Page 166 of Children of Fallen Gods

And then I thought of that night.

I thought of it more clearly than I had in so long, the memories sharper, as if drawn into focus by my anger and confusion. My father leaning over me, his hands on my throat.

You are tainted, Aefe.

What had the priestess seen in my blood that day? Just my curse? Or did she also see my lineage?

What would it have meant to my father, if the heir to the House of Obsidian had not been his blood daughter?

The memories rolled over me. My weeping mother throwing herself at my father, trying to pull him off of me. Her magic flaring at her fingertips, so bright that it lit the glassy black of the room like the night sky. I remember it all looking like shooting stars surrounding her, but I was nearly unconscious, by then. It was the only time I had ever seen her use magic. Hers was more powerful than my father’s, many times over. And it was only then that he relented.

I stumbled back.

“Why are you telling me this?” I spat. “None of this matters.”

It was easier, if none of it mattered.

Because what could Idowith this? I had spent my whole life searching for my father’s affection, because it was the only alternative to hating him for everything he took from me. It was easier to believe I deserved it. Easier to believe he was right, and there was still a path for me.

If there wasn’t, I had no story. I had no path. I would be trapped alone with my hatred, with nowhere to go. And now, confronted with these terrible thoughts, I could feel the walls closing in.

Orin’s face was oddly vulnerable, almost pleading. “I’m telling you this because you are the Teirness of the House of Obsidian. And you have the power to change things, Aefe. You can do what your mother couldn’t. You could build a better world for people who share your blood—”

Share my blood.

And it was those words, at last, that snapped something within me. Orin came a step too close, and I snarled at him.

“Get away from me.”

“Aefe—”

This man was a stranger. He knew nothing about me. He cornered me to tell me these things and then used them to manipulate me into doing what was best forhiskingdom.

No.

Orin stumbled forward, as if to stop me. But I was already retreating down the path, grabbing my blades, and falling back into the shadows.

* * *

A monster was thrashinginside of me, a monster made up of nothing but ravenous limbs. I couldn’t allow myself to stop and think, because if I did, I would only think about Orin’s words. Orin’s terrifying words. Words that would ruin my life, and words that also made sense in so many ways.

I was running, leaping over walls and slipping into the shadows.

It could not be true.

If it was, then I was not my father’s daughter.

If it was, then even if I was a Teirness, my title held no value in a kingdom built beneath my father’s leadership and guided by loyalty to him alone.

If it was, then my blood made me a traitor.

Then my blood itself was tainted.

And yet,a voice whispered,it makes so many things make sense.

I wasn’t sure how I ended up in front of the door. I didn’t remember going there, and I was knocking before I even had time to think about it.

The door opened, and Caduan blinked blearily at me, brow furrowed in concern.

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