And why the hell didnt you intervene, if you cared so much? He glared at the Unseelie.
I had to wait. It wasnt time.
Wait for what ?
For you to take your rightful place as my apprentice. To rule at my side.
I was
homeless, you fucker, he hissed. I had to turn tricks to survive. You couldnt have contacted me a helluva lot soonerlike, say, when I was a scared teenager with not one person on earth to turn to?
I couldnt get near you, boy, Malik snapped, scowling. The old woman made certain of that.
Grandma? The Unseelie waited for him to put it together. The amulet. She said it would protect me from harm, no matter how great the evil. Hold up. Did she mean you, specifically? Did you know my grandmother?
Kalen moved to the edge of his seat, gripping the highball glass so hard his knuckles whitened. He tried to push down the panic beginning to seize his lungs. What the fuck did all this mean?
Yes, I knew Ida. She was a thorn in my ass for many centuries.
Wait. What? Kalen took a generous gulp of his Cognac, trying to get a hold on the conversation. Centuries? Youyoure lying.
Hardly. Ida May Ventura was a four-hundred-twenty-three-year-old Seelie, and a very powerful one. Well, until her final days, anyway.
Eyes wide, Kalen stared at Malik, speechless. For several long moments he could do nothing but process what the Unseelie was really, truly telling him. Shock held him immobile.
Are you saying . . . that Im Fae?
Down to your last drop of blood. Sorcerers are not mere humans imbued with the gift of simple witchcraft.
Oh, God. Mind spinning, he tried to assimilate this revelation.
Youre a rare breed. Very few Fae are powerful enough to become Sorcerers, Malik said, a slight smile playing about his lips. Even I am not a Sorcerer.
Thats why you want me and why my power is valuable to you.
I wont deny that as two Faea king and his second in commandwell be unstoppable together and that I can accomplish my goals much more quickly with you than not. But thats not the only reason I desire your presence.
Why else, then?
Malik shook his head. Youre not ready to hear it yet. Soon.
Okay, that missing piece of the puzzle would have to wait. Trying another tack, he asked, How did you know my grandmother? Whats your connection to my family?
The Fae are not a vast people numbering in the millions, he replied smoothly. We had met.
Yeah, but you said Grandma was Seelie. Youre Unseelie. I seriously doubt she ran in your circles.
True. However, we had crossed paths all the same, arguing on opposite sides of issues before our royal courts.
All right. Ill buy that for now. So why did she live her life posing as a human? That she hadnt entrusted him with her biggest secret cut deep. It hurt badly. He realized his mistake when Malik immediately used that emotion to his advantage.
Leaving his chair, the Unseelie moved next to Kalen on the sofa, sitting beside him. Turning slightly to face him, Malik set his glass of Cognac on the coffee table and laid a palm on Kalens thigh. The touch was surprisingly warm. Normally he would flinch, demanding the offender remove his hand as hed done with Aric. But suddenly he was caught in the other males gaze. The warmth extended through his limbs, like sweet honey, fostering a sense of peace. Of belonging. Companionship.
All the things hed longed for these many cold years.
I dont know why Ida made some of the choices she did, boy. I dont know why she lied to you.
Christ. It was true. His beloved grandmother had lied about something hugethe both of them being Fae.
Maybe she wanted to protect me from something. . . .
Perhaps. But did she keep you safe?
No, he whispered, staring into the brown liquor in his hand.
No, Malik repeated. She didnt. All she managed was to keep you away from me, the one who could have taken you in after she passed on. Who could have fed and sheltered you. Cared for you. Instructed you properly in the arts
The dark arts. She wanted to keep me from the dark arts, she said.
Foolish boy. I know you feel compelled to defend your beloved grandmother. Again the squeeze. The sense of belonging. There are no dark arts, merely dark uses. And weve already established that no one is innocent, no matter which side youre on.
Maybe. Another thought occurred to him. Why dont I have wings, like Sariel, if Im Fae?
Malik shrugged. I dont know. Perhaps you took after your mother.
Kalen got the distinct feeling he wasnt telling the whole truth. Hmm. You say my grandmother was Fae, but she looked like any old woman to me.
Glamour. If shed dropped it, I doubt shed have appeared to be many years older than you are now.
Then how could she die? Arent
Fae immortal?
Up to a point, we are. Im guessing her life force was tied to the amulet. When she gave it to you, she accepted her death. She could also have been ill from using her glamour too long, living as a human who ages and gets sick. Its all speculation. Who knows?
I gave the amulet away. Will I die now?
No, Malik said firmly. You wont. If your life force was in fact tied to the pendant, it isnt any longer. The link was severed the night you disobeyed your grandmother by taking it off.