appear on that wharf.”
The memories of the night replayed in my mind with new light. “You did follow me.”
He hung his head and put his hands on his hips. “I have been your shadow for three-hundred-twenty-seven years…but that night…for the first time in my life, I disobeyed my orders.”
My pulse fluttered. “What?”
His eyes blazed. “As soon as you arrived in Salem, I was to capture you and bring you to Prince Thorne. To begin phase two of the plan, to prepare for war…but I couldn’t.”
“Why not?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Because that meant you would be sent to Seelie, because the King would know of your presence in the tunnels – in the interim realm. He would come for you. Prince Thorne had a plan for that but I refused to send you there without your memories.” He shrugged but his cheeks flushed. “So Keltie and I struck a deal of our own…to trigger your memories to return before sending you to Seelie… you see…the curse made it so that you would not get your memories back until you stepped foot inside Seelie realm, the real Seelie realm. Not where Prince Thorne and Princess Sage live.”
I was shocked. A million thoughts raced through my mind but it sounded like a swarm of bees and I couldn’t hear a single one.
Riah reached forward and took my hands in his. He squeezed them softly, then he dropped them and stepped back. “But then you appeared and…I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t had my ring on. You weren’t supposed to see me that night. I made a mistake and you suffered, so I had to try and earn your trust. I killed those wolf demons on the wharf by the way, and when you saw me pull a sword outside of the church? You hadn’t seen the wolf demon running up behind you. I killed it too. And then you felt me, outside Landreia’s when the cops were questioning you.”
“I thought I felt you, thought I was crazy…that’s why I kept seeing you…why you saved my life…why you were there after my medium reading…why you were there after the séance…”
“I have never been far from you,” he all but growled. “But then Cooper Bishop arrived, and I discovered you had been marked for The Coven and I panicked. I worried they would take you. So I had Keltie organize the field trip to Hidden Kingdom to try and trigger your memories.”
My mind spun.
“And that’s why Cooper went with…Keltie had spoken to him. Your Hierophant, little Bentley, was in on it too. That’s why I gave you the bracelet, to give you a weapon. But that didn’t work. Neither did Savannah’s spell—"
“You tried Tegan’s spell. The one from 1692.”
“I was watching you and Cooper that day, when you read the spell out loud then flew him to the roof. I memorized it. Tegan is immensely powerful, I hoped it would work…”
“But then you brought me to Prince Thorne…”
“Time was up. I had to bring you…and then the Knights showed up and delivered you to Prince Thorne. He was going to tell you the truth over dinner, in the only room where it was safe to speak freely—"
“But I ran…” I said softly.
“And then you saw them, Tennessee and Tegan, and your memory came back.”
“Her spell worked.”
Riah nodded. “You have no idea how hard this was to keep from you. I hated every second of it.”
I wanted to reach out and hold him. “So…you didn’t betray me.”
“I did not, but I do not blame you for the anger I caused in my actions. I have waited three-hundred-twenty-seven years to tell you all of this and I cannot begin to describe how good it feels for you to finally see me.” He gestured to himself. “Because I am on your side. The Coven’s side. And when we get back, I will tell this all to them as well. And together we will defeat Lilith.”
Everything was there, right on the line. He was pulling me off that cliff. I wanted to bury my face in his chest and let all of this stress vanish. But there was one more thing. “And the slave marks?”
Riah frowned. “Slave marks?”
I pointed to my face, then to his. “In the tunnel, the gold lines…those are slave marks, right? I’ve heard about them.”
Riah shook his head. “Is that what you thought?”
I nodded.
Riah grimaced. “I am sorry. I thought you would know, being half witch…”
“Know what?” I whispered, the balloon of hope lingering behind