Page 71 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood

“Maybe?” Leesa winces and bites her lip as she glances at Bastian. “Sorry, baby.”

One glance at Bastian’s face is enough to reveal the truth. His cheeks lose their color, and his expression is nothing short of beseeching. “I planned to tell you, I promise. I was just waiting for the right moment. You’ve undergone so many shocks in such a short time that I didn’t want to overwhelm you any more than you already were.”

I can tell he’s afraid this surprise upset me. Maybe I should be upset, but all I experience at this moment is a rush of pure happiness.

A brother. I have a brother. After believing all my biological family was dead, the revelation feels like a gift from the gods themselves. “No wonder you always looked so familiar to me. You kept reminding me of someone…I just never realized that someone was me. So, our parents…?”

He expels a relieved puff of air. “We’re half siblings. We share the same father.”

I bound out of my chair and rush over to his spot to wrap my arms around him. “Well, half-sibling, it’s good to officially meet you again.”

He pats my back. “It really is.” His voice brims with emotion, causing him to clear his throat. “We’ll have to carve out some time to get better acquainted soon.”

“I’d like that.” As I return to my seat, I scan the stunned faces. “I take it no one else knew about this besides Leesa?”

A chorus of denials follow but, oddly enough, everyone seems to take the news in stride.

I guess we all have more pressing issues to fret over than discovering a long-lost sibling.

Blair swallows a bite of ham and adjusts his knife to cut another piece. “So, getting back to what Leesa said…do you object to Sterling whisking your little sister away, too, Bastian, or are you smart like the rest of us and ready for a break from her annoying ways?”

I lob a roll at his head. “Hey!”

Bastian’s jaw tightens. “No, I’m afraid I’d be rather dismayed were Lark to disappear with the prince so soon after returning to Tirene.”

Blair smirks at Sterling. “I think that’s polite speak for saying if you abdicate the throne and scarper off with his baby sister, then even the crown to protect you from his wrath.”

Sterling laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. “I never said you couldn’t come with us, Bastian. We can get two cottages. Right next to each other. That way, you and Leesa could visit your sister any time you want.”

Bastian places a hand over his chest in mock relief. “I was worried there for a moment.”

He winks at a blushing Leesa, who ducks her head as she takes a bite of potatoes.

I can’t help but smile as I watch the two of them. Bastian has really started to come out of his shell around us, dropping more and more of his formality and reserve to reveal a lighter side underneath. He still acts a little uncomfortable on occasion, especially around me, but maybe that was from guilt over hiding the truth about our relationship. If he’s worried I disapprove of him being with my sister, he has nothing to fear. He does nothing to hide his feelings for Leesa, and I’m glad she has him to lean on.

I look forward to a day when I can lean on him too. When we can both lean on each other.

Perhaps my earlier apprehension was all for nothing. Sterling seems back to his normal self, and while, with the exception of her big reveal, Leesa’s overall mood is subdued, she did just suffer a huge scare with the drachen. Mother’s death hit her hard too. We’re both still struggling to come to grips with that loss, especially since we’ve yet to uncover motives and suspects.

Still, my newfound bubble of joy refuses to burst. I have a brother. I can’t help but take that as a positive sign for the future.

I swallow a bite of my roll. “If that’s how you’d react to my leaving, maybe I should delay my trip to Kamor.”

“Kamor?” Agnar sets his glass on the table. “Why in the blazes would you want to go there?”

“I don’t want to, per se. But I think I’ll need to. And because we’re already short on guards, I don’t think Bastian going with me and weakening our forces here would be a very good idea. It will be an even longer trip than the one to the Lost City.”

Leesa’s fingers wrap around her knife. I’m just glad she’s eating and hasn’t complained of a headache this evening.

“Like I said…” I smile at my sister, who has been protective of me for a lot longer than either of us has known Bastian, “I don’t want to go. But according to the map Rhiann located for me, that’s where the Hidden Valley is. So I’m hoping that’s where we’ll find the phoenix tears we need to get rid of the corruption of the?—”

Before I can finish my sentence, my sister shoves her chair back from the table.

After that, everything happens so fast.

Knife raised, Leesa leaps to her feet and surges forward.

No one has time to react when she lunges at Blair and plunges the blade into his throat.

---