down the royal abilities? Could that be why the king wants me? Is that why he took Eiri, too? Even with us being half-breeds, we can still pass down whatever special powers the royals do, right?” I asked, looking at Maeyve.
“Yes, your mom and aunt were the last ones known to possess the royal abilities. If you have these abilities, it is possible for you to give them to your children. But that would depend greatly on who you had children with and what their bloodline was like.”
My concern about meeting my grandfather intensified. Everything was starting to make sense. When he couldn't get to my mom, he turned to the next best thing: my sister and I. He would never give up in his pursuit of finding his family, especially his daughter. HavingEiri and me made that easier. He could lure my mom to him with her daughters in his possession.
I stood there, stuck in my thoughts, when Calli said, “Maeyve, you need to get out of here before anyone else sees you. My parents are out here patrolling, too. I can arrange for a carriage to take you both to the castle so you can get there quicker and avoid prying eyes, but be careful when you get there. I've heard that King Casimir has been quite brutal as of late. He may not take kindly to you accompanying his granddaughter as you, yourself, are a half-breed.”
Just then, I had an idea. “If we don't have to go to the castle on foot, it won't take us as long to get there, right?” Maeyve nodded, and I continued, “Can we stop to see my other grandfather? Maybe he can help us get my sister back.”
Calli burst out laughing as I finished. Confused, I glared at her. She cleared her throat when she caught me glaring and explained, “No offense, but you don't know Lord Amaroc. He's a traditional wolf shifter and has quite a temper. My guess is that your father ran away for a multitude of reasons. Sure, King Casimir was angry at Cordilaen, but Roarc was also arranged to be married. Your father is as good as dead to Lord Amaroc, which means he may not take kindly to you either.”
My heart sank. I'd grown up thinking I had no grandparents, only to find out that both of my grandfathers seemed to be pompous asses who may not accept me, and at least one of my grandmothers was dead. There really was so much I had to learn about my life that my parents had kept from me.
With everything running through my mind, I didn't notice Maeyve was talking to me again until she caressed my cheek, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.
She gave me a small smile and asked again, “Are you okay? I know this is a lot for you to deal with.”
Tears welled in my eyes as I whispered, “No. I'm trying to process everything I've learned and understand more about my family that's been hidden from me. I'm in a strange place going to meet my grandfather—whom I didn't know existed until a few days ago—because he had my sister abducted.”
“I understand. Everything will be okay.” She gave me a light, swift kiss and grasped my hand again to lead me to where Calli had wandered.
Before we left the forest, Calli stopped to let another of the protectors know she'd be headed to Ceraias for the night and would see them later.
Calli said as we began our trek, “This trip is normally a lot faster in my fox form, but… Can you shift, Anevae?”
“I'm not sure yet. I've never tried,” I said.
“I'm almost certain her mother was giving her suppressants. She doesn't even have access to her fae magic yet,” Maeyve added.
“Hmm. Interesting. I'm sure you'll be able to. But I apologize in advance; this is going to be a long walk,” Calli said.
Shrugging, I said, “I came into Caellaias expecting to have to walk to Castle Rilvara. You're already saving me from walking all the way there.”
“Okay. We also likely won't reach my home until nightfall, so make sure to stay close to us. The fact that I could smell your royalty means many others will as we go through the cities. The royal family hasn't made an appearance outside of Eirvanna in centuries,” Calli said.
“Why?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Calli looked at Maeyve before explaining, “Your grandfather wasn't the first one to think poorly of half-breeds. Many of the prior kings and queens believed that the fae were the superior race –”
“That doesn't make sense, though. Why would the king employ shifters and vampires to be guards of the castle? Wouldn't he want all of his guards to be fae?” I asked, confused.
A smirk appeared on Calli's face as she looked over at me. “I think I'll rather like you.”
From there, we walked in silence. Once we left the woods, Calli took us through a few small towns. The little homes throughout themwere simple and battered. But when we arrived in Ceraias, the homes were drastically different.
Even in the lamplight around the city, I could see that Calli's home was a small two-story house with a beautiful structure made of black bricks. The matching black roof was slanted, similar to the ones in the Earth realm. It was immaculate.
Calli ushered us in and showed us a room we could use for the night. After putting our things down, Calli found us something to eat, then went to find a map to Castle Rilvara. As we ate, Calli and Maeyve spoke about our trip to the castle while I sat quietly, still processing everything. When I was done, I excused myself and got ready for bed; it'd been a long day, and the next day wouldn't be much better.
Chapter thirty-two
