Page 133 of The Starlight Savior

He’d been erasing her very memory every time she showed any signs of magic. To protect and conceal her from a threatening life.

Before she could stop herself, a thought splintered her head. Thick and heavy, constricting her lungs.

How much of her childhood was real?

When she thought of Oswan, it was mostly joyous. Her mother and father clearly experienced a different, twisted version of her reality.

Had Eva read this to Conor and Sebastien? Did they know her father’s final wish and trained her anyways?

Her hand flew to her chest, stifling the growing ache. Thinking back to all his pleas and protection, maybe he had.

Rising to her feet, she ignored the letters scattered across the ground. Part of her hoped Eva found the consequences of her deceit. Clearly this was why Saige was denied reading them anyways. Her father had wanted her safe, yet Eva had done the opposite.

Legs flying down the corridors, she approached Conor’s door with the letter wrinkled in her hand. She didn’t even bother knocking as she pummeled through his door.

Chapter 49

Maybe it was a warlock thing, but the comparison of Conor’s room to her father’s was uncanny. In every corner, there were things piled messily. Books, scrolls, armory, artwork. Saige’s eye caught on a particular painting, but her body sung too bright to keep her staring for too long. A fireplace crackled brightly to the right, sending embers into the air. Conor sat in a leather armchair, a goblet of wine in his hand.

For a moment, he was unguarded. Eyes drained of energy. His face looked strangely sunken. The flames cast shadows on his sharp cheekbones. He brought something close to his lips, inhaling sharply. Smoke trailed from his mouth as the smell of spices tickled her nose. As Saige stumbled towards him, his face shifted, smile widening.

“Saige,” he said, her name sounding like an exhale. He dropped a smoking pipe onto the table beside him, letting the smoke linger. “What are you doing here?”

All she could muster was her outstretched hand, the letter gripped tightly in her grasp.

“M-My father,” she said, shaking her head. Tears were beginning to well under her eyelids, but she would not let herself cry. She was tired of feeling stuck in grief and exhaustion. “Read it.” She couldn’t bear to utter the words out loud. Not to Conor.

Conor took the letter carefully from her grasp, pulling back each finger with grace. He uncrumpled it, smoothing it out onto his thigh. His eyes scanned quickly, widening with every word. Standing up, he faced Saige’s shaking frame. When he said her name again, it sounded like a plea instead of a question. “I didn’t know.”

Saige jabbed a finger into his chest, her face breaking. Blood roared in her ears as the room began to sway. “How could you not know? I thought Eva read every letter to you and Sebastien.”

Conor shook his head, grabbing a hold of Saige’s finger. “I didn’t know. Why would Eva show us this?”

Saige paused, her anger simmering in her chest. But without her fury, there was an overwhelming wave of sorrow waiting to drown her. Anger was safe. Energizing. “Who is Lyla?”

Conor’s face froze. His mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but instead he closed it.

Saige jerked her hand away, taking a step back. “I’m so tired,” she cried. “I feel like every single person in this kingdom is capable of lying straight to my face.”

“I didn’t—”

“Keeping important information from me is just as good as lying!”

“I didn’t know about this letter, Saige. But Lyla…that has always been Eva’s story to tell.”

“And do you think my honest aunt would tell such a story?” Saige cried, tears staining her cheeks. Arms glowing bright, she could see her power rising out of control, breaking through the barriers of her injuries.

“I don’t know,” Conor sighed in defeat.

“I’ve been asking to read my father’s letters since she revealed them to me. Yet she always said no.” She ripped the letter from his hand. “This is why!” Her chest burned, but she didn’t let her mind or soul give in to the light waiting to consume.

“Lyla…she’s Eva’s sister,” Conor said quietly.

The air seemed to leave the room, Saige’s lungs clenching in her chest.

“What?” She shook her head. “I-I have another aunt?”

Conor’s quarters blurred before her as she swayed. His hands reached out, gripping her shoulders. She could see the muscles in his arm flexing as he bore the brunt of her fire building beneath her skin.