Page 131 of Duskbound

"Make your point, Aether. I'm beginning to lose my patience," Urkin muttered.

“The Void showed Fia a couple, an Aossí and a Kalfar right before they were engulfed in flames—flames that would come to destroy Riftdremar. I believe those to be her parents."

Urkin’s eyes sliced through the air in my direction, so quickly it made my heart jump.

"At first, I thought it was just coincidence." Aether's attention fell to the floor. "That her birth in Riftdremar was simply the result of some forbidden affair between realms. An Umbra soldier who'd crossed the rip and fallen for an Aossí woman."

Urkin had gone very still.

"We were together that day," Aether's voice dropped dangerously low. "When Riftdremar burned. When he refused to leave. The public might believe he died of illness, but we know the truth, don't we?"

"That's enough." Urkin's voice shook.

"I returned to the archives to take another look at reports from that time. Nine months before her birth, he filed notice that he'd be splitting his time between the realms." Aether's golden eyes burned. "Convenient timing, wouldn't you say?"

Then he turned to me, and something in his expression confused me more than his words. "And then there's the name she spoke last night."

My heart stopped.

"The royal family has followed the same tradition for centuries," he continued, "every heir's name, a testament to the parent with shadows in their blood." His eyes locked onto mine. "There's a reason you dreamed of this family, Fia."

Urkin's attention shot between Aether and me, coming to some realization that I hadn't yet put together. "It couldn't be…" he stammered over his words as he rounded the desk, taking a few steps in my direction, his eyes alive with questions.

"It's because you belong to it," Aether said, a look of wonder spreading across his face. "Your father was Prince Andrial Valtýr, son of Andrid, our ruling Queen."

Andrial?

The name echoed through my mind like a bell toll, ringing so loudly that the world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

"You've never been simplyFia Riftborne."

I grabbed the back of the chair, my knees threatening to give out as the revelation washed over me. My eyes traced patterns on the floor, unable to process what he was saying. What it meant.Everything I thought I knew about myself, about my past, began to crack and reshape itself.

Slowly, I lifted my head to meet Aether's gaze, but he was already turning back to Urkin.

"So you tell the Council. You tell them that what Valkan did was an act of war. You tell them that he captured and fed from the heir to the throne of Umbrathia."

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The war roomwas drenched in nervous energy as I stepped through the door. Vexa paced near the windows while Effie perched on the edge of a chair, fingers drumming against her knee. Theron and Mira huddled in quiet conversation, their shoulders tense. Rethlyn stood alone, arms crossed, watching everyone else with wary eyes. Only Raven seemed calm, lounging in a chair, face buried in a book.

"Finally," Vexa breathed, stopping mid-pace. "Urkin sent orders for all of us. I thought for sure?—"

"What happened?" Effie was already walking towards us.

Raven shot up. "The Sentinels practically dragged you out of the archives."

My mind still reeled. I wasn't even sure if I could form coherent words.

"They're going to strip us of rank, aren't they?" Theron's voice carried an edge of panic.

"If we're lucky, that's all they'll do," Mira muttered.

"We're still going to Riftdremar," Aether said, his voice steady beside me. "Tonight, as planned."

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Theron pushed away from the wall. "Urkin is back now. He will never allow it."

"He already has." The words felt strange leaving my mouth, like I was speaking from somewhere far away.

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