Chapter 20

Chapter

Twenty

Rose

I stared around the room, my head still spinning from all the information being thrown at me as well as Kitra's magic. It was all too much to process. Especially the mating heat thing.

"You are all nuts, and I did not have meet supernatural beings with too many screws loose on my bingo card this year," I blurted out, trying to make sense of it all.

"I didn't understand half of that, but I think I got the gist of it. You're not happy. You don't want to be magical, and you probably don't want to be an omega to an overgrown angry dragon with control issues."

Magnus shot Kitra a glare. "Not funny. And do we have time for this? She's turning every shade of red," he said, gesturing towards me.

"I have to say I agree with him ," my dad said, his lip curled in Magnus’s direction. "If what you say is true, and she's in mating heat, then we're all too late anyways. She'll be a beacon of magic to the dark fae king."

"Not hardly," Magnus snorted. "The dark fae king is dead. Deader than dead. My uncle made sure of it."

All heads in the room whipped to Magnus, and not one of them looked like they believed him.

"How?" my father asked. "He was impervious."

"No one is impervious." Magnus smirked.

I could sense the continued doubt from my father, but my mother and Kitra were both white as a sheet. As for me, I felt nothing. I'd already mourned the idea of my parent's deaths when I'd found out the truth about my adoption. Or the pretend truth.

I sighed.

I still had my arms wrapped around my middle, but the pain had lessened to a degree since Kitra had used her magic. Although it still seemed to come and go in waves. I could, however, feel my temperature rising with sweat beading on my forehead and neck. "Is it hot in here?"

"I blame you for this," my father said, walking over to place his hand on my forehead like he used to when I was a kid. "Our girl was fine until the three of you showed up. And—" he whirled around to stare down Magnus. "No way in hell is she your omega. She is a dark fae princess, not some sort of factory womb for your dragon clutch. Do you even understand the role of an omega?"

My mouth dropped open. "Dad!"

"I'm sorry, Rosebud. But it's true. I don't know what their endgame is here, but something doesn't feel right, and they're going to get all of us killed."

I stomped over to the table and took the seat next to my mother, grabbing her hand. "You've always been open with me. Please tell me the truth. What in the world is going on?" I could feel the pressure of tears behind my lids but there was no way in hell I would cry. That's not the kind of person I was or ever would be.

"Rose," she hesitated, covering my hand in return. "It's complicated."

"I don't care. Just tell me. Rip the band aid off."

"Your biological father is an evil monster. If he’s not dead, as the dragon says, and I can’t believe he is dead, and he finds out for sure you have the mark, he will kill you. If you're lucky. If not, then he will start a war to harness the power of the omega."

My stomach cramped and I whimpered as I clutched it.

"Rose," Magnus stepped forward.

"No! Stay back. I'm not ready for you to touch me again." Every time he got close it felt like I couldn't keep my head clear, and I was going to drag the truth out of my parents if it killed me. But the stricken look on his face tore at my resolve. "One thing at a time. Please. Let me do this first."

He stared at me for a few seconds until the glow in his eyes faded and he nodded his head. He then stepped back next to Isaac and Kitra. The three of them were an intense and formidable group. And unnaturally magnetic. It made me wonder if all fae were like that.

If this woman was fae and not my real mother is that why it was so easy to believe her story?

I turned back to my mother, forcing all the confusing thoughts of Magnus and the pull towards him from my mind. I doubted he was going anywhere.

"I'm not human?" I could barely wrap my head around that let alone push the words out.

"No."

"And you?"

"No."

"I have powers?"

She sighed, looking reluctant to answer. However, her silence was more than enough for me to make a decision. If I couldn’t get the answers from my parents, then we'd do this the hard way.

I turned towards Kitra. "Break the spell."

"Wait! No, Rose, you can't. We don’t know what could happen, especially with you in mating heat. Releasing that kind of power without control could be fatal." My mother reached for my hands, but I pulled away too quickly. My mind was set, and regardless of the outcome, I was determined to uncover the entire truth.

"Rosebud."

"No!" I whirled on my father. "I can't deal with you two right now. You lied to me. About my life. About everything."

"Only to protect you," my mother said quietly. "That was the assignment. Keep you safe at all costs. But I guarantee if you break that spell, something you regret WILL find you."

"Assignment?" I choked, not having heard a word beyond that one.

