Telling Elias the truth had been a good ambition, but somewhere along the way she had forgotten it and turned mad at Elias for wanting to defend his parents. That he took charge and believed she was to hide in the neighboring kingdom didn’t improve her mood. Now she was tailoring behind him, walking back to the cottage, to become, as Elias had told her, fit enough for him to punch her lights out.

Not that that would happen. She was in no shape to fight, her body still recovering from the king's assault. And when she was fit enough, she had to tell Elias that he had been right, that the king indeed was innocent and that they were going to save him and she had betrayed him. Sasha hated it.

Elias entered the kitchen, Sasha looked for her mother, but she was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Ivy and Isaak. She needed her sister, she needed to talk to her. She would know how to proceed. Ivy had always been smoother than her. Maybe she didn’t even have to tell Elias.

“Warm bread with butter and a big glass of mead”, Elias said and put a plate in front of her. “Just as you want it.”

“Thanks”, Sasha said, guilt eating at her. He had done nothing but to care for her, and what had she given him in return? Mixed signals and lies.

“Don’t thank me. I am pretty sure you would begin to sulk again as soon as I get you fit enough to leave.”

“About that Elias”, she bit her lip, her stomach an inner turmoil.

He looked at her, the yellow light in his eyes a soft burn.

“You need to eat anyhow, you are still too weak rebel.”

He laid a hand on hers, and Sasha mustered the will to at least give him something, part of the truth to prepare him, when she saw his eyes becoming slits, the soft glow now an intense yellow stare.

Ella stood in the doorway, her hands fidgeting with her apron.

“You can't go to Ebenhow. It's not time for that yet”, Ella said looking straight at Elias. “I need to talk to you Elias, alone.” She gestured for him to follow, but Elias refused to raise from the kitchen table.

“There is nothing that we have to say to each other that you cant says in front of Sasha.”

“Elias”, Sasha pleaded. She didn’t deserve his faith. There was plenty of things she was better of not knowing. She took the bread, preparing to leave the kitchen.

“Stay”, Elias didn’t let go of her hand.

“Very well”, Ella said and dropped on a chair. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“The king does not like Sasha, and whatever assurance he has given my mother he likes to chase and torture his victims. He will not let this go.”

“He will never risk her fury Elias”, Sasha interrupted. “I am safe, and we cant go to Ebenhow. Ella is right.”

“I happen to know the chapters to be written”, Ella said reluctantly, “and in one of those the king will end up killing you if you stay. He will not risk the queen's fury, but she would only lash out at him if she caught him red-handed.”

Sasha raised a brow. So Ivy had seen death, the more reason she needed to talk to her sister. What had Ella and Ivy talked about?

“See”, Elias said. “I was right.”

“No”, Ella sighed. “There is where you are wrong. If you leave for Ebenhow now, at this time, all chapters lead to your death instead Elias.”

“My death?” Elias's brows were drawn together, then he shook his head, a smile on his lips. “I have heard of witches having the seer intuition, but honestly, to get glimpses of possibilities are not the same as knowing, and I believe we form our destiny. We will leave.”

“Elias”, Sasha squeezed his hand. “This is not just any witch with a bit of seer intuition.”

She couldn’t tell Ivy's secret, but it was on her tongue, she would never question her sister. She had a lifetime of confirmation.

“I had my reasons to make the change when you were born”, Ella said suddenly. “I seldom have future visions, but when I saw the baby girls I just knew. This was the path I had to take, this was the sacrifice I had to make.”

Elias's knuckles were white and a vein throbbed at his forehead. It must take its toll on him not lashing out. Sasha tried to comfort him, her thumb softly stroking his hand. He didn’t look at her.

“Really?” Elias snorted. “You got a feeling? That is your excuse?”

That and wanting to kill the king Sasha thought, but she could put gold on Ella not telling him that reason.

“Tell me, Elias, what do you know about Ebenhow?” Ella asked. Sasha drew her brews together. She couldn’t tell what Ella was after.

“I have friends there. One of the guys I was trained with ended up marrying a girl from Ebenhow. Erik will help us out, he can keep us hidden. I have a solid plan.”

Sasha remembered the werewolves in the northern woods. She betted Erik was the friend he had gone to school with and that he had found a girlfriend with fur. She would have liked visiting them, but first, she had to finish her business with the king. When Ivy was crowned she could leave.

“And what do you know about the politics of Ebenhow?” Ella pushed.

“It's a mess”, Elias reluctantly said and sighed. Some of the tension rolled off him as he looked out the window. “The king has no heirs, there is a lot of politic plots, someone has killed off all his relatives.”

“Yeah, there have been a lot of accidents during the years”, Ella sighed. “Do you think that is a place to take a princess?”

“She has nothing to be afraid of. Whoever wants the reign in Ebenhow is after the king. They don’t care for Sasha.”

“True”, Ella said.

True indeed Sasha thought, some of the rumors said it was Leonard that had plotted against Ebenhow, but it was never confirmed. There were strong magicians in the country that wanted power for themselves. For some of the old families, the kings of Ebenhows reign have been, unfortunately, a lot of their privileges taken.

“It's a surprise the king is still standing”, Sasha reflected. “All these plots and ambushes.”

“Yes, I had hoped he would have found the traitors by now, but they were more and stronger than anticipated.”

“It is a pity”, Elias agreed. “The king is loved by his people. And he has been nothing but kind on the occasions we have visited.”

He was loved by the common people, not by the noble houses. Or at least not all of them. With the number of enemies he had, it was no wonder he hadn’t put them all out.

“Why haven’t they succeeded? There must have been attempts to the king as well?” Sasha had never really cared for what happened in Ebenhow. Their people loved their king, and several witches had fled from Leonards and Annas hard reign. She and Elias wouldn’t be the firsts.

“The king, Geoffrey is a wise and strong man. He is an even better healer than Leonard”, Ella said. She gulped, her eyes stuck on Elias. “He is your father Elias.”

“My father?”

Elias looked pale. He swayed in the chair, bewilderment in his eyes. Sasha was as stunned as him. Everything made perfect sense now. Ella had indeed protected her son. Growing up as Annas and Leonards's son he was well protected. No one would touch him and no one would think it suspicious he was a strong magician and a healer. Furthermore, Leonard had tried to take over Ebenhow more than once, and although they had found a truce nowadays, the two countries were not known to be on good terms. For the queen and the king to have fostered their enemy’s child. No, it was unthinkable.

“Does he know?”

“Yes”, Ella said. “He knows. It has not been easy on him Elias, but he had little choice, would he want you to see adulthood.”

“So I am royal”, Elias said with a bitter laugh. He rose from the chair, taking Sasha with him. “Lucky me.”

He didn’t let go of her hand, and Sasha did her best to keep up with his speed. Anger was fuming from him, the magic almost not controllable, leaking out of him like smoke from a burning house.

“I am sorry Elias”, Sasha said. “I should not have heard that.”

Elias stopped dead in his track, his eyes chasing from the woods to the cottage and back to her. He looked haunted.

“If you wouldn’t have been there I would not have been able to rile in my temper. I needed you there”, Elias said. His gaze stopped, focusing on her. The yellow lasers almost burned through her. “I need you.”

She saw the light burning in his eyes and knew what he was aiming for. And although his lips crashed down, ravishing hers, she rose on her toes and met him halfway, the fire burning just as bright in her. All this pent-up frustration tore at her, and she needed the let-out. At this moment there was no betrayal, no deaths, just his lips and the rightness she felt with his arms around her.