Page 144 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

Ursiana looked incredulous. “So you went to Ironhold and defied them based on some random vision?”

“I know it sounds strange. And nobody can know about this, otherwise they won’t be considered Umbraar heirs.” He closed his eyes. “Of course I refused at first. I said ‘you got the wrong address. This isn’t Frostlake, I’m not a necromancer, and, most importantly, I don’t care.’”

He sighed. Perhaps it made sense to tell Ursiana all this, Ursiana to whom he’d opened his heart and shared all his grief and fears once. Now he was sharing his greatest secret. “But she insisted. She said all I had to do was go to Ironhold and watch the kids be born. I figured she just wanted witnesses. At the time, Umbraar and Ironhold had good relations, so I ended up conceding. Your husband was there too, staring at me as if I were a criminal.”

“He knew what you had done.”

“Great. Because I wish I had known it. Anyway, it was princess Ticiane, and she did give birth that day and died. She had asked me to check the babies. It sounded strange, but you won’t believe what constant visions and dreams can do to you. Between going to another kingdom to check on a birth and risk being haunted forever, the choice is not that hard. I guess she also visited Frostlake, since King Flavio was there.”

Ursiana was paying attention, still with that hard edge in her eyes, but listening. He sighed and continued, “A midwife came out of the room with a little girl, saying that the baby survived, but the mother was dying. Then I heard another baby crying, and asked to go inside. They weren’t happy about it, but let me in. A healer was looking at this baby, then saw me and shook his head. I still remember his words. ‘Pity’, he said. ‘What a waste.’ Waste. Here was a healthy young baby, and he was calling him a waste?” The memory still infuriated him. “And that was when I made my decision. I had already decided never to marry, but I knew that my kingdom would need heirs. And I… I hadn’t been well. Then I said the twins were mine. It was really lucky that King Flavio was there. He asked Ticiane who had killed her, and she didn’t know or didn’t want to answer, but she said the twins were my children. Few people doubt the dead. And so I brought them home. But… I wasn’t with anyone else during the gathering. It was only you. I thought it was true. I thought it was forever.”

The harshness was gone from her face as she stared at him, but then it returned. “Right. And then you tossed it for some stupid lie, farce, manipulation, whatever. You should have said, ‘wait a minute, Ursiana wouldn’t do that.’ And if you thought I was capable of betraying you, of seeing another man, then you never knew me in the first place.”

He sighed. “But who would have created this lie, who would have set up something like that?”

“Half the princesses would have married you. You were a king, not a prince. You think a kingdom isn’t something worth staging a lie for?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Sure. Keep your false story, so you don’t need to say you tossed me.”

“I would never toss you.”

“You did! And I found myself alone, pregnant, with no marriage prospects.”

“Well, you found a husband.”

That bitter laugh again. “Aren’t I lucky?”

He paused. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t know Leandra was my daughter, but I swear I paid attention. Why do you think I know when she was born? And then she was a blue-eyed necromancer… I understand you did it to fool everyone, and you fooled me.”

She was still laughing. “You think Flavio and I actually made a child together?”

“Aren’t you married?”

She shook her head. “We’re friends. Good friends who love and respect each other, but that’s all.”

Friends. Interesting. Still, there was something he had to say. “Leandra and Isofel aren’t siblings, Ursiana. They weren’t raised together, they never saw each other as family, and they don’t have the same parents. You should have told your daughter.”

“And admit my greatest shame? Easy for you to say it. I thought they were siblings. I wouldn’t… I… feel bad for not passing on his proposal, but I thought it would avoid the worst, that was all. And to be honest, I don’t think I did anything bad. He was flirting with another princess and in a great mood the next day. I’m not sure he cared.”

“Just because he wasn’t showing it didn’t mean he didn’t care. I’m glad they aren’t siblings, and I’m not sure your actions would have avoided the worst.” In fact, he was pretty sure the worst had already happened, which was terrible in so many ways considering Leandra was married, but he didn’t want to say any of that, since it had been neither her fault nor Fel’s. “Your—our daughter—can walk in the hollow. I told you she communicated in a dream, but the reality is that she came to Umbraar.”

“What? How was she?”

“Worried about you.”

“And where’s she now?”

“She…” He closed his eyes. “She asked to return to Ironhold. I… I didn’t think she was in danger, and…” He sighed. “I’m sorry. But it was what she asked me to do, so I think she’s still safe, and—”

“You couldn’t have known they’d become our enemies.” Ursiana sighed. “But they attacked us. They kept saying it was the fae, but I saw them.”

“I know. They probably want their son on the throne sooner rather than later, and they’ll blame the fae. That’s why I need to get back to Aluria, to fight them.” He closed his eyes. “And you need to tell your daughter the truth. You don’t understand what being a deathbringer is like. It’s a strange magic, connecting to something else, something dark, dangerous, something wanting to get out.”

“Leah is a sweet, kind girl. She’s definitely not going to unleash anything dangerous anywhere.”

“She still should know it.”

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