“My eyes . . .” I thought of how they’d looked different the other day, an inner ring of . . . of blue appearing around the pupils. My throat tightened. The night in Union City? Thorne and Lord Samriel . . . they had been looking at the eyes of the children there. My palms dampened.
“Has the Prince sensed that you were a caelestia?” Claude asked.
“No,” I said, wiping my palms on my knees. “The Prince has always referred to me as a mortal, but . . .”
“But what?”
“But he says there’s something about me that he can’t figure out,” I said, breathing through the stinging in my throat. “He feels as if he met me before.”
“Because he has, hasn’t he?”
Losing my connection with him, I went rigid. Even my heart stuttered.
“He’s the Hyhborn you met in Union City, isn’t he?” Claude drew his fingers over his brow. “The one you thought was a lord?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “How did you know it was him?”
“I didn’t till the other night, at dinner. It was the way he behaved toward you. The way he . . .” His eyes squinted. “The way he claimed you.”
That he came for what is his.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered.
“Neither do I, and I mean that. I truly do.” He dropped his hand to the arm of the chair. “You have abilities similar to my cousin, but if a prince cannot sense that you’re a caelestia and you don’t bear the mark, then there was no way for me to know for sure.”
I looked away, swallowing. “You still could’ve told me.”
“Then what? Do you know how a caelestia is proven if there are no parents to make the claim? They are taken to the Hyhborn Courts, where a prince or another Deminyen confirms their lineage,” he explained. “And if a Deminyen couldn’t sense it now, what would’ve been the likelihood of one being able to do so then? I know I said I wasn’t worried about Prince Thorne believing you to be a conjurer, but others? It would be too risky.”
I tried to accept what he said. He had a point, but . . . “You don’t have abilities.”
Claude laughed roughly. “No, I don’t. Neither does Hymel. Neither do most caelestias.”
“Then why would your cousin have them?”
“Or you? If that is what you are?” He said what I hadn’t. “Because my cousin is starborn. A mortal made divine.”
“And what does that mean exactly?” I demanded.
“That is not something I can answer,” he said, dragging a hand over his head.
I stood, flashing from confusion to anger and then disappointment. “You can’t or you won’t?”
“I can’t,” he insisted, and several moments passed. “Maybe I should’ve told you anyway. I’d be lying if I said that fear for your safety was the only reason I remained quiet, but you already know that.”
“I do.”
Claude flinched, and damn it, seeing that hurt. I didn’t want it to, but it did. “I know I’m not a good man and that’s also something you already know,” he said, and it was I who winced then. “So my advice likely means nothing, but you need to ignore your intuition this time. When the Prince returns, you need to tell him that you’ve met before. You need to tell him.”
CHAPTER 31
I got little rest that night, and I wasn’t sure if it was the knowledge that I’d been wrong about Claude or if it was because of Thorne’s absence. I was also uncertain which one of those things was worse— which one was leading to my general sense of unease.
And that unease followed me through the morning and afternoon, as I walked the busy halls of the manor. Staff rushed to and fro, some cradling vases full of banana-hued daisies and streaming, white-petaled petunias while others carried trays of meats provided by Primvera and yet to be prepared. All were far too busy to pay much attention to me.
The Feasts began tomorrow.
Thorne would likely return the day after or the following one.
I stopped by the breezeway, thoughts heavy as they drifted to Claude. What I felt was a mixture of disappointment and anger, confusion and a little bit of heartache. I tried to understand his position, and I did. Mostly. Because he still should have told me what he suspected. I had a right to know, even if there was nothing to be done with that knowledge.
But wasn’t I doing the same thing with Thorne? I didn’t understand why my intuition stopped me, but that didn’t change the fact that our meeting in Union City was likely why Thorne felt like we’d met. What it didn’t explain was how it all tied into what both Maven and Claude had shared. Why it even mattered. My intuition was quiet except for that unease.