The time I had spent with humans gave me a clear idea about how they looked upon immortals as superior beings, whether they admitted it or not. The ability to work magic- the main characteristic of immortals- made them understandably powerful.

I also knew that within the immortal world, there were various degrees of authority and power. Tonight I realized that the Five were on top of the power pyramid, no matter what other immortals liked to say.

Wherever Arthur went, he was treated with respect, bordering on fear sometimes- or often. Other immortals gazed at him with expressions of combined awe and dread; witches, shapeshifters and vampires alike. Everyone knew that the Five were on an entirely different level. They may be classified as vampires, because they were the origin of the race, but they weren't really vampires. They were unique, five of a kind.

They were simply other.

I spotted Venus with a group of witches. She was probably sneaking past their defenses as they spoke, without them being the wiser.

While I understood why she was doing it, I had misgivings about it. One's mind was a sacred place, and what she was doing bordered on mental rape. A harsh term, but one very close to the truth.

But if a portal opened again, no one knows what horrors would come through. The world did not need that.

A hush suddenly fell over the place. Heads turned toward the opening doors. I tried to look, but my meager height did not allow me to take a glimpse of the newly arrived guests.

They were not the fae, however. All I could sense from that direction was a strong vampiric presence as conversations resumed again. Venus moved to receive the new guests. Arthur glanced at them but remained in conversation with the people surrounding him.

"Who?" I whispered to Charles, who was tall enough to see above most heads in the room. Lucky asshole.

"The remaining two," Charles replied, narrowing his eyes at the guests. His jaw ticked.

It was subtle, but I felt the change of the energy in the room. None of the Five revealed their true presence, of course, their cloaks firmly in place. But no one could mistake the sudden flare of magic.

Arthur took his leave from his companions and approached Charles and I. His eyes met mine for a second before looking over our heads.

"Let us meet the rest, shall we?"

Charles and I followed him. He didn't need to move far, the crowd parted to let through a group of people. It was easy to pick up the two brothers, Idar and Leon. Their aura was similar to that of Arthur, Burak and Venus.

As the two men sopped a few feet away from Arthur, their entourage dispersed except for two vampires, clearly guards by their attire, and a female witch who had her arm linked through one of the men's.

Charles and I were on either side of Arthur.

"Arthur, dear brother. It has been a veritable age since I saw you last," the shorter of the two men said. It was Idar.

Hair as dark as Arthur's and eyes the same shade of deep brown, were the only features he shared with Arthur. His skin was a couple of shades lighter than Venus, and his build was close to Arthur's in bulk but shorter in height.

Hanging on his arm was a gorgeous female witch with dark blonde hair and fair complexion, her cat-like eyes a blue bordering on gray. Her features were essentially feminine and dainty, with an upturned nose and naturally pouting lips, the beauty spot on the bottom corner of her eye lending even more to her sultry charm.

Her form-fitting black gown sheathed a generously curved figure with a small waist. She looked haughty and imperious, and I had the thought that if only she smiled sincerely she would be a sight to behold. However, the superior glint in her eyes and the detached expression on her face made her look stiff and unapproachable.

"Idar, Natalia." Arthur nodded to both. Idar inclined his head. The witch, Natalia, stared at Arthur as if he'd killed her mother. Her eyes brimming with such hostility that I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter, expecting her to attack him at any moment.

Arthur, however, was now greeting his other sibling. A scowling mountain of a man with long black hair in unruly waves down his back, a short beard and arresting eyes in a blue so pale it almost looked white. The contrast between his eyes and olive skin tone gave him an intense feeling.

"Leon," Arthur said, "I'm surprised you're in Idar's company."

Unlike Idar, who was dressed immaculately in a black suit and tie like most of the other guests, Leon sported a white dress shirt that almost exploded at the seams from the bulk of his muscles, tucked into well worn jeans and combat boots. He looked so out of place in this castle.

"Spare me," he grunted, his scowl only deepening, "we only happened to meet at the door." His voice was as gruff as his appearance.

"Ah, how you wound me, Leon." Idar said, a smile stretching on his clean shaved face, "I thought you enjoyed my company."

Leon only grunted in reply. His impossibly pale eyes shifted to me. It was like looking in the eyes of a creature that lived in the darkest depths of the ocean.

