Chapter 115 A Tale of Terror
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I strongly doubt that would happen.
Kayn had a steel grip on my arm, while Hector still gaped in awe at her. Ember looked confused and Adriane, well, it was obvious she thought highly of my supposed mother.
So much so, she stammered as she asked, "Would you like anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Or anything else you prefer? I can get it for you?"
She waved Adriane off. "No, nothing for me, thank you. So, you're the family taking care of my daughter now? What happened to the humans?"
"Nothing," I answered. "I just don't trust you enough to let you go near them yet."
Kayn nodded in agreement, while Adriane laughed awkwardly. "I apologize, my lady. They're still young and don't know about you. You see, we've been outcasted so they've never been taught the finer details about our history."
"No need to apologize. I just came for my daughter."
I blinked. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"I figured that much," she sighed. "That's why I need to see your human caretaker."
"Mother," I snapped. "I call her mom. She's not just my caretaker. She took care of me, loved me, and raised me when you failed to do so."
"You need to understand that I didn't have any other choice," she said. "Your father, he's human."
"Are you okay?" Ember turned to Hector, who sounded like he was choking on his own breath.
"You mean to say you were never taken hostage?" he asked. "You left?"
The woman's eyes widened in surprise. "My goodness, dear, no. I left. Is that what they told the people?"
Hector nodded in response.
I rolled my eyes. "I don't even know what your name is. What my sister's name is. Where is she anyway?"
"You have a sister?" Ember's eyes bulged. "Oh, wow."
"Yeah, I'm that out of the loop," I scowled at the queen.
"Her name is Salyssa. I'm afraid I don't know—"
Kayn straightened. "Subject 611? The girl Rake helped escape from the AOUB?"
"What are the chances they have the same name?" I turned to peer at him. "Could be coincidental."
The queen's eyes bounced between us. "You know where she is?"
"We don't know for a fact that it's her," I corrected.
"Then we have to find out," the queen insisted. "Where is she?"
Kayn and I exchanged looks. "We don't know," he answered. "A fairy helped her escape. We hadn't talked to her ourselves."
"A fae?" The queen didn't look too thrilled about this. "They can't be trusted."
"Great, you too," I rolled my eyes. "So, what is it you'd like to achieve with this sudden appearance? Why did you leave me with humans? What's the story, Mom?" I said her name in a tone laced thick with sarcasm.
"You know our law, yes? Of our kind not mixing with humans?" She sighed, getting up, and began to pace. "Your father and I didn't plan any of this…"
"Clearly," I snorted. "You made the same mistake, twice."
"No." She turned to me. "Salyssa, is your half-sister. She's the king's daughter."
"So, you ditched a merman king for a human?" I asked.
"No, not really. I was still married and ruling by his side."
"Oh, just wow," I breathed. "Technically, you cheated on him?"
"It's not like that," she insisted. "You're too young to understand. That, and it was an arranged marriage. I wasn't happy."
"Oh," I responded, a little more understanding of her situation. "That sucks."
"I accidentally fell pregnant with you. I had a choice, to get rid of you and go back to my life, or try to save you. I chose the latter, of course, but then what? If they finally found me with you, how was I going to explain it? They would have us both executed."
"They'll kill a baby?" I frowned.
"I told you they do stuff like that," Kayn sighed. "They probably would have, if they found out."
"So, you gave me up to humans?" I turned my attention back to her.
"Yes." She smiled faintly. "I came across a couple collecting seashells one late Summer evening. Sarah, the woman...I was injured. I had an incident with a group of guards, and well, she found me out there on the beach. She immediately aided me while the man took you in his arms and wrapped a towel around you to keep you warm."
My vision blurred and I turned my face, wiping my eyes. Kayn moved closer to me, wrapping an arm around my lower back. "You okay?" he whispered so that only I could hear him.
"Can we just get a moment, alone, please?" I asked the queen, refusing to look at her.
"I don't have anywhere to be," she answered. "Take as much time as you need."
Kayn took my hand in his when I stood up and we headed upstairs to his bedroom.
