Astrila and Kyma have arrived upon the shores of the Old Land. Rowan has defeated the Seelie Lord, if only for the time being. The kelpies are cursed and no one knows how to break it. All three girls are the subjects of three different prophecies th...
Rowan pulls at the skin of her leg, stretching it out. She has a golden scar there now, the perfect circle with a strange texture to it, like her skin is rippling. She squeezes her hands together for a moment then pulls them apart, turning her right hand over. She's still holding the cloth, she doesn't know how. It should have fallen out of her hand by now, but it hasn't. She turns her hand over. The cloth doesn't move.
Rowan frowns at it and grips the cloth, pulling at it. As she tugs at the cloth, it pulls at her skin. Her frown deepens and she pulls harder. She winces at the ripping sensation. Is the cloth stuck to her hand? She summons her flame, trying to burn it away. The thick cloth doesn't even smoulder and Rowan scowls, looking up at Astrila.
"What is this, fireproof cloth?"
Astrila nods, shrugging slightly. "It would seem so, yes."
Rowan grimaces and yanks on the cloth, tearing it away from her skin. She cries out in pain. The cloth didn't just tear away from her skin, it tore the skin too. Where it had been stuck to her hand there is now a spot on her palm where all the skin is gone, exposing the flesh beneath. Blood is seeping out from the wound, and it's doing it quickly. Rowan presses her other hand against it, wincing at the stinging sensation. She has to do something to stop the bleeding. Someone crouches beside her and she automatically looks up. It's a man. The one who called himself the Unseelie King. She frowns slightly at him.
"Ummm, hi?"
He gives her a slight smile and motions to her hand. "Allow me."
After a moment of hesitation, Rowan moves her other hand away from the wound, exposing it. The Unseelie King touches the meat of her palm with his pointer finger. He does it so gently that she almost doesn't feel it, her only indication is the faint dent where his finger makes contact with her hand. Warmth spreads, slipping over her palm until it covers every bit of the raw flesh. As he pulls his finger away, Rowan feels her palm itch. New skin appears on her palm, like he's sped up the healing process. From behind him, Rowan can see Astrila frown just before she speaks.
"If you can do that, why'd you need the healing rune?"
The Unseelie King glances back at Astrila quickly. "I can only heal small wounds like this. My powers don't extend to larger ones. I'm not a healer."
Astrila raises an eyebrow. "Then what are you?"
"I'm the Forest King."
Rowan frowns at him. "I thought you were the Unseelie King?"
He turns back to her and laughs. "What, you think I have just one title?" He looks down at her hand. "You're all fixed up. You shouldn't have done that, there were less harmful ways to remove that cloth."
Rowan scowls. "You think I know them?"
The Unseelie King shrugs and rises to his feet. He makes a move towards the edges of the clearing but Astrila grabs hold of his arm. He glares at her.
"What are you doing?"
Astrila nods at Rowan. "I think she deserves answers."
Rowan's brow crinkles in confusion. How did Astrila know she had questions? She lifts her gaze to meet the Unseelie King's. His own eyes have shifted from showing only calm to something else now, an endless, impossible sadness. He sighs. Rowan frowns slightly and opens her mouth to ask a question.
"Why did you help me?"
He looks down at the ground. Rowan follows his gaze to see cow-wheat flowers growing all around her body. Her eyes widen in panic.
"What?!"
She moves to do something with the flowers, she doesn't know what. Maybe burn them, or pull them from the ground. The Unseelie King places his hand on her arm, stopping her.
"It's alright."
Rowan shakes her head. "No one can see them. No one's supposed to see them."
"That was my rule. There are many who would know what they mean and that would pose a risk to you."
Rowan's brow furrows in confusion, warring with her shock. "Then what do they mean?"
The Unseelie Lord sighs again. "I suppose there's no point in hiding it now, not any longer. The flowers are a sign of your heritage."
"I don't understand. What do you mean, they're a sign of my heritage?"
He gives her a sad smile. "What did the finfolk call you?"
Rowan is shocked for a moment before she remembers that she had told him of the prophecy so many months ago, when the Seelie Lord chased her into his clearing. She frowns, chewing on her lip.
"They called me the Child of Two Peoples. Or was it twin peoples? I thought it referred to my human and Seelie blood."
"That would work if it was said two peoples, but the more accurate term is twin peoples." Rowan frowns and he elaborates. "Twin peoples. Seelie and Unseelie."
Rowan shakes her head. "But I don't have Unseelie heritage."
"But you do, Rowan."
"No, I-" She freezes. "What did you just say?"
The Unseelie King smiles again and this smile is even more impossibly sad than the first. "I said your name."
Rowan scrambles to her feet and steps backward, away from him. Astrila murmurs to her from the other side of the Unseelie King. "It's alright, Ro."
Rowan just shakes her head. "How do you know my name?"
The Unseelie King points at the dirt by Rowan's feet. She stumbles in shock as a single cow-wheat flower blooms there. Rowan shakes her head again, feeling the blood drain from her face.
"No."
"Yes. I am your father, Rowan Glenbrooke." ________________________________________________________________________________ DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN HIDING THIS?!?!?!?!!
Sorry. No yelling. I got too excited. So the Forest King is her dad. I think some of you figured it out earlier, congrats! I tried to do subtle foreshadowing and clues, but I also didn't want to say it outright. Also, fun fact: he wasn't even supposed to be in the last book. I think this was supposed to be the first scene with him, actually. He just wanted to steal the show.
Here's the final version of the family tree.
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So, why do you think he left? What's Rowan's response going to be? What will they do now that the Seelie Lord is dealt with? How will they fulfill the prophecy? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!