"I would love to chat, Arthur, since you've been having some interesting occurrences in your city. However, your company is a more intriguing subject, I must say." Idar said, his dark eyes focusing on me.

He may look like Arthur, to a certain degree, but he gave off an entirely different vibe. Maybe that was simply because I knew Arthur and how warm and caring he could be, despite his arrogance.

Idar was.... I didn't know how to describe him. There was a word....

""You've been keeping quiet on such a delectable morsel, Arthur." Idar added, his eyes trailing over me from the top of my head to the tips of my boots. I instantly disliked him.

Oh, yes. Slimy. That was the word that fit him.

Arthur stilled beside me. My magic buzzed inside my body unvolontarily, and I realized with a jolt that I could also feel something else. Deep inside where my magic pulsed with life, there was a faint echo of another entity, another power.

A familiar one.

I glanced at Arthur. What was that?

"Have a care, Idar," Arthur said in a languid, ostensibly friendly tone, "I would hate it if you insult my companion."

Idar's eyebrows climbed up his forehead. "Is that so? I suppose she is under your protection."

"She is," Arthur said, "and she's rather handy with a sword, I would hate for you to be staring at the wrong end of it."

Natalia frowned and gazed down her nose at me. Idar seemed surprised for a fraction of a second before he threw his head back and laughed, the sound, although clearly amused, was devoid of warmth.

"Oh, well. I guess I should not speak thus of the lovely lady, then," he said, clearly dismissing Arthur's words as a joke. Good.

"Hmm." Leon said, his gaze shifting to Arthur's, "do you have an idea about her lineage?"

"Inconsequential information," Arthur said, "it does not matter who her parents are. She is now one of my people."

He avoided answering the question without lying. I forced my grip on the sword beneath the cloak to relax.

"Inconsequential?" Idar said with a smirk, "I daresay the fae will not agree. To have one of their own in service of one of us, that will surely grate on those royals' nerves."

"Perhaps," Natalia spoke for the first time, her voice husky and a touch breathy, her gaze scanning me from head to toe, "she will wish to return to her people."

"The decision is hers," Arthur replied.

Natalia looked at him with an imperiously arched brow, "Giving up something so easily, Arthur. You usually get your way no matter the price others have to pay."

Arthur's jaw hardened to a breaking point. Her words were obviously meant as a jab to him.

There was history between the two people. History that I knew nothing of. History that allowed her to get away with disrespecting Arthur without anyone thinking it odd.

Idar simply looked on with an arrogant smile. Leon changed the subject with the subtlety of an elephant. Or maybe he simply didn't care. Probably the latter.

"Venus said she had something to tell us but refused to elaborate. Do you know what it's about?"

Arthur nodded, "yes, it is better discussed in private."

Leon's pale eyes narrowed, but he gave a curt nod.

"Venus seems to have recovered rather well, does she not?" Idar said, "the loss of an offspring is a tragic fate. It would've been understandable if she chose to remain in reclusion longer. Ah, but of course, you do understand her grief, Arthur, don't you?"

Natalia turned her head sharply away, her red lips pressed into a thin line. Arthur's body was frozen in place. The thread of magic that somehow, for some reason, connected us was strung so tight that my lungs suddenly constricted, barely able to draw air.

It only lasted a second. I thought that I had imagined it, until Arthur glanced my way, his expression as remote as ever, but a surprise lurked in the depth of his black eyes.

I hadn't even known the Five could conceive offspring until now. So that was the reason Venus had not been personally overseeing her territory all this time.

The brief silence that followed was hint enough about the past Natalia and Arthur shared.

"Idar." Leon grunted, looking bored if one didn't see the dangerous glint in his light eyes.

"Ah, do pardon me, my dear," Idar said, patting Natalia's rigid hand that rested on his elbow, and looking nothing close to remorseful. His ruthless gaze met Arthur's and he smiled, "I see I've broached sensitive topics. My lady," he inclined his head my way, "I look forward to making your acquaintance on a deeper level. If you'll excuse me."

He walked away with a stiff Natalia in tow. Idar and Arthur watched him go with matching blank expressions.

Among the Five, Leon resembled Arthur the least, but the two had that similar essence of leashed power and sense of grandeur.

"I keep thinking age would make him wiser," Leon said, "but I'm afraid it's the opposite."

