[... Your father and I love you more than words can hold. He is doing his best to protect you from dirty hands. You are the result of a love I yearned to feel, begged to feel, and was given.
Do not punish or bla your father for the painful bargain he struck with my uncle. The God of the Underworld is cunning; his traps are laced with promises and shadows.
But I stepped into it willingly. Because I love your father.
And I believed, naively, perhaps, that I could change our fate.
I do not regret it. Because in loving him, I tasted sothing that not every High Fae ever gets to feel.
The deal with my uncle was this, you are to marry one of his sons: Azrael, Kaisun, or Lutherieth.
He has sired more than a hundred children, but these three... he loves them above all.
My dearest wish is for you to choose Kaisun. His mother was human, a kind and gentle soul.
Azrael is a mystery, his father’s reflection in many ways. Yet he is not evil. He is not what they call him. He has ascended. Yes, you heard right, he was never a demon, but a Saint. He was born from two saints. The gods themselves allowed it. He owes you for what he has beco. When the ti cos, and you need him, call his na. Summon him.
He is not just a Saint to you. He will be your brother.
But as for Lutherieth... my darling, avoid him. He is a true demon. He inherited all the darkness festering in my uncle’s blood.
For this reason, for this tie, I want you to choose Kaisun.
I raised him with my own hands. My father and I pulled him out of hell’s darkest dungeon, where he suffered, chained like a beast, a weapon forged to keep my uncle’s throne powerful.
Before that, Luther kept him locked away... a pet in a cage, used and broken.
And yet...
Despite all the pain, Kaisun chose to change and wanted to change. He was too soft.
He carries a darkness, yes. Be mindful of it. Shadow is the na of his beast. He is, by nature, an Alpha Hell Wolf.
But his form could evolve, he had one day taken on his final shape: a hell Dracon. A terrible, yet magnificent one.
My love, if that ti ever cos, do not let him shift into that mutated form.
If he does, Shadow will break free of his leash. But if it happens, use your magic to ta him. I see it already, you bear three shades of magic. It is both a gift and a curse.
The Fae will co for you the mont they recognize you. They will never allow soone like you to remain in the mortal realm with such power.
Don’t fight them, but never bow to them. You are my daughter. And I am High Fae. Read the laws and use them wisely to shield you.
The pain has begun. You’ll be born soon, my love. Before I go, there is one thing I want you to carry in your heart. You were the greatest gift your father ever gave .
I know he tore the world apart to give you life, and I carry guilt for that. But I will never stop cherishing the life he gave . I loved my father dearly, but I wish he had listened to , and my heart.
Seek your Fae grandfather out. He will cherish you. And he will accept your bond with Kaisun. He will protect you both from the wrath of my uncle. There are runes etched into this scroll, hand them to my father so he can read my words. I just trust you.
I love you, Reneira.
Your mother,
Anarya Al-Gathiran.]
~*~
Ren’s tears wouldn’t stop, blurring her vision just as Arkilla and Gloria barged in.
Gloria knelt in front of her. "Oh my goodness! Did he make you cry?"
"I should’ve stabbed him," Arkilla muttered, fists clenched, furious that he had upset her.
"No, it’s not him," Ren stamred, eyes fixed on the scroll in her hands.
Kai had no idea that Anarya had chosen him as her son-in-law.
King Benkin must have known... but hadn’t said a word. Kai would be so happy to learn this.
If only she had been powerful enough to decipher the runes earlier, everything would’ve been revealed sooner.
"What is this?" Arkilla pointed at Ren’s hands, curiosity brimming.
Gloria inspected the necklace. "The runes are gone," she said, astonished.
"My mother hid sothing in them, a letter. For ."
Ren didn’t want to say more. She rose abruptly, clutching both scrolls tightly to her chest and ran to their chambers.
It was too painful to remain in the study, surrounded by the claw marks on the table, evidence of her husband’s long-suffering.
She had poisoned herself only once, and the attempt had failed. She’d never tried again.
But her husband...
Gods Above.
"Do you want to talk?" Arkilla asked softly once they reached the living room.
"No. You girls can leave. I need to be alone."
They obeyed, albeit with reluctance. Leaving her like this felt wrong.
Arkilla knew she’d have to inform the Alpha King, his wife was devastated, and it was all his brother’s fault.
Hours passed.
Ren couldn’t eat. Couldn’t think of anything that might pull her from her thoughts, her mother’s words echoing relentlessly.
She rested her head on the backs of her hands.
Two scrolls lay open before her. One held the tale of how this whole storm began. The other, a letter from her mother, written before she died. She had read it ten tis. morized every word. They burned behind her eyes.
The runes on the scroll from her grandfather kept glinting, catching her attention again and again.
What had her mother written to him?
Would he truly accept Kai?
Now that so much has changed?
"I heard my silly big brother finally made my wife cry," ca a deep, familiar voice. "He looked absolutely devastated in the eting hall when he realized you hadn’t shed a single tear in front of him."
Kai’s voice danced around her like a lullaby. She shot up from the chair and turned. There he stood, regal, beautiful, powerful.
Without a second thought, she ran into his arms, wrapping herself around him as though she could lt into his very soul.
"I love you."
She said it again... And with it, awakened a deep longing and raw, primal desire within him.
~*~
Alert: The next two Chapters 18
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