I gave a harsh laugh. “I’m a faeling. No one cared about what happened to me. If I hadn’t come to the academy last year, I’d either be locked up or sold into trafficking. Or worse.”
Anger contorted on Tristen’s face. “Well, even if you get expelled, there’s no way you’re ever coming back here.” He slipped his arm around me. “I would never let that happen.”
I nodded. I didn’t belong here. Not anymore. After today’s revelations, I didn’t know where my place was. Freya had come here with me the day she had taken me to Everlight Academy. She had seen the circumstances I’d lived in. Had she even cared? That her daughter lived in squalor with people who abused her and forced her to buy drugs for them?
A familiar ache filled my chest, and I pushed it away. I wouldn’t find any answers here. That much I knew for certain.
“I’ve been thinking about who your father might be,” Tristen remarked as he took hold of my hand.
I flinched. “I thought we weren’t talking about any of that stuff? We came here just to hang out and be normal for once. To feel normal. Whatever normal is.”
“My uncle said he dated Freya a long time ago. What if he could be your father?”
I grimaced. “God, I hope not. No offence, but I can’t stand your uncle. I don’t know what the hell Freya would have ever seen in him. He’s such a slimy little worm.”
Tristen laughed. “I agree with you on that. But if he is your father, that means we might be related.”
I pulled away. “Is there any way to find out? Are cousins even allowed to date?” My stomach sank at the idea of that.
Tristen was one of the few good things in my life, and I didn’t want to give him up. I cared about him more than anyone.
“We could cast a spell to see if we are blood-related. And yes, cousins are allowed to date. But I don’t think you are a Thornwood. I would sense if you were and your powers don’t match with ours.”
“We’ll find out later.” I rested my head on his shoulder and we carried on walking. I had only just learnt who my birth mother was. I wasn’t sure I was ready to find out who my father was on the same day.
Chapter 15
Tristen and I headed back through the town and went to the library with its old clock tower. It had always been my favourite place to visit. With its high vaulted ceiling and rows upon rows of bookcases, it always felt warm and welcoming in the library.
“This is where I used to retreat to when I lived here. I think I spent more time here than at my foster home.”
Tristen grimaced. “I’m not surprised. No one should have lived in that place. I still can’t believe the human authorities let you live there. Didn’t they do any kind of checks when you are in foster care?”
I shook my head. “At the time, it didn’t seem so bad. I planned on getting a job here once I turned eighteen and getting my own place.” It still felt off being back in this place. I had spent so much time with Freya here that it was bittersweet. “And no, they didn’t check on me very much. I’m a faeling — I wouldn’t have been very high up on their list of priorities. Although not all of my social workers were bad. One of them did try to help me. Her name was Lily Crowe. She kept trying to get me away from my last foster home, but my fosters were good at putting on a show to the authorities.”
“That’s one of the things I love about you. You never give up.”
We stared at each other in surprise. Neither of us had said the l word before. I didn’t know how to respond to that. Then again, he hadn’t outright said he loved me.
“I know this place isn’t much compared to the grandeur of the academy and other fae places I’ve seen,” I added and changed the subject.
“No, it has good energy here.” Tristen slipped an arm around me. “I’m glad you showed it to me. I like seeing pieces of your past. Once this term is over, I’m going to show you more of the fae world. Maybe I’ll even take you to my mother’s castle.”
I laughed. “That will go over really well with your mother.”
I froze when I spotted a blond-haired woman as she walked down a row of bookcases. She wore a long skirt and pastel-coloured blouse like…
Pulling away from Tristen, I called after her, “Freya?”
The woman turned around and my heart sank. “I beg your pardon?”
“Sorry, I thought…” I shook my head. “I thought you were someone else.”
Freya isn’t here. Tears filled my eyes again.
“I’m Becky. Freya left here months ago. Were you looking for her?”
“No, I know she’s not here anymore.” I turned away and headed back to Tristen.
We settled down in a set of armchairs close to a fireplace. An electric fire gave out some warmth.
Tristen picked up a poetry book and read some to me. I appreciated the distraction for a while.
A couple of hours later, we snuck out and back in with some food and drinks. Tristen threw up a glamour so no one would see us since people weren’t allowed to eat or drink within the library.
I noticed he’d checked his phone a few times. “They are looking for us, aren’t they?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, I haven’t told them where we are. I told them you’re okay.”
I sighed. “I have to go back.”
“You want to?” He raised a perfect eyebrow.
“No, but I have to. I can’t run away from my problems.” The old Silvy would have done just that. That wasn’t who I was anymore. That wasn’t who I wanted to be either. “I don’t know if I can be an heir to anything, though. I barely know anything about the fae world.”
“It doesn’t change who you are. You’re still you.”
“Am I?” I frowned and took a slurp of my drink. “I’m Silvana Eldry, a faeling. Not Silvana Goodwin — whoever that is.”
“At least you know now.” Tristen squeezed my hand.
I put my drink down and tossed my food wrappers into a bin behind us. “Do you think we can cast that spell now to see if we are blood-related?”
