Page 87 of Forged in Cursed Flames (Crown and Crest 2)

“Do you…” He clears his throat. “Did you know me?”

She nods, and her eyes fill with tears. “I knew you very well, but you were too young to remember me.”

“Ayan, this is my mother, Lady Ellaine Kalee Laviet,” Audra says, watching the exchange, looking a little emotional herself.

“So, you’re my…aunt?” Ayan asks.

“That’s right.” Lady Ellaine clasps her hands at her front, looking like she’s trying to keep herself from reaching for him. “I am your father’s sister.”

“The blood test was a match,” Audra confirms.

Without looking away from Ayan, Audra’s mother says, “I don’t need it.”

“Did you know where I was all these years?” Ayan asks. “Who gave me to my Woodmore grandmother? Why did no one come to find me?”

She dabs at her eyes, drawing in a breath to compose herself. “We thought you were dead—killed when the duchess sent her assassins to murder the Woodmore ambassadors who spirited you away from the palace. We didn’t know you were alive until Lyredon reported to us when you arrived at the palace a year ago. We’ve had him tracking you ever since, but he couldn’t get past the gnomes’ defenses.”

“That’s why I stayed with them. It was a convenient place to hide from Auggy.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You thought I was dead?”

“Your empty tomb rests next to your father’s in the royal crypt,” Audra says gently.

“It’s the only thing that kept you alive. If Lillianna had known you escaped…” Lady Ellaine shakes her head as if she doesn’t want to think about it.

“Lillianna?”

“My late sister by marriage—your half-brother’s mother,” she answers. “As soon as my brother changed his will, naming you as his successor, the duchess did everything in her power to get rid of you. She poisoned my brother, and she tried to kill you. My handmaid was able to steal the will, and she sent it with you, hoping to get it out of the dukedom where it would be safe.”

“How did she steal the will?” Lawrence asks, intrigued.

Lady Ellaine shakes her head. “No one knows, though I suppose it might have been your mother’s doing.”

“My mother?”

The noblewoman’s face pinches. “Your mother was your father’s mistress. They met when they were young and fell in love. Our father forbade the union, as Mairea was from a common family. Augmirian married Lilliana as a political match, and then he brought your mother into the palace only a year later. It was a bad situation, and it caused more strife than you can imagine.”

Ayan gives his aunt a knowing look, finally seeming a bit more like himself. “I can imagine a lot, considering his wife tried to kill me when I was a baby.”

“Why did Augmirian make Ayan his heir?” I ask. “That’s not usually done, no matter how much affection a man might have for the boy’s mother.”

Lady Ellaine glances around. “Let us continue the conversation indoors.” She pauses. “But…who are all of you?”

“Oh, introductions,” Audra says with a self-conscious laugh. “I forgot my manners.”

“Did you have any?” Lawrence mutters, earning a sharp elbow from the young elven woman.

Lawrence exhales a quiet “oof,” narrowing his eyes at her.

“Your Highness,” Audra says to Lawrence pointedly, glaring at him. “I would like to introduce you to my mother. Mother, this is Lawrence Gevaldry, our crown prince.”

Lady Ellaine stares at Lawrence in shock. To Audra, she says, “Are you certain?”

Her skepticism seems to delight Lawrence.

“Unless I was switched at birth, I am quite confident that’s who I am.” The prince bows low before the noblewoman. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Allow me to introduce my cousin, Duke Bartholomew Gevaldry; my intended, Lady Clover Flauret; and our talented healer, Pranmore of Dulane.” He waves dismissively toward Henrik. “And he’s just a soldier.”

“CommanderHenrik Solbane,” I correct, shooting Lawrence a look. “And you and I are not engaged.”

“So you say.”

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