Page 94 of Kiss of Fire

Whatever he said, it would hurt her. And worse, she might think she no longer had any reason to stay.

The thought of her leaving made him feel strangely hollow.

The door to the Library slammed open.

“Where’ve you been?” she demanded. He poured himself another glass of nectar.

“Drink?”

“No. Answer me, Shade. The Vulcani arrive tomorrow. Where did you go?”

He sighed wearily and slumped in the armchair.

“I went to see Magda. About your mother.”

Raya’s pulse quickened.

“I thought Magda said she didn’t know where Aelah was?”

“Her exact words were ‘I can’t tell you where she is’. She was deliberately being coy. I should have realised earlier but I was too wrapped up in the quest for the throne.”

“And?” Excitement bubbled up. She sat in the chair opposite, leaning forward on her elbows. “What did she say?”

Shade held out the bottle.

“Are you sure you will not take a drink?”

“Shade!”

“Fine. But it is not good news.” His eyes rested on her, as blue and guileless as the sky. “I am sorry, Raya. Your mother is dead.”

Raya felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. For a moment she struggled to catch her breath.

All this time hoping. All this time planning. And her mother was dead.

“My father?” she asked dully.

“He died first. Of an illness. Your mother died later. She could not continue without him.”

“When?”

“A few years ago. Magda did not want to tell you when you were already discovering so many new things about yourself.”

Raya nodded. She didn’t blame the Gatekeeper. She would have been crushed if she’d found out about her mother and then discovered she was dead all in the space of a few minutes.

But it was hard to take in.

She wanted to weep and wail at the unfairness of it all. Losing her adopted parents had been bad enough. Now she had no-one.

She sat in silence. Shade carefully put the bottle down.

“I know it is a shock. But I understand. When I lost Kamran, I thought I would never recover. It is trite to say, but time really does heal all wounds.”

“Losing a friend isn’t the same as losing your entire family.”

“True enough. But Kamran was more than just a friend. He was like a brother to me. Our fathers made us train together. Combat, swordsmanship, archery - he was the only person in Nush’aldaam who could best me. He would have made a wonderful emperor.”

His tone was bitter and Raya couldn’t help asking.

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