"No matter," Arthur said, "how is your land?"

And they delved into conversation, as though a disturbing meeting had not just taken place.

Leon was a man of few words. From the few he spoke, I understood he was thoroughly disagreeable about his stay here. He'd rather have stayed back home, in New Zealand.

Their conversation only held half my attention, though. My mind was busy going over Idar's words. The conclusions I withdrew seemed very inconceivable.

Was it possible that Arthur and Natalia had had a child together? It was impossible to imagine Arthur with a child...

No, maybe not. I remembered back on the island, on more than one instance, seeing Arthur ruffle one of the children's hair or even sitting them on his lap. Arthur as a father was not very hard to imagine.

If he had had a child, where were they? Had they passed away? And if so, how?

But I was getting ahead of myself. Maybe I had entirely misunderstood the situation.

My thoughts ran in circles. But it didn't last long. A short while after Idar relieved us of his delightful company, Arthur and Leon turned as one to stare toward Venus, who was walking purposefully to the door.

She caught Arthur's eyes and nodded imperceptibly. Arthur glanced at me. I knew, then, that they had arrived.

I stood stock still, my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. From where we stood, I could see the door through the crowd. Venus stood there for a couple of seconds before the doors opened to let in a group of people.

Fae, my senses screamed at me. The ones I had met before in the hospital after I'd just woken up from my coma were laughably weak compared to these people.

With varying degrees of power, men and women dressed to impress, looked over the crowd with cold and stiff bearing. They formed a well organized group, entering the room three at a time like soldiers. The first nine bowed their heads at Venus and stood to the side. The doorway remained empty for what felt like an eternity or a blink of an eye. The conversation in the hall fell into hushed murmurs as most guests turned to watch.

A dark red cloak covered his tall built and broad shoulders. Silky blond hair gleamined under the lights and eyes of a bright green I could see even from the distance slitted under slashes of furrowed brows. A straight nose, a strong jaw and thin lips pressed together that gave off an unfriendly impression. He stood straight and proud, like the king that he had been.

My mouth turned dry. Surprisingly, my heart slowed down to its natural rhythm. I felt nothing after seeing this man. My father. I didn't know what I was expecting, but I was calm, way too calm.

Perhaps numb would be a better word.

Time resumed its normal pace and the royal entered, followed by three more people. He inclined his head to Venus, she did the same, then they shook hands and exchanged words I couldn't hear over the rising voices of the crowd.

A touch on my hand brought me back. Arthur's fingers touched my white knuckles on the hilt of my sword. His gaze was more welcome, the familiar warm glint back in them.

"I want some fresh air first."

The whispered words left my mouth before I could think. It was an awful display of weakness on my part, but I didn't care.

Since when did I stop caring about showing vulnerability to Arthur?

But I did need some fresh air, I needed to regroup my thoughts and sort out my emotions before meeting my father for the very first time.

"Let's go." Arthur said. He shared a glance with Charles then put his hand on the small of my back and turned us towards one of the open french doors.

People threw us curious looks, but did not make a comment. It was more due to the arctic expression of Arthur's than my puny scowl.

We stepped outside to a wide balcony. On either side of it, stairs led down to the gardens. The night air felt heavenly against my warm skin. The sounds of conversation and music were softer here, the darkness of the night broken only by the shafts of lights streaming from the banquet hall and a few far away lampposts.

I descended the stairs and strode across the grass toward the distant trees. I wanted so badly to be in the middle of a forest, surrounded by its life and peace.

The trees were thicker than I expected, and I realized that this was more of a wooded area compared to the esthetic gardens on the front of the palace.

"He's here," I said unnecessarily, and turned to face Arthur who'd followed me with muted steps.

"He is," he crossed his arms, stretching the material of the suit and shirt over his chest and arms, and leaned his shoulder on a tree. His eyes seemed to suck in what faint light reached us from the palace. The voice of the party was now barely audible to my ears.

"How am I going to -" I gestured vaguely with my hand, not even knowing what I wanted to say or how. But Arthur understood.

"You are going back there, we're going to introduce you if the occasion arises, which I believe it will," he said, his voice calm and reasonable, so unlike the turmoil raging inside of me. "We'll let things run their natural course. Of course, it will not be as simple as I make it sound, but I have faith you can handle yourself. And I will be there. There's nothing to fear."

