“I lived there too?”
Telean took a step back, and our eyes met in the mirror. “That looks beautiful.”
I glanced at the lavender dress without much interest. “I lived in Crawyth?”
“Yes. With your parents. And your brother.”
I had another brother. My throat constricted until I had to fight to get my words out. “Where are they?”
“The night the fae came—the night the Bloodthirsty Prince destroyed our city, your mother walked into your room and found you gone, your brother lying unconscious on the floor of his room. You’d seen just three winters. At first, we assumed you had wandered away. You were a curious, precocious child.” Telean took a deep breath, her eyes haunted. “I can still hear your mother’s screams.”
The woman I’d thought was my real mother had caused that pain. It was difficult to imagine the woman whom I loved—the woman who’d died just weeks ago—hurting someone like that. Even if she insisted she had done it to save my life.
“Everyone began searching for you. I remember your brother and the way he cried, begging your father to find you. He’d seen just six winters himself, and he swore someone had come in and taken you. Eventually, one of the neighbors said she had seen Vuena entering through the side door. She was a seer, and most trusted her with access to their homes.” Telean’s expression tightened, her eyes glittering. To her, to my real family, Mama was the villain who had betrayed their trust, taking me from the people who’d loved me.
“Then what happened?” My lips were numb. Telean helped me remove the dress and reached for another one.
“Then the Bloodthirsty Prince burned our city to the ground. No one knows why. We were close to the fae border, but they knew we were hybrids. Often, they would return our children to us when they accidentally crossed the border.” She shook her head. “I never saw your parents again.”
No. No, I was going to meet them. I was going to tell them I was still alive, and we were going to make up for all the years we’d lost. I was going to hug my mother and laugh with my father and introduce my brother to Tibris.
I sucked in a steadying breath, heat searing the backs of my eyes. “They…died?”
“I don’t know. I fell while I was fleeing and hit my head. When I woke up, I was half buried in ash, and our city was gone. The king’s people came and rounded up any survivors. Most assumed we were saved. But somehow, he knew many of us were hybrids. I was supposed to burn with the others, but the queen learned of my skill as a seamstress, and the king spared me as a wedding gift to her. This fits you perfectly,” she marveled. I gaped at her. How was she thinking about a dress?
She gave me a sad smile. “I have lived with this loss for years, child. Now, there is something else I must tell you. And you must take this news with courage.”
“Oh gods.”
“It will be okay.”
She took my hands in hers. “Your brother is alive. And he is here, in the castle.”
The queen wished to be left alone for most of the morning, leaving me with my thoughts. I paced in my room, attempting to talk myself out of what I really wanted to do.
It was stupid, going anywhere near the dungeon in the morning, when the guards were neither drunk nor tired.
But my brother was down there.
What would Tibris say when he learned I had another brother—who was still alive? The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. And yet, I pictured that boy of just six winters screaming for his sister. He would assume I was dead.
It suddenly seemed intolerable. I might have missed the chance to ever know my real parents. But the reality was, I could be arrested and executed any day. I felt a deep need for him to know who I was.
I chewed on my lower lip. Would telling him I was alive be ripping his wounds open?
I would want to know if it were me. And…my parents could be alive too. He could tell me where they were. Maybe…maybe they’d found a safe place to live. Somewhere we could all go after we escaped this castle.
I slipped out of my room and strolled down to the lower level of the castle. Already, servants were decorating for Gods Day. The thought made bile sting the back of my throat.
Only one guard was on duty, the steel door open. They must be bringing a prisoner in.
A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and I backed out, into the hall. If I’d been a little earlier, I would have been trapped in the dungeon. What if my power had faltered? What if…
No. It didn’t happen. Shuddering, I released my hold on my power and snuck into the closest storage closet, waiting for what felt like an eternity.