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"And your clan protects him?" Andrea’s brows rose "And you’re the head of the clan? Are you saying that you control the realm of Faerie?"
"I do" It was a quiet state
"No wonder you’re so full of yourself," Andrea said "But if you’re this bad-ass warrior-protector for the emperor, when did you have time to meet and have an affair with ed all across Faerie, clans fighting clans for control of the empire I found myself cut off and alone in a wild place but discovered a way to the huate opened, and I startled a she-ho’d colad to see me, but I stood before her, transfixed I fell in love with her on the spot"
"Except that Fae despise Shifters We were bred to be your fighters, and you consider us no better than aniave her a derisive look "Shifters were bred well before my time, and the Shifter-Fae war happened before I was born I’m not that old I’d never seen a Shifter before She was my first"
"So you saw each other, and it was instant love?" Andrea couldn’t keep the skepticis her to pullthe wreck that wastime before she’d even let me near her And then " Fionn swept his hand in front of him, palm up "What we had was beautiful And now, at last, I can see what came of our love"
Andrea cocked her head to study hi "I believe that you were probably good at persistence, plus you’re not bad looking, for a past-it Fae But I’m not a complete idiot Any Fae could pop out here on this ley line and pull a Darth Vader on me"
"Pull a what?"
"Andrea, I ah your name is on my birth certificate or we can do a paternity test" Andrea paused "Although, to be fair, he really was Luke’s father"
Fionn looked puzzled--as puzzled as an impossibly tall warrior in chain mail could look "I do not understand these words Your world is confusing to lish?"
"I knew a little froes, which are required curriculuht me much more I studied on ain, I could communicate ith you"
"When you saw me? Not if?"
"I always planned to find you when I could I have been watching you, waiting until it was safe"
Andrea’s anger boiled out of her "Watching me? What the hell? If you really weres that happened to me? Where were you when the pack leaders wanted le me at birth? How about when my mother died? Or when I was shunned for most of my life? How about when Jared tried to force a mate-claim, with the entire Shiftertown to back him up? And when Jared went on to stalk me and terrorize me? Tellyou Keeping you frohter, when the Fae ar, it’s brutal and ruthless I am the head of my clan If the leader of my rivals knew I’d fallen in love with a Shifter, that I’d sired a child on her, your life and hers wouldn’t have been worth a breath The other leader wanted to win at any price, and you would have been part of that price He slaughtered half my men, almost all of my Fae family Dina died here in this harsh world from illness when she tried to have a Shifter child, and I didn’t dare go to her for fear my rival would find you You were all I had left When I say I watched you in secret, I mean I kept it secret from everyone Which means it had to be a secret even frouy, this rival Where is he now?"
"Dead" The word held triuh his black heart And so now I ahter, and to bring you ho herself well out of the man’s reach "When you say ho, Andrea Gray You are the only child of a warrior lord, the warrior who essentially rules the land of Faerie You belong at ht"
A bubble of hysteria worked its way upward and burst out as a laugh "You mean I really am a Faerie princess?"
"Essentially, yes The equivalent rank of one, though you wouldn’t be of the royal house"
Fionn’s deadpan explanation h harder He scowled as she wiped her eyes "Sorry," she said "This is a lot to take in And to believe"
"You must believe me, child Take ive you visions of how I met your ht" Andrea took another step back "Why don’t you just coet me yourself?"
"You know that I cannot I need your touch to come to you But why should I? Yours is a dirty world, full of cold iron You come into Faerie and be with me"