“This situation is, while we all agree, a wondrous occurrence,” he indicates around the table and there are nods but no words, “…it is also a political nightmare.”
I open my mouth to protest vehemently, but he holds his hand up and continues before I can get a word in.
“Delinda is a blessing, one all of us are so grateful to have. Already, she has captured our hearts with her strength and her character,” he says to appease me. There is a massive “but” coming, though. I can see it with flashing neon signs.
“But, if our people find out who her father is, I am afraid their acceptance of her might not come so easily to them,” he says with a sigh.
“Tough,” I say, unable to keep quiet any longer. “It is what it is.”
CK takes my hand at my defensive words. He knows it is a front for hiding my deeper feelings. I let him hold my hand lightly, but I never take my eyes from Drake. He has something up his sleeve and I am almost certain now that I am not going to like what he has to say.
“Not necessarily,” Drake says and avoids my intense gaze.
“Meaning?” I bark at him after a few moments have passed and he hasn’t said anything else.
“There is another way that we can make the existence of your child acceptable to all of the Fae,” he says.
“Make the existence of my child accepta
ble?” I suddenly roar at him and he flinches. CK tightens his grip on my hand, but I pull mine out of his and cross my arms again. I am extremely unhappy with this so far. Drake had better have a damn good reason for doing this.
“No one except the people in this room know about her true paternity,” Drake says. “There is still time to pass her off as Kalen’s.”
Chapter 3
Drake’s last statement is met with a stony silence. I know I am openly gaping at him and after a second or two, when my brain starts functioning again, I shift my gaze to Sebastian. He is staring straight ahead, right over the top of CK’s head, his gaze boring into the wall. His mouth is grim, and he is as pale as I have ever seen him.
“Excuse me?” I stammer, dropping my arms to my sides. “You want me to declare Kalen as Delinda’s father.”
“There will be no declaration,” Drake says grimly. “It will be assumed, and we will allow that assumption to stand.”
“Seb?” I ask quietly. He finally turns his eyes to me, and they soften slightly, but he doesn’t say anything. “Are you willing to accept this?” There is no way he can possibly have agreed to do this. How could he? How could he stand up and pretend to be his sister’s father?
“Yes,” he says harshly.
“What?” I snap at him and CK takes my hand again. I look down at him as he is clutching at me like he needs the support, not me. When my gaze falls upon his handsome face, I wish I hadn’t looked. He looks as sick about this as I suppose I must.
“It is for the good of the people. My people,” Sebastian says, standing up. “What my father did to you was the worst thing a man can do to a woman, but we cannot let this get in the way of what is most important. She is the key to peace, Aeval. We cannot let anything mar the greater good.”
“You are willing to call her your daughter?” I say to him nastily, and then I regret my words, as he looks so completely wretched, I fear he is going to break down and cry.
“Yes,” he croaks out.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I won’t let you do this. I won’t let you take on a responsibility to my daughter for the sake of duty. I will not bring you into her life in such a way if all you will see when you look at her is hatred and resentment. I am prepared to stand up and do this by myself, and to tell the truth.”
“I will love her as my own,” Sebastian says to me softly. “You know me, Aeval. You know that I will accept her. I told you this when we thought she was Remiel’s. Nothing has changed, except now she is my family by blood. I will not turn my back on her, and I will always love her.”
My heart melts as I hear his words. He is being completely truthful, but I still have my reservations. “I will have to think about this,” I say. “The ramifications of such a lie is a lot to take on board after all I have discovered today. I need time.”
“We don’t have time,” Drake says to me. “We have to present her to the Courts now. The longer we wait, everyone will start to wonder why.”
“I need time,” I say to him with finality. “There is a lot more to consider than just Kalen taking Delinda as his own.” I glance down at CK and he quickly stands up and puts his arm around my waist. He knows I must come clean about our baby right now. “Constantine and I are expecting our own child,” I say to a stunned silence. “We had wanted to keep it quiet for a bit longer due to the miscarriage I had a few months ago, but it is clear that we can no longer keep this a secret. We have already discussed that we would be a family with Delinda. We want to live out our lives with each other and be a proper family.”
There are shocked hisses at my words. To some sitting at this table, well, in fact, everyone sitting at this table, my statement will imply I have chosen CK, including CK. It was always a given, assuming Aefre stays in control, but as we all know, my other sides can be quite easily convinced otherwise. I can never be sure who I will ultimately end up with.
I remove myself from CK’s embrace and do a runner. It is the only thing I can think of to get away from the barrage of questions and accusations that I know is going to be headed my way. I manage to get about twenty steps outside the hall when Devon catches up with me. He grabs my arms and spins me around so quickly I go dizzy.
“Lizzie,” he says desperately. “I love you.”