Page 21 of The Fae Lord

What if this woman, this ethereal fae with sea-green eyes and fire in her soul, is a temptress sent to bring me down?

What if she is not fae, but demon?

I stare out at the citadel, the water, the forests in the distance and the mountains beyond. She is out there somewhere, and she is too far away. Every fibre of my being needs her closer, craves her, desires her.

And yet, I hate what she has with the Leafborne boy. I almost obeyed her. For a flickering fraction of a moment, I almost let him live because I did not want to see the despair in her eyes.

When she fucked me in the tunnels, I could have captured her, brought her back here.

I could have dragged her here, kicking and screaming and naked.

But I needed her.

I hate how much I need her.

I hate that my heart beats with the rhythm of her name, and that I whisper her name when I am alone and the darkness is threatening to overwhelm me.

“Eldrion . . .”

A voice, like ice laced with poison, drips down my spine and settles in the crevices between them. My wings are outstretched, hiding the silhouette of the voice’s owner. But I know with absolute certainty exactly whose face I will see when I turn around.

“Mother,” I whisper.

A hand touches my shoulder. I turn my head. There she is. Piercing silver eyes, ochre skin, long silver hair tied in braids that cascade down her back.

She smiles, and for perhaps the first time in my memory, it feels like a true smile.

“You’re not real.”

She sits down on the parapet and crosses one leg over the other, as if we are meeting in a tavern for drinks and feasting.

“What makes you say that?” She tilts her head.

“I see the future. I do not see spirits.”

“You saw the future. You did not see spirits.” She taps her fingers on her thigh. She’s wearing the dress she was buried in, a silver gown that looks like the shimmering surface of the ocean when she moves. “Things can change, Eldrion.”

“Have you changed? Do you still hate me, Mother?” I stare ahead at the sunrise, but I can feel her watching me.

“I never hated you.” She stands and takes my hands. “I was scared for you.”

I look down and flex my fingers. I can’t feel her. She’s not here. My mind is playing tricks on me.

“I was terrified, after your brother died, that you’d be left all alone without the power to rule.” She touches my chin, turns my face towards her.

“Your fears were well founded,” I reply.

But, to my surprise, she shakes her head. “You are wrong, son. You have exactly what you need. You just haven’t realised it yet.”

“I have destroyed this city because I wasn’t equipped to interpret my visions. They are not complete, like yours were. And I am no prophet, like Raylon. I see snippets of what the future holds, but I can’t make sense of them.” I turn to stare out at the city. “Look at what I have done in the name of keeping these people safe. I have destroyed Luminael, and I have lost myself. My heart is black and wizened. I hate everything, and everyone –”

“And yet you still try to keep them safe... You search for the empath because you know she is important.”

My wings twitch at the mention of Alana. “You know about her?”

My mother inclines her head. “I have always known about her.”

“How?”