Tristen frowned. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
I gave a harsh laugh. “Do I have a choice? If it turns out Forrest is my father, I still need to know. I may not like it, but hell, this day keeps throwing bad news at me. What’s a bit more?” I forced a smile. “You do know how to cast the spell, don’t you? Or do we need to go back to the academy to look it up?”
He nodded. “I can do it. But I need a drop of your blood for the spell to work.” He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket and conjured a blank piece of paper. Then he glanced behind us to make sure there was no one around. We were in a secluded part of the library, so I doubted anyone would stumble upon us. Plus, we still had the glamour to shield us.
Tristen pricked his finger and a drop of blood spilled onto the paper. He then cleaned it off and held the blade out to me.
I took hold of the blade. “What do I have to do?”
“I need a drop of your blood for this to work. Just prick your finger as I did.”
I took hold of the blade and let my blood spill onto the page. Tristen then chanted the words to the spell.
I had cast a few spells in class and knew enough about magic now to know something was supposed to happen.
“If we are blood-related, the blood should trail across the paper and join together,” Tristen told me.
Blue light shimmered across the page. It then spread out and twisted together.
"Oh God, does that mean Forrest is my father?" I groaned. “How could Freya be with such an awful man like him? No offence. You are nothing like your uncle.”
“No, the spell isn’t supposed to do that. I have no idea what it means. Either the blood is supposed to move if we are connected or it doesn’t. I’ve never heard of this reaction happening before. I don’t know what it means.” Tristen furrowed his brow. “The good news is that Forrest isn’t your father.”
“Thank goodness for that
.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “I still don’t know why Freya didn’t tell me about… Everything. We spent all that time together.” Power vibrated between my fingers, but I didn’t let it go.
“Hey, you controlled it. See, I knew you could do it.” He kissed me and I pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.
I didn’t feel much elation at the realisation. My mind whirled with more unanswered questions. “Do you know about Freya from around the time I was born?”
“I was only a baby myself then. It wasn’t long after The Change, so everything was in chaos.” Tristen furrowed his brow. “Freya wouldn’t have been much older than we are now. Maybe around nineteen or twenty. She would have just joined the council — other than that, I don’t know much else.”
I sighed. “I have to go back. God, what will Freya’s sisters think?”
After being told a complete stranger would inherit everything that belonged to their sister, I wouldn’t blame them for hating me. “They knew about me too, didn’t they?” Their strange behaviour now made complete sense.
“Yeah, they seemed to want you there.”
“Maybe, or maybe they will ask me to sign everything over to them.”
Tristen chuckled. “That’s not as easy as you’d think. Things are a lot more complicated among the fae. They might just want to know you now.”
“But I am —” I stopped myself from saying “no one” I wasn’t a nobody anymore. “But I’m not Freya. It must be hard for them too.”
Tristen squeezed my hand. “You won’t know unless you go back.”
I hesitated. “What about the council? If I can’t prove I have control —” That seemed the least of my problems now.
“In theory, being a Goodwin should give you some protection.”
I arched a brow. “Really?”
“Maybe. As Freya’s daughter, you have a seat and some influence with the council.”
“We better go then.” I rose to my feet and glanced around. Once I had thought this place had been comforting. It didn’t feel that way anymore.
Time to go back to the Goodwin estate and face the consequences.
Tristen and I reappeared on the grounds. Thunder roared overhead and lightning flashed.
“Holy crackers, how is the storm still going?” I gasped. “We left hours ago.” I hadn’t expected the storm to still be raging when we got back. Had I conjured the storm, or just triggered it? Why hadn’t it stopped?
“I guess you channelled all your repressed emotion into the storm,” Tristen said and conjured a shield to keep us dry.
It didn’t do much good. The rain pelted down on us the second we arrived.
Statues were pacing up and down. The gargoyles roared as we approached the castle.
“Holy – what’s going on?” I gripped Tristen’s arm in alarm. “How come those gargoyles are moving? They were statues when we were here earlier.”
“When Louisa named you as the heir, everything would automatically have transferred over to you,” Tristen said. “Including the house’s protections — they come to life whenever the owner is under threat.”
“But I’m not under threat.” I couldn’t believe this had happened. Just when I thought the fae world couldn’t get any stranger.
“They are reacting to your emotions. You wanted to run away and escape from this place.”
I kept hold of his hand as we bounded up the front steps. I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt because of the mess I’d caused.
We hurried inside. The walls flashed with glowing energy. More statues were moving inside the hall. Empty suits of armour paced up and down, weapons at the ready.
I drew back when one of the suits of armour turned and stared at me.
“They won’t hurt you,” Tristen said. “You are Freya’s heir. This entire castle will do anything to protect you. That’s what the protections are designed for. To ensure no one’s bloodline ever dies out.”
“How do I get this to stop?” Panic welled up in my chest again. I’d been prepared to come and talk to the sisters, not for an entire bloody castle full of statues and inanimate objects to come to life.
“Calm down.”
I thought I was calm.
The sound of someone shouting for help caught my attention.
