Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,5

at me in a most condescending tone. Grizz growled at it in response.

At least those two understood each other.

“Because he is my brother—or his spirit in bird form, at least.”

Holy. Shit.

“Drake…?” The bird let loose a screech in response. “But how?” I asked as I reached to stroke its midnight feathers. Though I was half expecting to get pecked, the bird instead leaned into my touch, allowing me to pet him. “You were helping me all along, weren’t you?”

Another squawk.

“Once I realized who the raven was and why he’d appeared, the darkness cleared. Then panic set in. I realized, in my newfound clarity, what I had done. How I had pushed you away. For hours, I debated how to proceed—what to do—until I resigned myself to the fact that I had blown my chance…done irreparable damage. I knew you were powerful and strong, and still aligned with the enforcers, given Kat’s relationship to both them and you, so I convinced myself it was best to keep my distance. The secret of your identity had died with Kingston. I truly thought you would be safer that way; that you’d have a chance at a life of happiness that I could never have provided. But then you appeared again, and I knew you would never rest until you had answers of some kind, so I crafted the lie to preserve both myself and your heart. I thought it would be better for us both if Reinhardt had indeed died at Kingston’s hands, leaving you with an uncle to help guide and train you. You would have a family member in your life, and I would get to be a part of it, though in a different capacity than a father.”

I felt tears stinging the backs of my eyes and tried hard to fight against them, but ultimately, I lost. One by one, they spilled over, a cascade of hurt and abandonment that seemed impossible to quell. The orphaned little girl in me couldn’t understand his words, even if the powerful, grown princess of Faerie was beginning to.

“I spent my whole life wondering who you were, especially once I realized I was different somehow. I used to make up stories about you and my mother. That you were superheroes. That it wasn’t safe for you to come and get me yet because I was so young, but one day you would. And I’d learn that I was special, too.”

“You are so special, Piper...” He reached to wipe my tears away but stopped short, the conflict clear in his eyes.

“But you never came, and instead, I learned to survive on the streets until the vampire king took me in,” I said, wiping my own sadness away. “Guess we know why now, huh?”

“When I learned you were with the enforcers, I did not realize it was because the king himself had brought you in. My spies told me of your relationship with Jase and Dean; that they kept you safe. That they treated you as a little sister. I thought it best to leave you there with them and not out your secret for fear of repercussions.”

“Did you know that your old flame ordered my death after I was born? That she charged Knox with that job?”

He paled at my words. “I wish I could say that surprises me, but it doesn’t. It does, however, explain your connection to the wolf.”

“Merc knew of my existence, too.”

“That would make sense as well.”

Silence fell between us, neither knowing what to say. I combed my fingers through Grizz’s coarse hair over and over until my anxiety waned. Then Reinhardt looked at me with regret in the depths of his eyes.

“I don’t know how to fix this, Piper, but I would do anything to achieve that end.”

I didn’t need Knox at my side to know he spoke the truth.

“I’m not sure you can,” I said softly, “but we can try to move forward.” A morbid thought flashed in my mind, and I let loose a mirthless laugh. “Who knows…maybe we’ll all fall at the hands of the royals, making the whole thing moot.”

His sad eyes blazed with determination. “You will not fall.” A violent gust of wind tossed my hair around my face, and I struggled to contain it.

“I don’t plan to, if that makes you feel better.”

“It does.”

The roar of his anger-driven winds died off, letting the leaves settle once again on the forest floor. The quiet that came in its wake was eerie. Everything was too still.