My mother sighed heavily. "Rose, when you were born, we were tasked with keeping you hidden and safe from the Dark Fae until the time you were meant to fulfill your destiny. If that ever came about. There are no guarantees. And even if your father is dead, and I mean IF, he was not the only one who knew of your existence and the omega power you possess. I don't think any of you truly understand what that means or you wouldn’t be taking this so lightly. That's why we had to keep you bound?—

"You could have told me the truth by now. I'm an adult. I deserved the truth. What was the point in keeping me in the dark all this time?”

"We had no choice, sweetheart. It was the only way we knew how to protect you." My father's voice was laced with regret.

I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed. "I can't— I need some time to think about all of this." I glanced over at Magnus. "And I need to talk to them as well. They seem to have the answers you're not providing."

My mother reached for my hand again, her eyes pleading. "Rose, please. You have to understand. We did what we thought was best. We love you more than anything in this world."

I pulled my hand away, unable to find the words to respond. The betrayal was too raw, the hurt too deep. "I just— I need some air. I need to get out of here for a while."

Before anyone could stop me, I turned and headed for the door, needing to escape the suffocating atmosphere in the house. I stepped outside and gulped in a deep breath of salty sea air, hoping it would clear my head.

"Rose, wait." Magnus appeared at my side, his hand on my arm.

I tried and failed not to squirm under his touch. But my brain was on overload. Fae. Dragons. Dark Fae. Magic... Anyone in their right mind would need some space after these kinds of crazy revelations.

I pressed my fingers against my temple, begging for the agony to stop. It was overwhelming.

"Rose, you can't break that spell. It's too dangerous." My mother and father were standing in the doorway, fear etched across their faces.

"I need to think." I spun on my heel, my mind spinning wildly as I walked away from the house.

"Just don't do anything rash, Rosebud," my father said gently. "You're angry now, and that's understandable, but we still love you."

My chest constricted at his words. I loved them too and always would, but I couldn't listen to them right now. I needed honesty from someone who didn't have a stake in my future. Someone who understood what was going on.

"Kitra!" I called over my shoulder.

"Right behind you," she said, from only a few feet away.

"Do you have to read my mind?"

"I wasn?—"

I shook my head. "No, I meant can you control whether you read my mind or not."

"Yes," she answered truthfully.

"Good. Then promise you won't do it again without my permission."

"I can't do that. What if you fall unconscious and need my help?"

"Oh good Gods. Don't be so dramatic."

"But—"

"Fine. If I'm in imminent danger or unconscious, you have my permission. But that's it. Otherwise, stay out of my head."

"Fine," she said, sounding about as excited as I did.

When we exited the house, I headed straight for John's SUV. I couldn't believe how much had transpired in so little time. It was no wonder I felt on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Anywhere but here."

"Are you up for a drive or did you want to go back in and talk to them at some point?"

"I just need some space to think. To process all of this." I gestured vaguely towards the house. "I feel like my entire life has been a lie, and I don't know who I can trust anymore."

Kitra placed a hand on my arm, her touch gentle. "You can trust us, Rose. We're here to help you, not to hurt you. And your parents— they've been trying to protect you, even if their methods weren't the best."

I let out a shaky breath. "I know, I just— I need time."

"I know a place we can go, but it's pretty far."

"How far?" I hesitated. I still wasn't sure I could trust Kitra, but it was either her or my parents. And I so wasn't ready for that. Plus I needed to set Magnus straight on this mating heat thing they all kept talking about. I didn't completely understand their culture, but I liked to read and when your parents spent their whole life shoving Celtic folklore down your throat, you managed to pick up a few things.

"Isaac and Magnus's brother had a place on one of the islands a few hours from here. It's still in the family. We go there from time to time."

"Where is their brother?"

"Ian is gone. It's been a long while now."

My stomach lurched. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry. He must have been so young."

She grimaced. "Not as young as you might think."

My innate curiosity was piqued by her comment, but in truth, I was too exhausted and overwhelmed to concentrate on anything else at the moment. "Should we get the guys and explain the plan?"

"The real question is are you up for the trip?" Magnus rounded the corner halfway through his question, serious concern shining in his eyes. "Thirty minutes ago you looked like death and were in a lot of pain."

I stilled at his assessment. He was right. "I'm already feeling better. What does that mean? Was it all a false alarm? Is there a chance I'm right and this isn't real?"

Kitra snorted. "Hardly. The binding spell around you is probably a proximity spell. It's likely tied to your guardians, so they'd know if anything happened. But don't take that to mean all is okay again. It's not. I can still feel the magic of the spell and its unraveling. Messily. That time bomb is still ticking."