We hurried up to the study, where we found Forrest pinned to the wall by a spear through his right shoulder. A suit of armour held him in place.
Elsa stood there as he demanded to be let down. “I told you this isn’t my doing,” she snapped. Elsa spun around. “Silvy, you are back.” She smiled. “Are you alright? We were so worried.”
“Miss Eldry get me down this instant,” Forrest yelled.
“How long has it been like this?” I asked Elsa.
“Since you left. The whole estate came alive. The others had to leave. Everything here is too unstable.”
Zinea sat back in the chair, drinking tea. “I find it all rather amusing.” She put her cup down. “We should put that spear through his skull to shut him up.”
“I don’t know how to make it stop.” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Plus, I can’t be Freya’s daughter.”
Elsa gripped my arm. “I know this is scary, but it’s true.”
Zinea came over. “You’re not alone anymore, Silvy. You have us. We want you to be part of our family.”
I glanced up at Forrest. “There’s no chance you could be my father, is there?”
Zinea snorted. “None, Freya only went out with him once and threw a drink in his face. She would never have let him near her after that.”
“No, I’m not your father. Get me down, damn it!” Forrest shouted. “You will pay for this!”
Elsa glared at him. “Oh, shut up, you insufferable idiot.”
I stifled a laugh. These were my aunts. The idea didn’t seem so bad. I liked them a lot already.
I took a deep breath and approached the suit of armour that had Forrest pinned down. “Stop now. I am not under threat. I’m safe.”
The suit of armour pulled the spear back and the glowing lights in its helmet faded. The roaring faded too as the castle and its protections fell dormant.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Forrest scrambled up and clutched his injured shoulder. “You will be expelled for this.”
“For what?” I demanded. “I didn’t know about Freya. Or that this place would go ballistic.”
“You attacked me!” Forrest clutched his injured shoulder.
That sounded so ridiculous, I laughed. “If I wanted to attack you, I would do it myself. Not use inanimate objects to do it.”
“The poor girl had a shock.” Zinea put a protective hand on my shoulder. “You can’t expel her for that. You have to uphold Freya’s wishes.”
“To hell with Freya’s wishes,” Forrest snapped. “You’re even more dangerous now. You —”
“Uncle, shut up.” Tristen’s eyes swirled with powers as he came to us. “Silvy didn’t do anything wrong, not intentionally.” His power pulsed through the air.
Elsa and Zinea drew back. Yet the feel of his power didn’t bother me.
“Tristen don’t you dare –” Forrest gasped. He wouldn’t be able to resist Tristen’s power – it was one of the things that made him so strong.
“You’re not going to expel Silvy, are we clear?”
“You can’t —” Forrest protested.
“I can and I will. You will back off and leave my girlfriend alone.” The walls vibrated under the weight of Tristen’s anger.
Forrest’s face grew pained. “I agree.” He gritted his teeth. “But don’t think you can use your power to get everything you want, boy.”
“Good, now get out of here. Oh, and you won’t remember me using my power either,” Tristen added. “And stop threatening to expel my girlfriend. Leave her the hell alone.”
Forrest blinked as Tristen’s power faded. “Tristen, we should leave this bloody p
lace.” His anger over being attacked hadn’t faded. “Come along.”
Tristen wrapped an arm around me. “I’m right where I belong.”
Forrest glowered at him, then turned his attention to the window. “How am I supposed to transport out of here in this damned storm?”
I’d almost forgotten people couldn’t use the transportation circles during a bad storm. The static in the air made it too dangerous.
I imagined clear, calm skies around me. The dark clouds vanished, as did the violence of the storm.
Forrest gaped at me. “How did you do that?”
“I feel better now.” I flashed him a smile.
Chapter 16
“Thank the goddess that’s over,” Zinea breathed and waved her hand so the suit of armour marched back out into the hallway.
Tristen gave me a quick kiss. I’ll give you three some space. He then left the room.
Now I had to face the realisation of Freya being my mother.
“Is it true?” I asked the sisters. “Was Freya my mum? How is that even possible?”
“Yes, we wish you could have found out sooner and under better circumstances.” Elsa gave me a sympathetic look. “But there is no doubt she was your mother. We were there when she gave birth to you and she told us when she had found you again. It took a while thanks to the human’s foster care system.”
My legs gave out from under me. Exhaustion washed over me. I had used a lot of magic today, and I guessed it had finally caught up with me.
Elsa caught hold of me and helped me to a chair. “Zinea, make some tea. She’s in shock.”
I shook my head. “Why didn’t she tell me?” My fists clenched. “Why did she abandon me? Didn’t she want me?”
“She didn’t have a choice. Seventeen years ago, our court lost its position. Our father was killed, and we were declared next to worthless.” Elsa sat down beside me.
Zinea took a seat on my other side. “It was an awful time. After the dissolution of the court and our family status, we feared we would be killed too.”
“I don’t know why she didn’t tell you,” Elsa added. “She decided to keep your secret from everyone — except us. Her having an heir back then would have been disastrous. There was so much turmoil among the fae then.”
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