“I never lied about being fae. Ironically, it’s the faerieblood on my mother’s side that prevents it. I’m half demon, half fae. That’s why I needed the stone — to conceal my demon blood.”
A ragged sigh escaped me as the pieces clicked into place. “That’s why you were at Julian’s shop that night. He really did have the stone.”
Kaden shook his head. “Ihad the stone. You are the reason I sought it out.”
I frowned.
“For centuries, the Dark King has been hunting Coranthe witches. He scours the minds of mortals living among supernaturals, since their mental defenses are weaker than those with magical blood. He saw you in Julian’s mind. He saw the blade you carried and recognized the markings as Coranthe runes.”
Although I’d already put it together, hearing Kaden confirm that Semphrys was his father was almost more than I could bear. But something else he’d said gave made pause.
The Demon King had been hunting witches. Had he tracked down my mother?
My mind spun. What did I really know about her death? I’d been staying at a friend’s house when it happened. I only knew what the social worker had put in my file — that she’d been passing through the Quarter after having dinner with a friend when she was attacked and killed by a vampire.
There was never any funeral. I’d never seen a body. She’d been left in the street to die, and I’d been shuffled into the foster system.
But what if everything I’d been told was a lie? What if Kaden’s father —
“He didn’t know how to get to you,” Kaden continued,drawing me back to the present. “Just that you were living in the Quarter and that you sought the apokropos stone.” He dragged a hand through his silky hair, making it stick up even more. “I hadn’t heard mention of that stone in centuries, but I knew where it was hidden. I knew that if I found it, it would allow me to pass for a normal fae.” He swallowed, not meeting my gaze. “I realized I could use the stone to . . . get close to you.”
Cheeks burning, I ground my back molars together.
Ihatedthat Kaden had played me. Even worse, I’d fallen for his games.
“Why bother?” I grumbled. “Why not just snatch me outside of Julian’s shop?”
Why had Kaden spent all this time toying with me if all he intended was to turn me over to his father?
“Because,” he said quietly. “You were exactly what I was looking for.”
“And what is that?” I snarled, my voice breaking on the last word. “Another witch for your father tomurder?”
Kaden looked as though I’d slapped him, and I didn’t care.
I was tired of being used, but more than that, I was hurt. I’d let myself trust Kaden, and he’d been lying to me all along.
“No.” He sighed. And he looked suddenly ancient. “I think you’re the one who could save us.”
His words fell heavily between us, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or push him through the window.
“You have to know things weren’t always like this,” Kaden said quietly. “Demons are not inherently evil. My people descended from the race of spirits who emerged from beneath the seas when the gods were first made. Thenthe gods created humans and faeries, and they gifted the fae the kingdom of Anvalyn. The humans were given the mortal realm so that they might live freely, rather than become slaves to the fair folk. The gods granted my father Dorthus, the Dark Kingdom, which was intended as a land of repose. In exchange, he was charged with ferrying souls to the Otherworld.”
I frowned, noticing that Kaden’s creation myth included no mention of hunters or witches.
“Since the beginning, the realms have existed in a state of balance,” he explained. “Anvalyn has always been a land of light and beauty, but only because of the magic that sustains it. When souls make the journey to the Otherworld, they feed that magic. But they must pass through Dorthus first.”
Kaden’s expression turned dark. “For millennia, my father was content to fulfill his bargain with the gods. He guided souls along the Adraeis River, where they found rest in the Dark Kingdom before continuing on to Anvalyn and eventually being reborn. But, over time, he grew jealous of the fae. Resentful of his life in exile. So he began taking souls for his own selfish gain. My father wanted to amass enough power to become the one true king of the Otherworld, ruling over both the kingdoms of light and dark. That power began to warp him in ways you cannot imagine.”
Kaden loosed a ragged breath. “To rule demon and faeriekind, he would need an heir. But for all my father’s power, he could not sire a son with another demon. So, he sent his most ruthless lieutenants to Anvalyn and kidnapped the faerie queen. His demons dragged her back to Dorthus, where my father . . .”
Kaden trailed off, and revulsion unfurled in my gut.
“When my mother fell pregnant, she tried to end her own life — hopeless as she was. The Dark King realized he could not force her to bear a child she did not want, and he feared losing the heir he had gone to such lengths to sire.” Kaden sucked in a breath. “Eventually, he made a bargain with her. He allowed her to return to her kingdom to carry out the pregnancy, with the agreement that she would turn over his heir once he reached the age of majority.”
Despite myself, I felt a shudder go through me. I could not imagine what it must have been like for Kaden’s mother to raise her son, knowing he’d one day be forced to return to Dorthus and be made to do the Demon King’s bidding.
“Of course, a half-demon bastard was not exactly welcome in Anvalyn,” said Kaden dryly. “On the eve of my twentieth turn, I returned to Dorthus and became the Taker of Souls.”
