The Keep (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #4)(35)

Alex shook his head vehemently. “You expect me to believe that?”

“You should—it’s the truth. Elias tried to attack your father’s assailant, but the attack was too strong, and it ended up killing your father too. Think of it as magical shrapnel, which unfortunately took your father’s life. Had it been normal magic, your father would have lived, but the magic we use is different… It is stronger, more volatile, more unpredictable, especially when wielded by novice hands,” she said sadly. “It was a tragic accident, and we admit our responsibility.”

“I don’t see Elias admitting to it,” said Alex sharply, gesturing around at the otherwise empty turret. “It makes no difference, really—my mother was left without her partner, believing he had just up and left without a word.”

She fingered the beads of a bracelet. “About that… We didn’t know about you.”

“It seems you didn’t know a lot of things.” Alex flashed her a look of resentment.

For the first time, Siren Mave looked genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry we left your mother alone. We didn’t realize she was pregnant—she wasn’t showing, and she hadn’t told anyone other than your father, so we figured that was it… no more Spellbreakers. It didn’t occur to us to try to explain to her what had happened to him. It was a can of worms we didn’t want to open. We don’t believe he knew what he was, and your mother certainly didn’t know anything about the magical world. So we went back to the royals with our tails between our legs, believing our jobs to be over. We had nothing to protect, nobody to guard. It was a real blow… We had been searching for him for years and years, trying to follow snippets of information about Leander Wyvern’s non-magical mistress and their progeny, following leads, usually ending up at dead ends. He was the end of the road,” she sighed.

“So I am a descendant of Leander Wyvern?” Alex asked. He had hoped and believed he might be.

“You are.” She nodded, a look of relief on her face.

“What happened when you went back, after what Elias had done?” he pressed. He felt no less angry at Elias, but he was willing to hear the whole story before he made any further judgment.

She smiled wryly. “As punishment for losing the last hope of balance in the magical world—quite the crime, I’m sure you’ll agree—I was made to do menial labor around the havens. Elias being Elias, he decided to make himself scarce, using his shadowy form to his advantage, shirking off his share of the punishment, disappearing into thin air. I wasn’t pleased, I can assure you,” she grumbled. “I presumed he’d gone for good until I saw him again recently, speaking with you. I think he’s trying to make amends for what he did—trying not to make the same mistake again.”

Alex wasn’t sure which part enraged him more—that she was defending Elias, trying to make what he had done seem less awful than it was, or that she had known all of this and had chosen to say nothing, for so long. He said as much, venom dripping from his words.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me, after all this time? Do you have any idea the heartache and pain you could have saved, if you had both just been honest? Are you that inhuman?” he snapped, his eyes burning. “Not once have you lifted a finger to help me! Isn’t that your job?” He gripped his fists into a tight ball, trying to push away the sparks of his aura that burned at the edges of his skin.

“That’s not entirely true, is it?” Siren Mave replied, her voice calm.

“Fine, that creature has helped me, but you—you have done nothing.”

She shook her head sadly. “I have tried, Alex. Not every kind of aid is one you can see,” she said softly. “I have been there for you. I tried to get you out.”

He frowned. “What?”

“I tried to get you out,” she repeated. “It took me a while to realize what you were, initially, but once I understood, I did try to help. I bent the rules, and I tried to intervene… I am not supposed to use my magic to manipulate anyone, as it can be very dangerous, but that is exactly what I did, for you. I got in Aamir’s head and maneuvered him into letting you go.”

Alex looked at her in wide-eyed shock. “Why would you do that?” he gasped, realizing with a pang of sorrow that it had been Siren Mave’s offer and not the Head’s or Aamir’s. It had been the real deal. For a moment, he truly had been so close to going home. It physically stung as the wound tore open afresh.

“It’s my duty to protect you and help you, and I wanted you to see your mother again. I wanted you to go home, so you could explain to her where you had been—that you had not abandoned her. It was supposed to be a gift, the chance to put her mind your own at ease, refreshing your soul and your motivation,” said Siren Mave, fidgeting with the glass beads of her many bracelets. Alex felt as if there was more Siren Mave wanted to say, but she did not say it, her lips pressed firmly together, preventing further words from slipping out.

“Surely, life would have been easier if you had just spoken to me? I don’t understand why you and Elias seem so eager to skirt around everything all the time. It’s like I can’t get a straight answer from either of you!” he sniped, absorbing the information she had just imparted, though it was painful to accept.

She shook her head. “It’s not that simple. Believe me, I’d rather be straight with you than have to tiptoe around everything all the time. I’m not exactly built for tiptoeing,” she quipped.