Blake
The castle grounds are full of sunlight and bees when I step out of my car and squint against the brightness reflecting off the exterior windows. I brush a bee off my shoulder, which gives me an angry buzz and zooms to the nearest group of rose bushes, which are in full bloom now, painting the garden in shades of red and pink.
It’s a quiet day, a weekend, which is why I planned to be here this morning. Both of my parents are here and alone.
A flash of platinum blonde catches my attention, and I turn to my mother, who’s crouching in a thicket of hydrangea bushes only a few feet away. She pokes her head up, beaming at me, but that smile fades when she sees the dark expression casting shadows over my face. “Blake? I didn’t realize you were coming today. I spoke to Kenna, and it sounds like you were very busy in Moonrise. Someone got cursed?”
“Can we talk? Where’s Dad?”
“He’s inside,” she says, her eyebrows pinched together as she dusts her hands off on her gardening apron–a silly thing Dad bought her for her birthday two decades ago that’s covered in embroidered radishes with our handprints and names sloppily painted on the front pocket. “Is something wrong?”
“I just have a meeting with him today. I’d like you to be there, too. Please.”
She doesn’t like my tone but follows me into the castle through the grand front doors. All the windows are open on the lower level to cut through the heat as early spring bleeds into the warmth of the upcoming summer. Her gardening clogs clap against the freshly waxed wood floors as we cross the foyer, then hike the stairs, then move through the narrow hallways of the second floor toward Dad’s office.
But Mom grabs my forearm and pulls me to a stop. “Blake, what’s going on? Kenna seemed totally out of sorts, more than usual, and your grandma was just in Moonrise, too. Maddy wouldn’t tell me a Goddess–damn thing about what happened. Is the woman who was cursed okay? Does this have to do with Hannibal?”
“Is that Blake?” Dad steps into the hallway where Mom dragged me to a stop. “Blake–”
“Can we please go somewhere we can sit down?” I ask, but my voice shakes. I look down at my hands before glancing between my parents, who’re wearing similar expressions of wariness.
When no one moves, I brush past them and into my dad’s office, where I spent countless hours shadowing him in both engineering and his duties as king. None of that matters now, does it?
I turn when I hear Dad closing the door behind us, but just as my lips part to start explaining myself, my reasoning for leaving all of this behind, he says, “You’re abdicating in favor of Liam.”
“How did you know?”
Mom sighs heavily, but her eyes crinkle with understanding. “We’ve had our suspicions for a few years now. Once you started working alongside Maeve, it felt like… it felt like you were finally where you were meant to be.”
Dad doesn’t seem as relieved as she is, however. He takes a breath before stalking through the room to sit at his desk. My parents… they had a rough go of it. I was born without my dad present. I know bits and pieces about why, but they’re a secretive couple. Compared to Dad’s twin brother and their little sister, my parents’ relationship wasn’t something they showcased to the entire family. They have lived a quiet life here in Crescent Falls, away from the rest of the family by hundreds of miles, and even as I grew up, started gaining access to the family secrets and stories they kept from us as children, my parents never shared theirs.
I do know, thanks to Ryan, that my mom kept me hidden, and my dad saved her life–and mine. I know they’re mates and both my parents have Mystic abilities.
But that’s it.
I was the product of what was meant to be a one-night stand. I know that much, at least.
“You’re sure about this?” Dad asks, his dark blue eyes holding on mine with an intensity that makes my spine straighten.
“I am. Liam should be king, your heir. I’ve already spoken to him about it at length. I’ve made all the arrangements that needed to be made–leaving the firm, for one. My projects are wrapped up and I’ve cleared my schedule, as well as put in my notice there.” I reach up to loosen the collar of my shirt. “I considered selling my penthouse in the city, but Briar has shown some interest in making it her own, so I’ll hold it for her until she graduates. Celeste spoke about possibly taking over my position at the firm as well. As for Noah… he’s young. He–”
“Your siblings aren’t your responsibility, Blake,” Mom says, edging toward me.
“I just wanted every piece to fall into place before I made my decision, and it has, so I am officially abdicating my place in line for the throne. I will no longer be known as Blake, Crown Prince, and I will live in Eastonia full time–”
“Why?” Dad asks, his voice echoing through his office like a death knell. He doesn’t look displeased, but he’s not happy about this, either. He’s always been able to hide how he really feels. If I’m like anyone in the family, it’s him. He, and his grandfather, Maddox. Sharp, calculated, and cold.
At least on the outside.
“You know why,” I say under my breath, my eyes glowing with my powers.
Mom chews her lower lip, briefly brushing her hand over my forearm in solidarity as she moves through the room to Dad’s side and leans against his desk. “So you’re doing what the mystics hoped you would? Becoming their king?”
“Yes,” I answer, biting back the unease trying to break through the word. “They’ve needed a ruler for a while now, and Ryatt agrees that they should have their own space carved out for them in our allied kingdoms, with someone to control them. That’s me. It’s been me since I started training with them as a teenager. I will remain in Moonrise, continuing to stay at the castle, at least until the house I designed is completed.”
“You’re building a house in Moonrise? Why?” Mom asks, smiling, but her eyes darken with confusion. “The palace is big enough for everyone–”
Here we go.
