Page 48 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
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MAYA
What had he just said?Brothers?
I blinked in confusion, before realizing that the man in front of us was calling thetwinshis brothers… How was that possible? Wait, hadn’t the twins said that on their sixth birthday, their brother had disappeared? Was this him? Holy crap!
“Burton?” Anani’s voice was choked as Ledger’s hand tightened on my waist.
Burton? Was that this man’s name? I had to admit he looked very similar to the twins, favoring Ledger’s eye color more than Anani’s but having the same dark curly hair as both of them, which instead of being trimmed, fell far past his shoulders. His clothing was a bit worn-looking and suited more towards a brisk atmosphere, making me realize he was most likely from the mountain village. Next to him stood who I assumed to be his mate…and holy crap, she was absolutely gorgeous.
Her red hair was pulled back in intricate braids, and she wore a simple blue dress that matched her daughter’s. She offered me a nervous smile as her little one, who couldn’t be more than one, offered me a big grin and tried to reach for me. I happily offered my arms, the woman not hesitating to hand over the baby, trust shining in her gaze.
I wasn’t positive what I’d done to deserve that trust, but I made sure to hold her daughter securely as she squealed in delight at being passed to me.
“Yes,” Burton responded, though everyone was still focused on me and the little girl in my arms. I tried to not blush, realizing that my action probably wasn’t very queenly. She tugged on my hair lightly as she snuggled against my chest, causing me to rock slightly as I let out a happy hum. Oh well.
Burton continued. “Queen Maya, we are honored to have you as our new leader—my mate and I—”
“Katherine,” she spoke up, her voice soft, sweet, but holding a note of confidence. “My name is Katherine, and that’s our daughter Laura.”
“Laura,” I smiled down at the girl. “Beautiful name.”
Ledger finally spoke up, his voice rough. “I don’t understand. You’ve been here the entire time?”
Both twins were still nearly frozen in shock at Burton’s appearance.
“Yes.” Burton’s gaze was filled with sadness and so many unspoken things. “I’ll explain more later if you want, but I was putting both of you in danger—Father had started to threaten you when I disobeyed, so I left to come to Earth and found this community.”
It didn’t surprise me that this had to do with their father, to be honest.
“It didn’t help.” Ledger muttered and looked down to Laura. “This is so crazy, so this is our niece?”
“Yes.” Katherine beamed.
“This is so cool,” I whispered to myself. I looked to see Anani’s reaction. He still hadn’t fully spoken, his entire body tense. “You guys should catch up after this,” I suggested. Unless they didn’t want to. I sort of hoped they did, though, especially if it would give them more of an answer on why he left—especially since I knew they felt guilty about it. Not that they should’ve.
“For sure.” Anani nodded stiffly. “Sorry, Burton, this is slightly overwhelming. I don’t really know what to say.”
“I understand. We saw you at the meeting the other day,” Burton explained, looking sympathetic. “We wanted to wait to say anything until after the excitement slowed down, but then I saw thathewas here.”
“He’s a bastard,” Anani spit in annoyance. I covered little Laura’s ears.
“What happened when I left?” Burton asked, looking between the two of them, fury filling his gaze in realization that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“I think it may be better to talk about this later—” Atlas’ words were cut off.
“No. Let’s talk, boys.”
The voice had my skin breaking out in chills, a defensive noise leaving my throat as the twins’ father approached, his gaze narrowed on Burton in distaste. Then he looked at the twins, his eyes sparkling with malice.
Despite Laura happily playing with the jewels on my dress as I tried to bounce her in a comforting manner, I decided it was probably best to have my hands free. I turned to Katherine and gently handed her daughter off before turning my serious gaze back on the man who was tinting this entire day with so much darkness.
“What are you doing here, Jacob?” Ledger asked, looking furious.Was that his name?I’m glad he didn’t call him ‘father’ or his ‘dad’ because he didn’t deserve that title. He didn’t deserve the right to be connected to them.
“I had to see this bullshit myself,” he sneered. “I knew you had found your mate, but for the crown to have dishonored itself, starting a new kingdom on this piece of shit excuse of a realm—”
“Stop.” My voice was harsher than ever before. Jacob jolted and stared at me as if he hadn’t expected me to speak.
