Chapter 1 - Keilan
My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, and it felt like I had swallowed cotton. The weirdest sensation was running along my skin. It was so light, it was barely a touch. Vera? The sides of my mouth quirked up in a small smile at her soft touch. It almost tickled. My hand reached out to find her, to touch her and pull her in.
‘Vera, stop playing.’
‘Who’s Vera?’
It felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped on me. My body was immediately on high alert and my eyes took a second to adjust to the dim lighting. Where the fuck was I?
‘What the fuck?’ My eyes focused on the figure that was sitting across from me. Even shrouded in darkness, I knew who it was. It. ‘Who are you and what do you want?’
The touch that was stroking my face suddenly slithered around my waist, arms and legs, effectively pinning me to the bed I was on. Fuck! They shadows were just air, why couldn’t I break out of their hold!?
‘Keilan.’ Its voice slithered across my skin, and it made the hackles on the back of my neck rise. But there was something else? Longing?
‘Who are you and what do you want? Don’t make me repeat myself.’ It was a surprise my teeth hadn’t cracked yet with how hard I was grinding them.
‘You’ve done so magnificently, my boy.’ The shadows tightened around me, almost suffocating me. The air was stale, and the dim light came from an oil lamp beside me on the bedside table. My eyes narrowed, trying to discern any features so I could get a better read on it.
‘Please, enlighten me.’ Squirming underneath the shadows only made them tighten around me.
‘I am King Shaant.’
‘And what does that have to do with me? I’m just a human.’ His dark chuckle made my temper rise even higher. Those red eyes stared through me. As if they saw every thought, secret, and understood them. This was the infamous old fae King. No lesson or textbook could ever do him justice. His presence demanded utter compliance and devotion.
‘We both know you’re not a human, Keilan.’ Those words stopped my struggle. I froze, limbs tense and useless.
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ Stars, what the fuck was happening?
‘You do. You’re fae.’ Something was lodged in my throat, and that’s why no words came out when my mouth opened. Sweat was collecting at the base of my spine, and I tried to convince myself that it was only because of the summer heat. Not because it seemed to have me all figured out.
‘Stop playing around. What do you wa-’
‘You’re my son.’
The world stopped. Everything seemed to freeze in time as his words sunk underneath my skin. There was no way. He was insane. Batshit crazy. Out of his mind.
But deep down, his words resonated within me. Every part of me screamed that it was the truth, but it couldn’t be possible? Running through every conversation I had ever had with Zeke about my parents, the shadows slowly released me.
‘That… How? No.’ Words failed me. What was I supposed to say? Hey pops! How was the musk? Good to have you back now, do you want do some father-son bonding?
‘It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not, because you will accept the truth eventually.’ King Shaant stood. My father… ‘Get some rest. Travelling by shadows isn’t the easiest. We’ll talk when you’ve had time to process.’ Before his words even registered in my mind, he had disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