"I'm not afraid." I grimaced, and put my palm on the rough bark of the tree closest to me. The uneven texture, the sigh of the wind as it weaved its way through the leaves, the damp and earthy smell of the birth of fall, all tickled my senses and brought my heart much needed serenity.

"Or maybe I am," I added, "I don't know what to expect. Would he even recognize me? Would he care that I am alive? He has a mate now, and a child. Maybe he won't want to-" I stopped talking. Thoughts and fears I wasn't even aware of had spilled out. I pinched my lips to the side.

"You don't look like him." Arthur said, straightening to his full height and stepping closer, "except maybe in your coloring. You said you look like your mother, and if she was as gorgeous as you are, he would definitely recognize you."

I recognized the light in his eyes all too well. I pinned him with an unamused look when he kept going until his boots touched mine. I would not take a step back, so I did have to tip my head back to keep holding his gaze.

"What are you doing?" I put my fingers on his taut stomach when he moved his head closer to mine. The air between us was sizzling with an odd sort of tension. Something I had not felt before.

"I think," he said, breath wafting over my face, "I can't hold back any longer."

"What-"

The words did not leave my mouth. It took me a fraction of a second to apprehend the situation. Arthur's hands were framing my face, his lips on mine.

My magic was screaming inside, whether in rage or in delight, I did not know. Maybe in both. Because I certainly felt both emotions in the insignificant window of time where Arthur and I were joined before reality kicked in. I dug my fingers in a specific spot right below his ribs with all my force.

"Ugh." he grunted, stepping back and bowing his body, his hand on his side.

My mouth opened and closed a few times as he recovered his breath and stood up again, his face splitting into an unrepentant grin.

"I did not see that coming," he said.

"What in the world do you think you're doing!" I gawked at him, trying to ignore the way my heart thumped uncontrollably in my chest. It was not because of fear.

"I was k-"

"I know that!" I waved my head in front of my head as if to brush away the forbidden word he was about to utter. "I mean why?! Why would you do that!"

He lowered his hand from his side, his grin receding to a smile and took a step closer. This time I stepped back and raised a hand. "Stay right where you are."

He actually stopped, looking more than amused. "Very well. As for your question, I did it because I wanted to. It's about time you and I spoke seriously about this... thing between us, as you so eloquently put it the other day."

I shook my head. I did not need this right now.

"Do you know how immortals find mates?" he asked.

Oh, hell no. "I am not having this talk with you."

"Do you know?"

"Some. Not everything." I replied. Then because I wasn't ready to face what he was implying, coward that I was, I asked, "is that what Natalia was to you?"

But I knew the answer to that, of course. Whatever was between them, she wasn't his mate. I knew one thing about mates and that it was for life. Only death could break such a bond.

As soon as the words left my lips, Arthur's smile faded away. A shutter slammed down in his eyes, only a bleak expression remained.

"No," he replied, his voice curt and dangerously low.

It was clear he didn't want to persist in that line of conversation. Tough luck. He knew almost everything about me, secrets I'd never thought I'd tell a soul. So he owed me some answers. Or so I thought. So I asked more.

"You had a child?"

His face grew even colder, but I was not scared of him. I hadn't been in a while, "The way they spoke inside earlier, it was as if you-"

"That," he interrupted me, "is none of your concern, Elle."

I snapped my mouth shut and glared at him, "is that so? But everything about me is your concern?"

His jaw clenched, "We are not the same. You are not my equal. I do not owe you explanations."

The flare of anger blinded me to any other emotion. I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders and bared my teeth in a smile.

"Very well."

His expression wavered, he opened his mouth, and for a second I thought he was going to say something. But he just looked in the direction of the palace.

"Let us go back inside."

"I'll take a short walk first," I said, "I'll join you in a minute, if you don't mind, sir" I smiled again, bowing at the waist with a flourish. A little petty of me. But I was feeling very petty.

He stared at me for a few seconds in silence before heading to the palace. My smile vanished.

The sight of his back made me feel all sorts of weird. I stalked off in the opposite direction, deeper into the woods.

I wanted so bad to fight out some of the aggression rushing through my veins. Maybe I should've done just that before he went back inside, I thought while stomping my way through the grass. That overbearing, arrogant, asshole!

