Page 61 of Reign of Light
“I’m not sure I want to do that with weapons in your hands.”
“What? Are you scared I’ll beat you if I’m fueled with rage?”
“I have no doubt you can do that already, princess. Rage or not.” I swipe again, this time at his throat, so close that if he hadn’t arched out of the way in time, I might have won.
I level the blade at his chest, my jaw clenching as I stare him down. “Talk, Captain.”
A series of chortles and whoops echo from the group watching as Weston spins the hilt of the sword in his hand.
“I do love when you get like this,” he says, his grin threatening to break my resolve. “Makes me want to throw you over my shoulder and fuck all that aggression out of you.”
I step forward, striking at him with each arm in sequence, just as he taught me. He easily blocks every one, his sultry smile not wavering a bit.
“Save it for after. Right now, I want to hear all of it.”
It’s only now that his features soften, but his movements don’t. He still challenges me, forcing me back striking, pushing, turning, trying anything to throw me off balance, but I hold firm. The only sound is the clink of our swords with each movement, before Weston finally speaks.
“What do you know about your family?”
“Only that my father and I are the last two alive in the royal succession, and the names in our ancestral line. I know nothing about my mother.”
His jaw works as he blocks my strike, the slice and pressure of his sword spinning me around and making me dizzy.
“Your mother was orphaned when she was very young. She grew up in the city, in a home that took in lost children. That’s where she met Dane. They were friends throughout her entire childhood. They were still close when I met her.”
My steps falter as I finally hear someone tell me about my mother. No one ever spoke to me about her. The pain was too much for my father, and it was as if he forbade everyone else from bringing her up as well. Edmond was the only one who defied that order, and it wasn’t until he handed me her diary. Hearing all of this for the first time almost brings me to a halt. It’s as if something I’ve been missing and yearning for is finally snapping into place.
Weston must see my reaction, and he keeps pushing, keeping me focused on his moves, and only letting up enough so I can still process what he’s telling me.
“Rem met Lyla one day when we were out in the city. The moment he saw her, I knew he was done. He was never the kind who cared about love. He knew what was required to produce a legitimate heir, but the moment he saw her, it was like love finally mattered to him.”
I clench my jaw. Weston’s story feels made up. I know this is the man he knew, but this is not the father I knew. This man doesn’t exist anymore.
“I saw it in her eyes too, the way she looked at him. It was more than just someone in awe of the king, or wanting a place of wealth and power and security. No one could fault her for that after living the life she had. But that wasn’t Lyla. She was pure and kind and happy. She made him more of those things too.”
Tears prick my eyes, and I step back to catch my breath. My swords fall to my sides as I take a minute to collect myself. Weston watches me, and understanding flickers over his face.
“It’s alright, I can take it.”
He knows how hard this is for me, how hard it is to reconcile the life I knew with the one he describes. How hard it is to hear about the woman I so desperately wanted to know that I came here to save her, only to have that ripped away from me. And despite his constant reminders that I fight with too many emotions, he’s letting me use them to take it all out on him.
Because he is there to catch me as I fall.
I charge at him, my movements fueled by bitterness and longing for the life I never had. He blocks every strike, every jab, but he doesn’t stop telling me exactly what I asked for.
“They were inseparable, or as inseparable as they could be with his position. After that first meeting, we left the castle to see her every day, and of course during that time, we met the onlyfamilyshe had. Dane.”
My breaths shorten, and I focus on slowing them, knowing that if I don’t, I won’t be able to make it through this fight.
“We found out quickly he wasn’t her actual family, even though she regarded him as such. Rem and I both could see he was in love with her,even though she never looked at him the same way. She was clearly as much in love with your father as he was with her. When Rem proposed, Dane was…unhappy. Unsupportive. She came to the castle crying one night, telling Rem about how Dane tried to change her mind and talk her out of it, giving her every reason she shouldn’t be with him.”
“Becausehewanted to be with her,” I grind out, as my blade slams into his.
He nods. “Yes.”
I shove him off before striking out again. “Keep going.”
“She tried to remain friends with him after the wedding, but Dane pulled away. When he found out she was pregnant, he all but disappeared. She was upset, despite how happy she was about you and for their new family. Dane was the only family she ever knew, and he abandoned her. But she had Rem, and you, and she decided that was all she needed.”