"Great. Are we sure we should travel so far? There is a lot of space here."

"It's more remote at the Ferguson estate. If something is going to go wrong, I'd rather it happens as far away from humans as we can get."

"I could get her farther."

I backed up at Magnus' simple statement. "Yeah no, I am not into kidnapping."

He smirked. "Sure could have fooled me."

"That was different. I thought you might die." Okay, so the parallels were a little too close for comfort. "Still."

"She can dish it out but she can't take it," Magnus taunted.

"Uhm. Are they going to stand here all day and flirt with each other?" Isaac asked.

Kitra pushed at his arm. "Leave them alone. How easily you forget how weird you were when you set off my mating heat."

"I was not weird."

"You almost killed Ensley! Several times. Not to mention you and him trying to kill each other." She glared at both Magnus and Isaac.

Isaac frowned. "Well, that one is still a possibility. Depending on if he can keep that dragon inside him under control. I'm still tired of cleaning up his messes."

"I'll show you control," Magnus hissed a trail of fire with the words, aimed directly at Isaac's head.

Kitra stepped between them and Magnus quickly extinguished the fire. "You three are exhausting. And speaking of...If we've got a long drive ahead of us we should get started." I was feeling dead on my feet.

"We could get there in a fraction of the time." My eyebrow raised at the exaggerated tone of Magnus's voice.

"What did you have in mind?"

"We could fly?" For a few heartbeats I said nothing as my heart raced out of control. Did he mean?—

“No, thank you,” Kitra groaned. “I’m good with the car.”

Magnus snorted. “Still afraid of heights?”

“I just like keeping my feet safely on the ground where they belong.”

Magnus shook his head. “What about you, princess? Are you brave enough to fly with me.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Isaac interjected. “Your dragon is a hot-headed stubborn ass with a mind of his own. One snap of control and who knows when we might see the two of you again.”

Magnus growled at his brother. “My dragon’s attitude is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if you don’t shut the hell up and stop nagging at me like a crone witch.”

“Gods, are these two ever going to stop?” I couldn’t fathom why two siblings were always at each other’s throats happily threatening to hurt each other.

“It might be hard to believe, but this is actually an improvement from when they first met. Back then it was violence all of the time."

"That sounds exhausting."

"I agree, and I think it's high time we call a truce. We have a lot going on and even more to deal with on a very short timeline. No one has time to referee the two of you." Kitra looked miserable at having to confront the two men, but good on her for taking them both on.

"I only just got here and I agree. And as much as I want to take you up on your offer to fly, I respect Kitra's fear of heights and think we should drive."

Kitra squealed and grabbed me up into a hug. "Thank you. And I promise I'm going to do everything I can to make what you're going through a little less painful. We can brainstorm what has to happen and I can start working on a spell. There's got to be a way to release that magic without creating total chaos."

As we piled into the car I was suddenly filled with questions and I had a feeling this was going to be a wild few hours. "So I'm curious. If the Dark Fae King is really dead, and the fae realm is on a sort of different plane behind a locked portal, how would anyone there know what was happening here? Is that really possible?"

"The magic lines cross over, which not only allows fae to sense things, it allows dragons and other fae to live here for potentially hundreds of years."

I jerked my head around to look at Magnus and Isaac in the backseat. "Hundreds of years! Seriously? Holy mother of— How old are you?"

"That's a little difficult to explain." Isaac offered.

"We've got time. I want to hear everything."

Magnus bit his lip, but I caught the quirk of a smile as he attempted to hide it. It was almost enough to make me want to forget everything and simply focus on how beautiful he looked like that. I could still picture him in his dragon form, and now I wished I'd had time to explore more of that. How would his scales feel to the touch? And what would it be like to ride on his back as he flew through the sky? The thoughts going through my head were intense, causing the ache in my core to intensify and by the time I realized that, everyone in the car had gone still and quiet.

"Shit. Someone else is going to have to take over the driving." Isaac grumbled.

"Rose, pull over," Magnus commanded.

"What? Why?"

"Because the temperature in this car has gone up twenty degrees."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked as I pulled to the side of the road. I didn't see the problem, but I'd rather figure it out without having to keep my eyes on the road.

"Your mating heat. It's cresting again."

I shook my head. "No. You really need to stop saying that. It's just not possible and even though it's the last thing I want to talk about, I think we need to address this now."

"That's an understatement," Isaac said under his breath.

Magnus turned to his brother and Kitra as soon as the car rolled to a stop. "Get out now!"