Rhodack opened his eyes to the sound of the shower in his private suite running. He glanced over at the bed and found it empty. The scent of Rina filled the air, and he relaxed against the bed. He smirked, thinking of their lovemaking. His mate was a clever lover. Looking back, he actually loved how she’d taken control of their first time.

It wouldn’t happen often, but if it was what his mate needed, then so be it.

He tossed his legs over the side of the bed and planted his feet on the floor. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and saw it was getting late. The sun should be going down. He knew Vikuth and his men would be going hunting to find the misted figure.

Maybe he should go with them.

Rina would be safe in their lair while they went hunting.

The communicator on the side table beeped. He snatched it up, knowing it must be urgent for someone to contact him at this time.

“What?” he answered, irritation lining his voice. He flicked his eyes toward the bathroom. He wanted to go to Rina while she was in the shower. Just the image of water running down her curvy body had his length hardening.

“We’ve received word from Faery,” Raseth’s voice greeted him. “King Khantar will be available for a call in thirty minutes.”

“Perfect. I’m sure Rina will want to talk with her parents soon.”

“I didn’t tell him that the princess has her memories. I just informed the contact that it was of the utmost importance that you speak with the king and queen.”

“Thank you, Raseth.” Rhodack disconnected the call.

Rina was still adjusting to the realization that her life truly wasn’t as she knew it. There had been some uncertainty in her eyes where he knew a conversation with her true parents was warranted.

The sound of the shower shutting off grabbed his attention. He stood from the bed and walked into the bathroom. The sight of Rina stepping from the shower with a plush white towel wrapped around her midsection greeted him.

“Good evening,” she murmured, a small smile lingering on her lips.

Her beauty left him in awe as he moved to her. He reached out a hand and brushed her damp hair from her face. She’d be ecstatic to know he had made contact with her birth parents.

“Evening,” he said before covering her mouth with his. He cupped her face in his hands and deepened the kiss. A stirring in his loins flared, and his cock stiffened. He wanted her again, but now was not the time.

She protested as he pulled back, breaking their kiss.

“Rhodack,” she whispered, tilting her head back.

Now that her memories had returned, he could feel the full strength of her powers. They were no longer being pushed down by the magic of her foster mother. This was the real Rina.

“We’ve made contact with Faery. I have a meeting with the king and queen in thirty minutes.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Here?”

“No, via a realm communicator. It’s a virtual communication device where we can reach out to the other realms.”

“So, there is no using my cellphone to call to Faery, huh?” Her perfect eyebrow rose with her question.

He smirked at her humor. In a situation like hers, he could respect her bringing a little banter into the situation. Who else would be able to come to grips with the fact they’d been living a complete lie their entire life— under a spell?

“No. No cellphone. Come, let’s get you ready for your virtual meeting with your parents.” He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

“I’m ready,” she announced.

He twisted his head around to find her clothed as a Fae princess would be. Her long silvery dress hugged her curves, and her hair was now dried and hung down her back in waves.

She was perfection.

“How could I forget the Fae can magically dress themselves?” He shook his head. “Well, in that case, give me ten minutes, and I’ll be ready.”

Rina held back her nervousness as she looked around Rhodack’s office. Solana, her foster mother, stood beside her while they waited to be connected to speak with Rina’s parents. It was still a tough cookie to swallow.

She remembered the last time she’d seen her mother when she’d been a child. At the time, she couldn’t comprehend why her parents would send her away. As an adult, she knew why the best option was to get her out of Faery.

She was the future.

She glanced over at Solana and gripped her hand. Solana faced her and smiled. She leaned over and placed a kiss to her forehead as she had always done. It comforted Rina immediately.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to thank me, Rina,” Solana murmured. “It was my pleasure to be your foster mother.”

Rina blinked back tears and nodded. She could never repay this woman beside her.

She turned back to the room as they waited for the connection to be made. Rhodack and a couple of his most trusted gargoyles were in attendance. Her eyes met with his, as if he felt her watching him. He nodded to her, standing in front of the realm communicator.

Memories of their night together rushed forward. Her heart raced at her thoughts of the way his intense eyes had met hers when they’d both climaxed. She bit her lip to keep her body from reacting from the memories.

She was about to meet her parents virtually. She couldn’t be flushed from the memories of having sex with the gargoyle clan leader.

“It shouldn’t be much longer,” Vikuth noted and punched a few keys on the keyboard.

Lights flashed from where Rhodack stood. Two people filled the screen. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the royal couple. They looked just as she remembered.

“Rhodack Gahnoth, you have requested an audience with me and my wife?” the king’s deep baritone questioned.

