and continued down the hallway. I wasn’t going to be able to stop the wolf without killing him. King Zephyr would be pissed, but at least he’d be alive.
Shaking the memory from my head, I did my best not to remember what happened next. I hated more than anything that the king’s betrayal still affected me, but it had also given me the freedom I hadn’t known I needed at the time.
It wasn’t all bad, but lately, I was having a hard time figuring out who I was, which made the decision of whether or not to help Finn even harder. If I let the past bring doubts into my mind, I wouldn’t be able to stop the king.
Neva stared at me expectantly but didn’t say a word. I knew what she was thinking, though I wasn’t ready to accept it and probably never would be.
King Easton Zephyr was my kryptonite. He’d been like a father to me, and when he’d cast me out, it had changed me.
That was the day I’d promised to never be vulnerable again. That day, I’d become the hardened, uncaring fae I was now.
Apparently, my badass persona only extended as far as the bubble I’d created for myself in LA, but I refused to show a single weakness to anyone else. This would pass, and I could go back to enjoying my life and forgetting about Fae Islands.
But then there was the little incessant voice in my head reminding me that I hadn’t really been enjoying anything as of late. I’d been out of sorts and uncertain what to do about it. I hated to believe this was my solution, that revisiting my past might be the only way for me to move forward once again.
But I’d worked too hard to go backward, or so I kept telling myself.
Don’t wait for Finn. Killing the king will set you free from the pain you’ve been wallowing in. Do this and live the life you’ve always wanted. My inner voice was calmer than it had been in days. It was almost soothing, which made me trust it even less. It was reminding me too much of the king.
“You’re a good person, Ms. Lucinda. You help those who need it whenever you can. If you’re not able to this time, then there’s nothing wrong with that. Whatever you decide will be the right choice. I’m sure the sister will be fine,” Neva added minutes after our conversation had ended.
I’d tried not to think about the sister Finn had mentioned. I didn’t want to be guilted into anything, but apparently, Neva wasn’t above that kind of low blow.
I was then wondering what the king might have done to the girl that had driven her brother to come all this way to find me when it was obviously so hard for him to do.
I groaned as I imagined all the things I knew the bastard was capable of, and the sliver of compassion I still had left in me—the parts I’d been unable to let go of no matter how many times King Zephyr beat me into submission—rose to the surface.
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered.
Neva smirked, trying to hide her happiness, but failing. “Shall I begin packing?”
“Not yet. Tell me about this darkness you sensed in Finn. What had you backing away from him?”
She carefully poured herself a cup of coffee before meeting my eyes. “Well, he reminded me of you… but a forced version.”
I leaned back in the stool, staying calm. “Care to expand on that?”
“You were born a dark fae. Even though every fae has a dark ancestor in their bloodline, some of them are called light fae. Do you know why that is?”
I sighed. “Of course, I do.” Every fae learned as a young faeling that the supernatural world depended on a balance. Where there was darkness, there would always be light, and vice versa, but no one person could equally be both.
I was born a dark fae. I would always be the darkness, no matter how many others I helped. There was no true redemption for someone like me.
“Well, Finn isn’t a dark fae. He’s a light one, but he’s taken on enough dark magic that he should be dead. Yet, somehow, he’s not. Last night, that fact scared me, but after spending so much time with you, I decided not to be frightened. Now, I’m curious like I think you are as well.”
That damn elf was too observant.
“That is certainly interesting. So, are you