He picked up the sword and sliced off an arm from a practice dummy standing in the corner. “And that is why we have to make this stand againsthim.”
“No! He’ll kill all of you. All it will take is a tornado or a lightning storm and your home will be destroyed, your people dead in minutes. You can’t fight a dark FionnFae.”
“If he’s such a threat, deal with him.” Grayson turned back, his voice low and growling. “Damnit, Sienna, you have enough power. Do it. Kill the son of a bitch and stop running from him and yourproblems.”
“Ican’t!”
“Why the hellnot?”
“Because he’s mybrother!”
Words screamed at Grayson, slicing through the air as sharp as his sword. Truth admitted. My hands fell helplessly to my side. Tears clogged mythroat.
Tears I’d refused to shed the day I left, tears I’d kept inside all the years I’d dealt with such terrible betrayal. Grayson did not hesitate. He went to me, pulling me into his arms. I struggled at first and then collapsed againsthim.
He stroked my hair as I fisted my hands into his shirt and released all the anguish I’d kept bottled up for threeyears.
“My mother was a powerful Fionn Fae who could manipulate energy, Grayson, and my father was king of the northern Fionn Fae. She was his mistress. He had a wife, Kallan’s mother, but he was drawn to my mother’s magick and her power. She died when I was twelve. They told me she died of illness, but… I think maybe he killed her to siphon hermagick.”
I gulped down a breath. “My people don’t like anyone being more powerful than theyare.”
“What happened to your father and the others, Sienna? I only glimpsed pieces from your dreams. I felt your torment and your emotions and those remained with me.” He kissed the top of myhead.
Fresh guilt stabbed me. “When I turned 21, they craved the magick that manifested itself in me. I refused to share it because I knew they wanted to use it to destroy others and gain more territory. My father ordered his army to kill me and I released my magick and destroyed them all. Except Kallan. Kallan escaped at the last moment. He is the last survivor of myfamily.”
Grayson stepped back, smoothed back my hair and stared into my eyes. “My Sienna. Lass, you say you can’t kill Kallan because he’s your family. But if he died, you would befree.”
I laughed and dried my eyes on a corner of my shirt. “Right. No one else is powerful enough to destroy him. And I’m not doing it. He deserves to die for what he’s done. And if he gains my power, he’ll beinvincible.”
“Then you must kill him before he gets toyou.”
“He’s the only family I have left, Grayson,” I whispered. “Can’t you understandthat?”
He heaved a deep sigh. “Yes, I can. But we can become your new family,Sienna.”
“How can you? You’re not like me. I’mdifferent.”
“No, you’renot.”
“Right. Like you understand.” I shook my head. Stubborn wolf. “We shared aconnection.”
“More than a connection. Stay with us and share your power and we will defeat that bastard,Sienna.”
How easy he made it sound. “Even if I wanted to share power with you, you couldn’t absorb it, Grayson. Magick like mine can kill shifters. Only someone with Fae blood can absorb and diffuseit.”
“I can.” He drew in another deep breath. “Because I am half Fae aswell.”
The alpha unfurled his fingers. They glowed a faint blue of energy rising. Faeenergy.
Staggering backward, I hit the wall of theworkshop.
So much made sense now. Why he was able to drive Kallan back at the strip club, and at the lake. Grayson’s silver locks threaded through his black hair that I thought were streaks from stress. Now I knew the silver was a sign of his Fae powers. His ability to dreamwalk withme
“I’ve learned to hide it well. Most people see only the wolf, the alpha shifter. I use my Fae powers only when necessary.” He clenched his fist again. “Nicolas and Stephan know, and now you. I’ve kept this secret since I formed the pack ten yearsago.”
The words sank in. “No one else knows you have Fae blood? They think you’re purewerewolf?”
No answer, but his clenched jaw assured me of thetruth.