She’d recognize the sound of his voice anywhere.

Her father.

Her entire human life she had always been told that her father had died when she was a child, leaving her mother, Solana, to raise her alone. She’d always felt as if a piece of her was missing.

Now that the blinders were off, her father was in another realm, having sent her away in order to protect her. She ached to go to them but now she knew she needed to wait until Rhodack signaled for her to come.

“I appreciate you taking the time to communicate with me, Your Graces.” Rhodack nodded to the floating images of the Fae royal couple.

“It has come to our attention that your realm may be in need of our assistance. We’re willing to help you in any way we can,” a soft musical voice announced.

Rina squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of her mother’s voice floating through the air. She swallowed hard to keep the sob from escaping her lips.

Her mother, the queen.

“I appreciate the quickness of your response to help. Something from the Forged realm is here on Earth.” Rhodack’s eyes narrowed on the virtual images.

He was in total clan-leader mode, and she knew that he took protecting the realm seriously. It was one of his reasons for being on this planet.

“Are you certain?” Khantar asked.

“I’m quite sure. Do you know why something from that realm would be here?” Rhodack practically growled.

There was pregnant pause as the room waited for the royal couple to answer. They looked at each other before the queen turned back to the camera.

“There’s someone on Earth that our enemies may be searching for,” the queen began.

“And you didn’t think that the protectors of this realm needed to know that you hid her here?” Rhodack cut the queen off.

“How did you know?”

“It’s my business to know when danger approaches to find out everything. But for you to hide your only child here on Earth and not communicate with the gargoyles is a breach of our agreement,” Rhodack said.

Rina widened her eyes at the announcement.

“You don’t understand. We had to do what we needed to do to keep our child safe. Faery has been at war,” Khantar said.

Rina’s feet carried her to Rhodack’s side before she could even think. She had to speak to her parents. The side view from where she stood would no longer do.

Her parents’ eyes grew bigger in shock as she came to a stop next to Rhodack. They took her all in.

She stood proud, dressed in her traditional royal dress. When she’d conjured the outfit, she’d thought of the outfit her mother had worn on the last day she’d seen her before her memories had been suppressed.

“You look just like your mother,” her father breathed. His blue eyes, the same as Rina’s, studied her.

Her mother sat frozen in her chair, tears running down her face as she stared at Rina.

“Larina,” her mother sobbed and sat forward in her chair as if to reach for Rina.

Rina was the mirror image of her mother. She smiled softly and returned their gazes.

“Hello, Mother and Father,” she murmured.

“You remember us?” Khantar asked. He looked at her, his eyes lit with pride.

“Yes. Apparently, the spell that Mom—Solana—had placed on me could no longer hold my powers down, and I overcame them recently.” She flicked her gaze over to Solana briefly before returning it to the realm communicator.

“Please forgive us, dear. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that we haven’t thought of you,” Roshi exclaimed, wiping the tears from her face. She smiled through her tears.

Her parents hadn’t aged a bit since the last time she’d seen them.

“As a child, I couldn’t understand why you sent me away. I begged you to let me stay by your side,” she said, moving in front of Rhodack. She brushed her hair behind her pointed ear tip. She’d given her situation a lot of thought and knew she’d need to return to Faery.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Roshi rushed, shaking her head.

“But as an adult, now with my full memories of what was happening when I left, I understand,” she interrupted her mother. “I want to come home.”

They both looked at her as she made her announcement, basically forgiving them for deceiving her for the past twenty-one years.

“Larina, I’m so proud of you.” Her father’s lips tilted up in at the corner slightly, and she knew this was his form of a smile. “But it’s still not safe for you to be here. If the necromancers have found you on Earth, then we need to put an end to this. We cannot keep hiding you in different realms.”

“I’m ready, Father. I remember all of my teachings as a little girl. Let me come home,” she begged. She felt the need to go home. It had been a long while since she’d been in Faery, and she needed to go back. She felt it deep within her chest.

“No.” Her father shook his head. “Faery is not the same as what you remember.”

“She will be safe here with me,” Rhodack pulled her back against him.

She peered over her shoulder and up at him. That dangerous glint sparkled in his eyes, and she knew what he was doing.

Staking his claim on her in front of her parents.

“Well, we didn’t expect this,” Roshi murmured, her eyes wide, taking in Rhodack’s possessives of Rina.

Her parents shared a surprised look before they turned back to her and Rhodack.

“We will come to Earth. This conversation will be best had in person. We shall be there in a three days’ time,” Khantar announced, then the screen went black.