“Hey, Mads, I have a couple people who want to meet you,” Jase said, hinting to who it could be. “Is that ok?”
I stomped down my feelings, cleared my throat, and then ran my hands down my dress. Black. The color was symbolic to death, which was why I chose to wear white. I refused to believe my brother was dead. He deserved more than what the color black could give.
I nodded, wiping my eyes. He opened the door wider, and a man and woman stood there. The woman was dressed in a black long dress and was holding a large hat that had lace hanging off the front. She was beautiful, had honey brown eyes, skin that held a tint that no amount of sun could give you which told me she had something else in her blood. Her eyes met mine and her eyebrows pulled together. My own went to the man standing next to her. He wore a dark suit and a dark tie. He was tall, towering over her small frame, had grey hair and aged skin. He had to be pushing his early fifties. He looked somber and held a different softness on his shoulders than most of the other Kings.
“Madison,” she started. “I’m Jamima, your—” she paused, her fingers twisting around her hat. “Birth mom.” She stepped forward, and that’s when I caught Scarlet leaning against the wall behind them. She sent me a sneaky wink, and I knew what it meant. She had my back if I needed. Jase stayed, opening the door wider. I appreciated it because it didn’t feel like I was closed off in this room with nothing but the parents I didn’t know who, essentially, gave me and Daemon away.
“Why?” I asked quickly.
The man cleared his throat. “I’m Johan, Madison, I’m sorry we had to meet like this. Jamima and I understand that you will have questions, and we don’t want to hold back on answering those for you. You deserve honesty,” he paused, and his eyes went over his shoulder, straight to Scarlet, who gave him a look I wasn’t sure how to decipher. It was like a mother bear protecting her cubs. My heart warmed instantly, and with that small notion, I knew I could handle whatever they dished me, because they didn’t matter to me right now. What mattered was the strength I felt radiating off of Scarlet. She was the only mother I needed, anyone else didn’t matter. I nodded. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
He looked back at me. “I’m sure you’re familiar with how our world spins by now. When your m—Jamima found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic, when we found out that we were having twins, we were even more pleased. Twins were rare in any case, but there had never been twins born into our world. When we found out that one of you was a girl, we kept it quiet, though we were shattered. We knew we couldn’t share it with anyone because the risk was too high. You were a Silver Swan; you were sure to die.” His hands dove into his pockets, and Jamima finished it off.
“We were close to Elizabeth and Joseph. They were cousins, so they agreed to take you and run. Run for the rest of your lives. But when your brother was born, Elizabeth didn’t bond with him, so she sent him to Katsia’s mother where he was raised on Perdita, speaking only Latin. They tried to teach him English as well, like they did with Katsia, but he refused.” She cleared her throat. “I understand that you have a lot of love around you, and we don’t deserve a nick of your time, but we wanted you to know.”
My eyes went to Scarlet. “What will happen now? Now that Katsia is dead? What happens to little girls now?”
Scarlet smiled at me. “Now they will be welcomed.” She pushed off the wall and came to me. “That’s why we stayed behind, to have a conference with The Circle. Your father pushed for it, as did I. Hector on the other hand.” She rolled her eyes, but her hand found mine. “He came around, though, and now? Because of you, sweet girl.” Scarlet’s hand came to my face. “No King needs to worry about having a little girl. Nothing else would change, only that the girls would be accepted into the family alliances now.”
“Jesus take the wheel,” Nate muttered from somewhere in the background.
I snorted, my hand coming up to cover my mouth. “Thank you, Scarlet. For being everything I ever wanted in a mom.”
She wrapped her arm around mine. “You can call me Mom.”
Scarlet’s eyes went to Jamima and Johan. “Are you done? We have a funeral to attend.”
They both nodded and exited the room.
“You don’t like them?” I asked, not looking at her.
“No. I never have. I don’t agree with what they did and how they went about it. You suffered greatly as a child and even as a young adult. They failed you as a daughter, and failed as humans.”
I swallowed. “I don’t care now. I can’t or it will consume me.”
She patted my hand just as Bishop entered my room. My mouth watered and my jaw almost hit the floor. He wore black slacks and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, displaying his tattoos. His hair was styled perfectly on the top of his head, and his skin had a light sheen over it, glistening against the light.
“Are you ok?” he asked, tilting his head. His eyes flew between his mom and I. “Do I need to be worried about this little bond you two have together? Like are you going to team up on me a lot?”
Scarlet and I both looked at each other, then back at him. “Every chance
