And for what?
For whom?
For the Bloodstone?
For Hector?
For his desire to rule Tarrobane as his ancestors did?
Ribbons of pain wrap around my heart, bringing a wave of nausea.
I rub my temples slowly, wondering what other secrets have eluded me.
“Is Sol my real name?” I don’t know where the question came from, but it seems like something I should ask.
“No. Sol is the name your mother and I chose for you.”
Could I have at least had that?
My name.
If nothing else—give me my name!
Calm down.
I fold my arms, pressing them against my body, trying to lessen the growing pain splintering inside me. “What is my name? Who is my family?”
He shakes his head. “I only know I took you from a Bloodstone family in Tarra. I’m sorry.”
Tarra?
I lived in Tarra?
“But…” I press, still seeking answers, “…how did you know which house to take me from?”
“I didn’t. I was told to go to Tarra and find the mother who gave birth a month before to twin daughters. You and your sister were the only twins born that summer in Tarra. I followed your mother and took you on the night of a full moon.”
My heart aches as I think about how devastated my mother must have been to wake up and find only one daughter in the cradle.
Knowing this is all too much to process right now, I decide to shift the subject back to him. “Why does the Kyanite chieftain want you dead?”
“Because they discovered that I took you, hid you, and protected you.”
I swallow and stab my thumbnail into my left palm. “Do they know Bloodstone magic has returned?”
“Yes. And they know the part you played in it.”
A side of me wants to apologize to Father, to beg him to understand why I went to the Bloodstone. The other side knows I owe him no such apology.
Torchlight shimmers across my skin as I hold my arm out, showing Father my serpent mark. “Do you know I can cast KyaniteandBloodstone magic now?”
“Yes.” He glances over at me as I continue holding out my arm.
“Do you know I am married to Hector? The Bloodstone chieftain?”
Father nods, and I search his face, expecting to see anger there, but there is none.
“I tried to keep you from going there, but it seems it was your Fate all along,” he says after a while.
