“From what I can remember of her, she was everything a mother should have been.”
“How did the brand on your neck become inactive?” The Blood King asked next.
“I was taken into Faery for the Wild Hunt by Ryder—he’s one of the Dark Princes,” I said, not quite knowing if it was true or not. Nothing was as it seemed to me anymore, so I wasn’t quite sure what to believe.
Hands flew to mouths on that answer. I closed my eyes, and expelled a deep breath as the memory of that night heated me from the inside out.
“I’ve heard of Ryder. He was claimed to be the Dark Heir?” Adaryn asked.
I met his piercing eyes, and nodded. “Yeah, I guess that was the impression they gave until they found Cadeyrn, who is the Heir.”
“Were you hurt? I’ve never heard of anyone coming out unscathed from it,” Adaryn asked.
“I was not harmed. I was claimed by Ryder,” I answered honestly.
“So, he took you to his bed, and you allowed this?” My father asked through narrow eyes.
“Yes,” I answered, not thinking he had a right to care.
“You actually slept with one of the Dark Princes?” he growled reminding me of Ryder.
“At the time, I was only a Witch who worked for the Guild. I had no idea what I was when I allowed it to happen, and after that—after coming back to the human world—I started to change. Adam—uh, Cadeyrn the Dark Heir changed faster, as the brand you put on me had affected him as well. It worked so well it stopped his Transition too, but when I came back from Faery, we both began to change.”
“You lived a good life?” Liam asked.
“I prefer to think I did, yes.”
They’d sat listening as I told them my story. Tears fell from the women, while the men listened in silence. When I was finished, I looked around at the faces of my family, some had tears in their eyes, while the men looked proud of what I had accomplished while I’d been assumed to be only a mere Witch.
“I would not change my life for anything. I had amazing friends, and while my life has been anything but simple, it has shaped me in to what I am today.”
“You’re not mad at us, then?” Lasair asked cautiously with a guarded look on his ageless face.
“I’m not mad at you. I understand now why you did it. At the same time, I’m not the only one who you should apologize to. Your actions didn’t only hurt me. I had previously claimed a familiar in the Dark Prince, and when Faolán killed my parents, I stole him from this world with my pain. It was unfair to him and his family as well,” I said before taking a breath.
“You are your mother’s daughter. This entire time you have been talking, you have been more worried of what happened to those around you,” he said, meeting and holding his wife’s eyes.
We talked into the night, and, while it felt good to have closure, I missed Ryder and Adam. When I started fighting sleep, my mother smiled. “Come, child, tomorrow is a big event for the entire kingdom, and I’m sure you could use some sleep.”
“If you’re planning on putting me in the nursery, I think you’re going to need a bigger crib,” I replied.
“Of course not. I gave away a beautiful baby over twenty years ago. The beautiful woman that has returned now is much too big to fit inside the tiny crib that your father made just for you.”
My mother didn’t have fangs, but I’d noticed that all of her children, along with my father, did. So much for hoping they went away. I was shown to a room that was beautiful, even though it was done in white. White silk covered the bed, and windows. I looked out the window, and smiled at the sheer cliff side that was the view from below the window. They didn’t plan on letting me go until I was presented to the Horde King.
“You need some sleep, daughter. Tomorrow, we will talk more of our plans,” she said and stood there hesitantly.
I smiled at her. This woman had been through hell, and, even though it had been a choice, I couldn’t blame her for it. I probably would have made the same stupid choices if I thought it helped those I’d loved. I stepped closer, not sure of what I had intended to do, but, in the end, I wrapped my arms around her and listened as she started to cry against my shoulder. Her arms tightened around me as she buried her face in my neck and cried. It was awkward for me, but I knew she needed this; I’d seen it in her eyes.
We were still standing like that when my father came around the door and stopped dead in his tracks. He swallowed and smiled sadly. “Madisyn,” he whispered, but I shook my head.
“She’s fine,” I replied, tightening my own arms around her. For some reason, I didn’t want her to stop hugging me. I swallowed back my own tears as my siblings sifted into the room, as if brought by their mother’s tears. I wondered what it would be like to have this many people who cared about me in my life.