Page 148 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“No,” Lange snapped. “I won’t accept that. You owe us this, Eviana. You’ve dragged us all over the fucking realm. We deserve to know what we’re likely going to die for.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, and Lange scoffed. But when he started to say something else, Corbin cut him off.
“Let her be, Lange,” his lover said. “She’s made it clear we’re only along to be used. It’s what we’re for, right?”
Eviana looked up, meeting his hazel eyes narrowed in challenge. And she hated it. She hated his words had such an effect on her. Hated that either of them affected her. Hated that the words Lange had hurled at her when trapped by the Dread-Nymph played over in her mind at night when she was trying to sleep. Hated that she was making moves to ensure they stayed with her. Hated knowing the reasons she constantly recited to herself were excuses she refused to acknowledge.
Setting the stick aside, she brushed off her hands. “Have either of you been to the Sirana Villas?”
She could feel the surprise coming from them, but she didn’t look at them. If she did, she might stop, so she kept her gaze fixed on the fire.
“No,” Corbin finally answered. “We’ve never been to the Villas.”
“You don’t remember,” she agreed. “But you were both born there.”
“What?” Lange asked, shock resounding in that single word.
“The Villas are where the Legacyexperiment. Yes, they breed the Fae there to keep their world running smoothly, but like all powerful things, they crave more. Any way they can gain an advantage over one another. Of course, it’s all under the guise of advancing the realm,” she went on.
“I’m not quite following,” Corbin said.
She nodded. “Deals are made. Some in the shadows. Some in the light. But the rulers of this land want stronger Sources and more powerful Fae under their control. You know the Legacy take what they want from the Fae. Of course Fae became pregnant from their greed, and for a long time, those pregnancies were terminated. Until they weren’t.
“Some of those babes lived. The mothers tried desperately to keep them a secret, but they were discovered. And those babes were more powerful than the average Fae, piquing interest. So the Mistress of the Sirana Villas was allowed to start arranging pairings. I am the result of such a pairing.” She finally lifted her head, locking eyes with the males. “So is Lange.”
Corbin looked horrified—the poor innocent thing—but Lange was shaking his head. Denial could be as powerful as fear.
“How can you possibly know that?” Lange asked.
“Because I’ve seen the files,” she answered. “You know we all have records. It’s how I knew you could hear the winds. It’s how I knew what both of you were.”
“No,” Lange said, having sat up straighter. “If any of that were true, why weren’t we claimed right away? Why weren’t we tagged to be Sources?”
Her smile was humorless and bitter. “I was born to be a Source,” she answered. “Valter picked out the pairing for my parents himself. His Source was killed when I was of age to be Selected.”
“He wouldn’t kill his own Source,” Lange said.
She only stared back at him. He could cling to that denial all he wanted, but she wasn’t going to feed into it.
“His question is valid,” Corbin said. “If this is all true, why weren’t we claimed right away?”
“Because complete files aren’t released until you are claimed,” she answered. “It’s supposed to keep things somewhat fair between the kingdoms. Even the heirs don’t get full access to files when they are scoping out potential Sources. It’s why they do such extensive assessments of the possibilities. No one truly knows what’s going to be revealed at an Emerging Ceremony.”
“So you’re saying the Lords and Ladies can handpick replacement Sources, but they can’t do the same for their heirs? That’s ridiculous,” Lange argued.
“Everything with the Lords and Ladies is ridiculous,” she replied. “But yes. As I said, it was an agreement in an effort to keep the power balance fair. Of course, they’ve all lied and cheated, but it’s why Fae go through such extensive training and trials during Selection years. They watch for anything that might indicate that a Fae is more than.”
“So then I’m what?” Lange demanded.
“Wind Fae and Sefarina Legacy,” she answered simply.
“And you?”
“Earth Fae and Silas Legacy.”
“And Corbin?”
She paused then, drawing in the dirt with her finger. “He was a surprise, and one that Valter was delighted with when he received the documents. And while you would have certainly been sent to the Sirana Villas to breed your power, Lange, Corbin…”