And why was I so angry, anyway? It shouldn't matter that he didn't want to share his past. Obviously, Natalia had meant a great deal to him. Perhaps she still did. He wasn't obliged to tell me about their past, about his.

I shouldn't be angry.

After a few minutes, I passed by what must be the outer security perimeter of the palace. There were vampires close by. One of them was almost invisible next to a tree. I nodded my head in greeting. He hesitated, before nodding back and melting into the shadows again, apparently satisfied that I was one of the guests. The "human fae". He must have heard about me. How delightful. I was famous.

I walked for what must be an hour or so- the wooded area was obviously a full fledged forest- and only stopped when I was deep enough that there was darkness all around me. No moon hung in the sky tonight. No people close by. It was pitch black among the trees.

I looked up at a large trunked tree, took a running start and jumped up, gripping one of its branches and hauling myself up. I climbed another branch, and another, irritated with the stupid cloak when it got in the way.

When I was high enough that I wasn't spotted from the ground, I stopped, leaned my side against the trunk and swung my legs.

I had climbed so many trees when I was a child, whenever I was angry at uncle Robert and wanted to hide. Though he'd always known where to find me. He would usually just sit under the tree and wait in silence until I climbed down on my own.

My head was more clear. Obviously, I shouldn't have expected Arthur to just share his secrets with me at the drop of a hat. Some secrets were very difficult to let go of, I should know. And some secrets are better left untold. I had no right to demand answers of him. It was his life.

Telling him my secrets didn't give me the right to demand his in return. How childish of me.

Then why was I angry?

Natalia's face immediately flashed in my mind, and with it came a surge of unreasonable anger. Ugh.

I took deep breaths. When the anger faded, I reluctantly admitted to myself that beneath it all, I was actually hurt. Damn Irene. Out of all the unreasonable, idiotic emotions to feel!

He'd kissed me.

But obviously, it was simply one of his attempts to take my mind off things. Again. He probably didn't even mean what he said.

"Do you know how immortals find mates?"

He couldn't have possibly meant that. It was clear.

I felt a suspicious lump in my throat as I remembered his back when he turned to walk to the palace. Then I was angry again, at him for making me feel this way, so disoriented and confused, and at myself for allowing him to have the power to make me feel this way.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I did not deal well with emotions. I guess it was an effect of being raised by a soldier. I would rather fight a dozen opponents than deal with this crap.

Voices.

I cocked an ear and listened more intently, brushing away any other thoughts. The wind brought with it the sound of hushed voices and silent footsteps.

I was late. I had to go back to the party and get the worst part of this done and over with. For some reason, though, I found myself looking for the source of the voices.

I jumped to the next tree, following my instincts and the sounds. The voices had come from the opposite side of the palace, way beyond the security perimeter.

Suddenly, the voices stopped. Now the forest was quiet again. Too quiet, in fact.

I waited a bit longer, but nothing else happened. I shook my head. I should go back. I had just turned to climb down the tree when a bird landed on the branch right beside me.

An owl. A snow white one. I could see its milky feathers through the darkness. Its large, round amber eyes seemed to glow from within.

The bird cocked its head to the side and stared at me for a few seconds before flying to the next tree. Then it turned its head to look at me.

My magic stirred in an unusual way. It wasn't the blue fire singing in my veins, but something else. Something different, yet not new. Something that had been part of me all my life, but was never drawn out to the surface as it was right now.

I would think about it later, but for now, I did what all my senses told me to do and followed the bird. Its wings fluttered silently, taking it from one tree to another. At times, it was difficult to spot through the thick foliage, and occasionally I had to climb up or down a few branches in order to be able to jump to the next tree. But the owl led me through a path where the trees were large and dense enough to enable me to follow it from branch to branch without me having to climb all the way down to the forest floor. I didn't want to do that and risk losing the bird.

A few moments later, the owl landed on a branch and stayed there. I did the same and tried my best to stay still, pulling all my magic tightly inside of me.

The owl was staring intently at something on the ground, far below where we perched high on the tree. I climbed down a couple of branches, and laid silently on my belly, manoeuvring my sword so it didn't get in the way.

At first, I thought that the entire thing was a fragment of my imagination because there was nothing down there. My eyes had adjusted to the blackness long ago, but I still couldn't spot anything. However, that didn't last long.

The ground opened.



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