My heart inflated a bit. Had my father not only been descended from a powerful Mystique line but assisted another clan in such a meaningful way that he received an accolade? Pride swelled within me at the thought.
“And to make matters brighter,” Tolek added, nodding at Malakai, “you now have a cousin.”
I had a cousin who was already like my brother. And an aunt who had taken me in on more than one occasion when my house was too cold or my mother’s silence too loud. The family that had always been there, by choice.
“Barrett will be thrilled,” Lyria chirped as everyone moved toward the dining table and started piling plates with the steaming breakfast Jezebel and Erista had prepared.
“He and Barrett aren’t related,” Malakai said, almost defensively. “Not by blood at least.”
Jezebel laughed. “You think that will stop Barrett from claiming so?”
Malakai groaned, held falling back to look at the ceiling. “He’s going to be insufferable.”
For the first time in weeks, a reluctant laugh slipped out of me. I grabbed a plate and piled food on, reminding myself I needed fuel to keep going. To get back to Valyn.
Ophelia came up to my elbow, her voice low. “After we’ve eaten, we need to talk about what happened.”
What happened in Starsearcher Territory. Why Vale wasn’t with me.
You go, and then come back for me.
I’ll be back for you, Stargirl.
“We’ll talk while we eat,” I said. “I don’t want to waste any more time.”
“There’s something I still don’t understand,” Erista said, eyes flitting between Malakai and me. “How did Ritaliaknowyou two are related?”
“Because,” a deep voice drawled from the foyer, and Lancaster strode around the corner, my grip tightening on my plate, “my queen can scent bloodlines.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ophelia
“What doyou mean she canscentbloodlines?” I asked, not the least bit surprised Lancaster and Mora were in our cottage. The immortals’ presence swarmed the room.
Cypherion growled, knuckles white around his plate. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I didn’t turn, didn’t want to give Lancaster and Mora any advantage if we appeared disjointed, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Tolek place a hand on Cyph’s arm and mutter something low enough that I couldn’t hear.
The fae likely could, so I raised my voice and said with an air of perfectly cool control, “We prefer our guests to knock before they let themselves in.”
“Your voices carried into the yard.” Mora shrugged and floated over to the couch, perching on the arm of it. “It sounded as though you were busy,”
“Very helpful of you,” Rina deadpanned. She glowered at the female sitting dangerously close to her, but she didn’t so much as lean away, keeping her spine straight and attention poised.
Around the room, every warrior was braced for an attack. Plates slowly lowered to the table. Stances shifted.
If Lancaster noticed, he didn’t comment. He only looked at me, as if no one else had spoken, and said, “Much like I can create something of nothing and my sister can mask an appearance, Queen Ritalia has a unique gift—far rarer than either of ours.”
“She can sniff us out?” Tolek asked, skeptically.
“She can decipher where heritages merge along the course of the past. In our kind, she can scent powers before they’ve manifested to their full ability. It’s a blood gift, like tracking, as opposed to our creation-based ones.” Lancaster’s eyes landed on Santorina, an unquenchable thirst burning there. “My queen can trace those alive today back to those she was once in the presence of.”
Santorina didn’t fidget under his stare, but tension crackled between them.
“You so much as flinch toward her,” I threatened, “and I can count at least nine blades that will pierce your gut before you take a step.”
Lancaster’s jaw ticked, but he ignored me. “I am sorry for the outburst.” The words almost sounded pained. “I did not intend to cause you any harm. It is a long story, for another time, but I mean no ill will to the Bounties, nor to you.”