“Marianna and I–”
“Marianna?” Dad cuts in, and for the first time since I arrived, lets a glimmer of emotion show. Shock, relief, maybe a sliver of confusion at the mention of her name–the only person, only friend outside of the family, I’ve ever had.
“You and Marianna are back together? When did that happen?” Mom asks, excitement lacing the words.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Can you just–please sit down, Mom?”
My parents stare at me while I struggle to maintain my composure.
“What–”
“Please,” I repeat. “Sit down.”
My parents glance at each other. Mom gracefully takes a seat in an armchair next to Dad’s desk and folds her hands in her lap. Dad, however, leans forward in his chair. “What’s going on, Blake?”
“I’m building a house for… my family to live in. All of us. Marianna, me, her mom.” My chest tightens. “And Skye. I bought a plot of land on the other side of the lake, in Old Moonrise. It’s quiet there. I figured, for a kid her age, she’d…. With powers like hers, she’ll like the quiet–”
Mom rises, her face washed in shock. “Who’s Skye?”
“Your granddaughter,” I answer. My mouth feels impossibly dry. “She’s seven. She’s… she’s like us, Mom. A Mystic. A powerful one–”
“You have a daughter?” Dad’s voice booms through the room.
I close my eyes for a moment. “Yes.”
“Blake?” Mom shakes her head, pain etched through the word, my name. “How–”
“We were very young,” I explain, opening my eyes, and then… I tell them everything. I have to. Every detail spills out of me like a storm until I’m out of breath. The breakup, the pregnancy, the deal I made with Marianna to stay out of their lives, and the money available to her. How everything I’ve done, every lie I’ve told over the past decade, has been for her. For them.
Mom, however, looks absolutely crushed as she sinks deep into the cushions of her chair. She rubs a hand over her face, asking, “Can we meet her?”
“Of course,” I whisper, swallowing past the knot in my throat. “As soon as–as soon as you’d like. She’s… wonderful. Marianna did a great job raising her thus far–”
“And you’ve been absent from her life?”
Dad’s voice is harsh, but I suppose I deserve it. “It was Marianna’s decision, and I agreed. I thought I could prevent Skye from… being what she is if I kept her at a distance.”
“Does she know you’re her father?” Mom asks, her voice cracking over the words.
“Not yet. We haven’t… had a chance to tell her, to be honest. Marianna is….” Now it’s my voice cracking. I back up, sinking into the chair beside my mom, and hang my head as the weight of the last week or so barrels over me like a landslide. I don’t know how to even begin. “Marianna was cursed, we believe. Kenna and Maeve have done their best for her, but currently, we’re running out of options and time.” I look up at my mom. “I looked into her timeline all those years ago and saw that I’d lose her young, and I am.”
“Where is she now?” Mom asks while Dad remains customarily silent nearby, still seated behind his desk.
“She’s with Misty.”
Mom looks at Dad, whose eyes are focused on the door to his office while he drops into thought.
“And where is Skye?” Mom asks softly.
“She’s in Moonrise with Leona and Kenna at the palace. I wanted to come here and tell you about them, and my plans for the future, before we… made plans with or… without Marianna.” It’s crushing. My chest aches with a ferocity that would be enough to bring me to my knees if I weren’t seated. But the pain is fresh–something I’ve only experienced once, and alarm bells start ringing through my head as the voices return in warning. I rise, looking around like Marianna is going to jump out from behind the couch bleeding, maimed, and Mom notices the worried look cutting away at the usual mask I wear to keep my emotions hidden.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I need to go back to Misty’s house–” I turn for the door but hear Dad rise from his chair.
“I’ll go with you. Sarah, go to Moonrise. Make sure Skye is all right.”
Mom makes a small sound in her throat that could either be excitement or distress, I’m not sure, but one second I’m standing with two feet on the ground in the castle, and the next, Dad claps his hand on my shoulder and we’re in Misty and Cole’s foyer and…
Marianna’s sharp laugh lifts around me, blurring my senses as I careen down a hallway, Dad hot on my heels, and into the airy kitchen.
A witch leans against the counter, smiling widely, while Misty, looking a bit worse for wear, sprays cleaning solution all over her countertops. A strange, bitter scent hangs in the air, but it’s faint.
Much fainter than Marianna’s scent, which is now so strong, so sweet, it penetrates my mind, my very soul, and renders me… utterly useless to the scene unfolding in front of my eyes.
Dad looks around, then says, “What’s going on here?”
Misty sighs heavily but smiles, chuckling as she replies, “I think you’d better go to Moonrise and tell Kenna to pay up for me. She didn’t think we could do it.”
I’m looking at Marianna, who’s sitting in the sunlight, her hair mussed and her cheeks a deep red–looking more alive than she has in… what could easily be years.
And when her stunning blue eyes meet mine, I feel it. I hear it, smell it, taste it. A rainbow of color and sound, of feeling.
That sharp ache in my chest relaxes as the mate bond snaps into place, just like I knew it would.
But now… we have time.
“You broke the curse,” I whisper.
“Kenna owes me a hundred bucks.” Misty laughs, and the witch cackles nearby, her reply lost in the voices currently chattering in what sounds like relief deep inside my mind.