I nod eagerly. I want to wear the symbol of our love.
I blink in surprise when he holds it out, having magicked it up out of thin air.
“Oh, you are getting good at that, aren’t you?” I beam at him and hold out my right hand. He slides it onto my ring finger and then grabs my hand. He brings it to his lips and kisses them lightly.
“I love you, so much,” he says and then scampers off as CK has started growling and is about to pounce.
“Don’t,” I say to him again. “This is inevitable, my love. It has no bearing on our relationship, or our family. I love him.”
“You are killing me,” he mutters, but drags me to him to drop his mouth to mine in a full-on smooch, which leaves me weak in the knees.
He pulls back, his features perfectly in control now. “I will show you that you don’t need him, or any of them,” he states, and then with an abrupt change of subject that he is renowned for, he adds, “Are you going to tell Delinda now?”
I nod morosely.
He sees the sheer desperation on my face and drags me to him again, wrapping his arms around me. “You are the strongest woman I know. You can do this.”
His words of encouragement work wonders. I gather my courage and smile at him. “Thank you,” I say softly and reach up to stroke his face. “I love you.”
“I know you do,” he says with a sigh. “I adore you, my sweet. Now go to your business. I will be here for you when it is done.”
I give him a soft smile and then turn from him. I need to focus on Delinda now. I go back into the bedroom and close the door, to see her sitting up already and fiddling with the covers.
“Mama,” she says. “When are we going back home?”
I sit on the bed next to her and take her hands. “Oh, my sweet girl. We aren’t going back,” I say.
Her eyes go wide. “But why? I miss Papa,” she says.
“Delinda, yesterday when I brought you here, we discovered something about you that was quite startling. You are even more special than we first realized,” I say to her with a soft smile.
She stares back at me and I don’t know how to continue. I decide to jump in with both feet and hope that she isn’t too devastated by the news. “We learned that your place isn’t in the Dragon Realms, but here in the Fae Kingdoms.”
“Why?” she asks, wrinkling up her nose.
“Because…” I start and then I just can’t do it. I can’t tell her that Remiel is not her father and that Sebastian is, which isn’t even the truth. Gods, this is so much harder than I thought it would be and my expectations were pretty low to begin with.
“Because I am your father,” Sebastian says and I spin around on the bed with my mouth agape and my cheeks going what I can only imagine is a vicious shade of puce i
n my utter outrage that he dared to drop this bombshell so casually on her.
I shoot daggers at him with my eyes and I turn quickly back to Delinda. She is looking at me and then to Sebastian and the tears are pooling in her eyes in her confusion. I gather her into my arms, not knowing what else to do for a moment.
“I know this is confusing for you, sweetheart,” I mutter to her. “We had no idea that when you were born your lineage was all Faerie. You are such a special little girl, that being in the Dragon Realms brought your Dragon nature right to the front. It wasn’t until Grandpa saw you and sensed your magick that we knew that you don’t belong there, but here.” I have thus far avoided mentioning that Remiel is not her father, but I know she is going to ask. How can she not?
“Papa isn’t my papa?” she asks, peeking up at me from lowered lashes.
“No, sweetheart,” I say and pull her back to me. “I’m sorry, but we didn’t know.”
She peers around me at Sebastian, who has stood by silently since his shameful declaration. Arsehole.
“You are the Light Fae King,” she says accusingly.
He smiles at her and kneels to her level. “Yes, I am. That makes you my princess.”
“No, I am Dark Fae,” she insists with her arms crossed and her bottom lip sticking out.
“But you look like me,” he points out gently, and I have to hold in the urge to throw up all over the bed.