Page 20 of Tragic Ink
“Wow. The letter was real,” Iwhispered.
Rhys rose from where he’d crouched and slid onto the sofa next to me. “Whatletter?”
“I found a letter when I was going through Aelwyn’s things...” In a halting voice, I told him what it had said. And the name that was scrawled at thebottom.
“It’s true. Moonlaith is your mother,” heconfirmed.
“Is?” I tensed. “You mean she’s stillalive?”
“Yes.”
“And my father? You said he was aseer?”
Rhys lookedaway.
“Rhys?”
When he turned back to me, his expression was pained. “Gwen,he...”
I swallowed hard. “Just tell me the truth,Rhys.”
“He was a seer,” Rhys agreed quietly. “He was also your mother’s Protector. According to the report, he saw the dark fae coming for you. You weren’t going to make it out, so he stayed behind to buy you some time. He was killed defending you and Aelwyn on the day you were both smuggled into Havenwood Falls. I’msorry.”
“It’s okay. I... Thank you for telling me,” I said. He nodded, and I bit my lip. “But my mother... you could contact her? Could we maybe go through the portal and seeher?”
“Yes, I—” He frowned at the sight of my face. “Gwen, hold on. It’s not safe right now, okay? When this is all over, I promise you, I’ll take you to see her, but not untilthen.”
“Okay.” I forced myself to relax and focus on the rest of what my mother had written. “So it’s true about themistletoe?”
Rhys nodded. “The mistletoe keeps others from detecting your gift. Actually, according to Aelwyn, it also keeps people from really noticing you or becoming too interested. Anotherprotection.”
I gaped at him. “Is that why everyone’s being so damn friendly lately? Because I stopped taking themistletoe?”
He shrugged, but the half smirk he gave confirmed my suspicions. “You have something against folks beingneighborly?”
I leaned back, stunned. “All this time, I thought she was just a health nut. Always shoving herbal supplements at me and insisting they werevitamins.”
“Well, they are good foryou.”
I glared. “You knew all this time, and you never told me. And neither did she.” More than anything, I wished Aelwyn was still here to defend herself. To hug me. To let me forgive her. How did you forgive a deadperson?
“After your Awakening, Aelwyn wanted to tell you, but I had orders. I took an oath, Gwen. I couldn’t break that without permission. It was too dangerous. And Aelwyn respected that, even if she didn’t like it. That’s why she didn’t tell you about her burial wishes. I’m sorry I went behind your back about that, but I couldn’t do anything that would break myoath.”
“And now? Why are you telling menow?”
“Because your safety trumps everything. Even the oath. Even... myfeelings.”
I hadn’t expected him to go there—and because he’d surprised me, I faltered. For a split second, I knew my emotions showed on my face. By the time I’d rearranged my features, Rhys had leaned in, his warm hand resting on my knee. His dark eyes were intense and stormy and full of... whatever it was that had made me ever think he cared about me like I’d cared abouthim.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Imumbled.
“Gwen, I know I hurt you. I’m so sorry for that. But... I couldn’t let it go that far. My oathforbade—”
I shook my head. “You don’t have toexplain.”
“I do. I should have explained a long time ago. Thekiss...”
“Was a mistake,” I finished for both of us, and in one swig, I knocked back the liquid in my glass, welcoming the burn that followed. It was sharp enough to drown out the twinge of pain in my chest my own words hadcaused.
