Chapter Ten
Katrina
“It happened long ago. What feels like a lifetime,” Indulf said.
Katrina peeked through the corner of her eye, seeing the man she had thought of as a friend for six years with entirely new eyes. She trembled. Her father? Biological father. She had wondered, of course. Her parents had talked about meeting the man they believed was her father. He had seemed sad to give her up, they said, and it was clear that he loved her. But it wasn’t Indulf. He said it himself—he wouldn’t have given her up.
Besides which, how had she ended up on Earth in the 90s if she was born here?
“There was an attack on the palace,” Indulf continued. “They were mages who wanted to kill all the royal family. They killed my wife. You disappeared. For centuries, I assumed you were dead… until Anna came, and we realized time travel was possible. Then I sent Thonis to find you.”
Katrina breathed in the scent she had come to think of as uniquely Thonis. It gave her strength to turn toward Indulf. She saw the sadness in his eyes, and her heart ached for him. It was almost a relief to feel that sorrow for him and not for herself. Even though her mind still screamed at her not to accept this, even though she knew what this meant for her personally, she could focus on him and pretend, for a bit, that her own fears were far away.
“And how did I get to Earth?”
“That was me,” Warmund said, then smiled sadly. “Well, me and Penny. I found a way to go back to when the attack happened. I took you from the palace… the assassins had every intention of killing you, even as an infant.”
A chill stole into Katrina’s blood. What sort of monsters would kill a baby? Thonis’ arms tightened around her, a furious look on his face.
Warmund paused a moment and sighed. “Penny and I escaped to Earth. But it was the wrong time. Penny told me how much you loved your life. How happy you were… and I decided that… your happiness was most important. It was the hardest thing I ever did. Ever since the first time you were put in my arms as a baby, I loved you. My baby sister. I blamed myself for so many years… thought you were dead…”
He trailed off.
If she just disappeared from her parents’ lives, would they think she was dead? Would they sit and cry for her, hoping and praying for her return? Would their hope eat them alive, tear them apart?
She burst into sobs, clinging tighter to Thonis. He stroked her hair, whispering soothing words to her as she sobbed. Indulf reached forward but froze when she flinched. It wasn’t his fault—part of her wanted to be angry at him for not telling her all this before, but the grief that consumed her left no room for anything else. And it wasn’t his fault that she was going to be separated from her parents.
“I don’t want to stay,” she sobbed. “I want to go home. I want to be with my parents. It’s like my heart is being torn from my chest.”
“I know,” Thonis whispered to her.
If she had a choice… how could she be parted from him? How could she be parted from her parents? But she didn’t have a choice. Not unless she wanted to risk Byrelmore and Earth both self-destructing.
Her sobs came harder, until she could barely breathe. Katrina let herself cry, not fighting it. Eventually, Indulf put a hand on her shoulder. Gentle, trying to comfort her. She couldn’t see through her tears, but she heard Warmund’s breathing hitch, too.
Knowing that this was just as painful for them as it was for her helped calm her. The raging flood of grief slowed slightly, at least allowing her to breathe again. She turned to them, wiping her face even though it didn’t do any good—new tears replaced the ones she wiped away quickly enough.
“I need some time. It’s a lot to take in and I don’t know if I can…” She trailed off, but what else was there to say? She didn’t have a choice in the matter, that was already established. All she could do was hope… and brace herself for the eventual possibility that she was going to have to say goodbye.
The thought that it was all going to happen too quickly and that she might not get the chance to say goodbye came to her mind. Her stomach cramped, a sob locked her lungs, and she shoved the thought aside. It wouldn’t come to that. It couldn’t.
Indulf and Warmund both stood. Indulf passed a hand over his hair—the same tight curls she had. She also shared the shape of his eyes. Did she look more like her mother? My mother who was murdered by the people who wanted to murder me.
There were times in her childhood that she wished she was a princess. Imagined her biological parents were a king and queen who hid her away for safety. But those fantasies always ended with her mom and dad coming to live at the palace with her. That wasn’t going to be the case here.
“If you need anything,” Indulf said quietly, “know that we’re here. Whatever you need.”
Katrina nodded, choking on the lump in her throat. “Thank you.”’
What she needed was a miracle. And she wasn’t so certain that Indulf was going to be able to provide that. There was still hope—still research to be done and being done. Right now, though, she needed to clear her thoughts. Absorb what she had been told and find some way to accept it, even if only temporarily.
Indulf squeezed her hand. He turned and put an arm around Warmund’s shoulders. His son leaned into him as they left. She always thought they had a great deal of love for each other.
In a different situation, would she be happy about finding her biological family at last? She’d be sad to hear about her biological mother, of course, but if circumstances were different, would she be happy to know Indulf was her father and Warmund her brother? She’d always wanted siblings but had resigned herself to being an only child.
Now she had a brother—two brothers, she reminded herself. Erik was her younger brother. And Anna was her stepmother.
That thought made her giggle. Thonis cocked an eyebrow, the look on his face worried for her sanity. She shook her head, the giggles dying away quickly enough. Anna was going to go back to Earth, away from Indulf who she loved so much, away from Erik, her son.
“I don’t have time to sit around feeling sorry for myself.”
Thonis lifted her off the chair and put her in his lap. “We might be short on time, yes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take time to let yourself feel.”
Katrina snuggled into him, pressing her face into his chest. “But we have to get to the library or records office or whatever… we need to find out more about the connection between Earth and Byrelmore. Maybe I should go back to Earth. We can research stuff there. Anna says that Atlantis didn’t exist, but just because she’s a geek that doesn’t mean she knows everything, right?”
Thonis smiled softly at her. “You’re not going to just sit here and let yourself process these emotions, are you?”
Katrina shook her head. “Not when there is still hope to change this.”
She wiped her face, pushing her grief aside. They didn’t have much time. She didn’t know when Indulf and Anna would decide that the risks were too great. They would have to make that choice sooner or later. God knew she’d make that choice if she was in their position; better to say goodbye and never see your loved ones again, knowing that they were going to live, than to cling to them and watch them die as the world crumbled around you.
Another deep breath and she stabilized herself long enough to get back to her feet. Thonis stood with her, something warm and comforting shining in his eyes. He brushed a finger over her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. Just before reaching her, though, he stopped. A hesitant look came over his face.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s just… I didn’t tell you. About your heritage. And as much as I can say it wasn’t my place to tell you, I have to wonder…”
Katrina understood. She studied him for a moment before she shrugged, smiling sadly. “You had to do as Indulf told you. He’s your king. And he’s the one who needed to tell me. I don’t know… it’s a lot to take in. I can’t guarantee how I will feel about all this tomorrow or the next day. But right now, I want you by my side, the way you have been for the past six years.”
Relief washed over Thonis’ face. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a passionate kiss. Katrina let her eyes flutter shut as she drank in the kiss. His strength grounded her once more.
When they broke apart, their hands remained twined together. They headed for the library. If there was any information to be found, that was the place to start. Especially for two non-mages like them.
A tremor shook the palace when they got there, shaking a few books off tables and shelves, but it didn’t last long. All of Katrina’s old roommates were there, pouring over books already. They gave her nods of acknowledgment with red-rimmed eyes. Her heart twisted for each of them. When Anna glanced at her hand in Thonis’, she was tempted to release him just so Anna wouldn’t have to face the pain of knowing that Katrina would stay with someone she cared about while she lost the love of her life.
But Anna’s expression turned to a gentle smile, and Katrina squeezed Thonis’ hand tighter. They didn’t speak as they started to search through the books.
They didn’t have much time, it was true. But there had to be something in here. There had to be hope.