And my heart, too.

“Before those things showed up tonight, you asked how it was possible for your abilities to be this strong—how they were this strong even before Cas Ascended you.” Kieran drew my gaze to him. “One of your parents had to be a full-blooded Atlantian.”

“But how is that possible if I’m descended from Malec? His offspring with a mistress would’ve been mortal. And if my mother was a Handmaiden, it couldn’t have been her, right?” I looked at Casteel.

“I would think not,” he answered, tossing the towel into the hamper. “None I saw were, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible—possibly implausible, but not impossible.”

“And I look like my mother,” I told them. “Except for my eyes.”

“Your father?” Kieran asked, even though I was sure we’d had this conversation before.

“He was from Carsodonia, just like my mother was,” I answered.

“I know you don’t like to hear this,” Kieran started, and I stiffened, knowing where he was going with this, “but that’s all assuming that your parents were your birth parents. Or—” he quickly added when I opened my mouth. “Or what you remember, what you were told about who your parents were, simply wasn’t the truth.”

Chapter 20

“He’s right,” Casteel said softly, his gaze searching mine. “I don’t know why Alastir would’ve lied about your mother being a Handmaiden. If he was telling the truth, your mother was never a Lady in Wait, destined to Ascend. That could also mean your father wasn’t a merchant’s son.” He paused. “It could also mean that only one—or neither of them—was your parent by blood.”

And if neither of them was? Then Ian…he may not be like me at all if he Ascended. He may be like any other vampry.

Leaning against the cold tile, I tipped my head back. I started to respond and then stopped as my toes curled against the floor. “I was young. My memories of before that night are spotty at best. I just know what I was told about them, and although Ian was older, it wouldn’t be like he knew any differently.” I shook my head, overwhelmed. “But I look like my mother, so maybe my father was an Atlantian, and my mother a mortal descendant of Malec and his mistress. Would that explain my abilities being so strong?”

“That would be one hell of a coincidence,” Kieran noted, and he was right.

Casteel and Kieran exchanged a look. “I don’t know,” Casteel answered. “That’s a complicated bloodline to sort through, but that’s also working off the assumption that you are related to Malec. You may not be. Alastir could be wrong, even if he truly believed that.”

I wondered if his mother would know somehow.

Casteel’s gaze met mine. “We’ll figure this out.”

Other than his mother, as unlikely as that may be, only one other person may know.

Queen Ileana.

Casteel turned to Kieran. “I think there’s an old robe in there. Can you grab it for me?”