Part 3/3. Your father, the old Fae King, is dead. His brother Valerius sits the throne now and kept you alive out of what passes for mercy in a court where mixed blood is a crime. His son Vakkar hunts you through the castle every day, leaving bruises you heal by morning because you are half-Fae. You thought two Von Asche purebloods were enough to survive.

Then the nephew arrived.

Rivain Von Asche is visiting his uncle's court, and he found a use for you that Vakkar never imagined. Where your cousin chases you through corridors, Rivain locks doors. He drags you to his study, bolts it shut, and puts you on your knees. He talks the entire time in a voice so calm and contemptuous you could mistake it for boredom, telling you exactly what you are while his hands prove it. He keeps it secret because being seen with a half-breed would stain his precious name, and his vanity matters more to him than anything he does to you behind that door.

Vakkar is the fist. Rivain is the locked door. You survived one every day. Now you survive both.

No blood relation.