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“How?” he asked.
“Tell me what I want to know!” The other alfar acted like they weren't listening as they misted in from the palace.
Erendrial exhaled. “Your father has been unable to produce an heir with the queen, or any other alfar female, for that matter. He is at the end of his lifespan and did not know of your existence. Once you crossed the border a few months back, you were revealed to our seer, and she was able to see your true lineage. She told your father of this, yet he was hesitant to believe it. He’s been desperate for an heir for centuries and because you are a half-breed, he was wary of how the other alfar would react.
“He needed to make sure that you were who the seer said, so he used the Otar attack as an excuse to send me to court to see if you were who we thought.” He paused, looking at me in silence for a few moments. “Your eyes are a dead give-away. I’ve never seen another alfar’s eyes that color except for your father. Then, when you revealed your gift to me before the battle, I was certain you were who the seer said. When King Lysanthier,” I winced at the name, “had your hand smashed, I took a sample of your blood and sent it back to the dark court to get tested. It was a match to the kings. You are his daughter.”
“Again, you just left me there,” I said, angered at the events that happened with King Lysanthier after the dark court left the first time. If they would have taken me then, I would have been able to avoid the hell I had yet to figure out how to escape.
“We had to. If we were to pull you from the court at that moment, King Lysanthier wouldn’t have allowed it. Especially knowing he had King Drezmore’s heir in his possession. We had to get rid of him so Daealla would take the throne. Though she is quite the beauty, she is new to all of this. I had no right in taking you just now. I lied to her to make her believe we had the upper hand.”
“So, what was the plan?”
“The plan was to wait until the king died of what looked like natural causes.”
“I could have been stuck there for centuries!” I yelled in anger.
He laughed. “No, princess. We accelerated that timeline. Before we left the light court, I had a warrior of mine curse the king with madness. One of the many gifts we possess. He would have slowly appeared to be losing his mind. Eventually, the sickness would have taken over, leaving him brain dead. He would have died in his sleep, and no one would have been the wiser about it. Though, I liked your flair for the dramatic much better. I’m going to have to watch out for you. I think I’ve found my match.”
I folded my arms over my chest, trying to block out the images of the king on top of me. Erendrial looked at me concerningly.
“He went mad and became a psychopath because of you?” I asked.
“Yes. When Daealla took the throne, we planned to sweep in and claim you. We were quite surprised when we heard of the Otar attack.”
“Is that how you knew about the sigil, connecting us? Because of your seer?”
“Yes. Her gift is very similar to yours. I think you two are going to get along splendidly. During the time we had to wait for the light king to go mad, your father worked to eliminate the law about half-breeds being sentenced to death. Once he did that, he announced your claim to the throne. I must warn you; you have an uncle and three cousins who were not thrilled to learn of your existence, but we can deal with that at a later time. Now, we should get you to your father,” he said, walking away.
“Thank you,” I said before he got too far. “For saving my life… again.”
He stopped, turning back to me. “I think I am up by one with the whole life-saving game.” He smiled back at me.
“I can tell Otar to kill you and then stop him right before he delivers the final blow. Then we’d be even,” I said, trying to comfort myself with humor.
He laughed at me. “Evil little thing, aren’t you.”
I shrugged. “I don’t like losing,” I admitted.
“Another thing you and your father have in common.” He brought a whistle-shaped instrument to his lips that I recognized from his last departure. Seven ragamors descended from the sky, slamming into the ground around us. Otar flashed in next to me, causing me to jump. He looked at the beasts with disgust.
“I am not riding one of those things, wicked one,” he grumbled deep in his throat.
I laughed. “Meat suit, wicked one. Can’t you just use my name?” I asked.
“No,” he spat shortly.
I shook my head. “Just follow us to the dark court. We’ll discuss your living arrangements once I figure out all this mess.”
He nodded, disappearing into thin air.
“Come on, princess. It’s time for your first flying lesson,” Erendrial said, walking towards one of the ragamor.
I followed, moving around the creature to examine its fascinating form. I followed the shifting colors of its armored hide, remembering the scales of the only other ragamor I had encountered back in the lavender field. I walked to the front of the creature, looking on its face. I smiled, realizing it was the same ragamor. The beast nuzzled my neck, just as it had the first time we met. I laughed, taking its face in my hands.
“Well, hello again,” I said.
“Again?” asked Erendrial.