Nee OâRourke.â
Oh shit.
Rourke had a son. A son who was a Raâketh.
The way Rourke tells the story, his son wasnât always on the road to being a supervillain. He was a good man, once, who fell prey to feelings of inferiority, that heâd never be powerful because of his mixed blood. And he blamed Rourke for that, became something darker, gave in to baser instincts, abused the power he had and was on the verge of bringing about the end of existence. Rourke had to do something.
So Rourke killed him.
He stabbed him in the heart, and held him in his arms as he died. Rourke told him he loved him, that heâd always be his little pup, that no one should ever have to die alone and afraid.
And his son died accepting that.
To show a Raâketh that theyâre human, not an infallible force beyond anyoneâs reach, thatâs the purpose of the Emerald in the Snow, and that Emerald was the Phoukaâs first and only.
But thereâs one part of the story I never asked about.
âYour son, Rourke, I know itâs a sore subject, but he did have children, right?â Because Rourke never had children again, and all the Phouka had to come from somewhere.
He nodded.
âSo youâre not going to trick James because you donât trickâ¦â It finally hits me. âYou donât trick family. Because the last time you had to do thatâ¦â I donât finish the sentence. I feel bad enough about bringing it up. âSo James is descended from your son, a Raâketh, whose mother was a Raâketh, so is that why heâs aâ¦â
âI have suspicions as to who James really is, given his heritage. Humans have an obsession with cataloging familial records. If he is who I believe he is, that would be enough to bring out my sonâs heritage instead of my own.â He shrugs. âI would not be surprised if there have been Phouk amongst his family line.â Rourke then sits down on his couch, and Iâm getting the feeling that all of this is weighing heavier on him than my own concerns.
So I sit down next to him, no moves, despite what weâd both done on his floor a few minutes before. If youâre going to do the whole sex-with-the-ex thing, you might as well make an effort to be one of the good exes. âI wonât tell anyone. Or him, if you want. Something like that should probably come from you, donât you think?â
âI told him we would never darken his doorstep. I gave my word.â
I reach over, take his hand. âHe doesnât have any family, Rourke. None who know who he is, anyway. Be honest with him, actually honest, not Fae honest. He could probably use that. Hell, I think both of you could.â
âI find it odd that a Coyote would try to talk me into a position where I could attempt an Emerald in the Snow.â
âIâm not. Iâm interested in keeping James in a place where heâll never deserve one.â I squeeze Rourkeâs hand.
A moment passes before he squeezes back. âSpencer, why do you need to know about the Cobalt Order?â He leans against the back of the couch, inquisitive. âThey are not an issue for non-Fae.â
I get up to face him. âBecause fuck the Feud. Thatâs why. These people are bigots who kill people, and someone should stop them. Itâs the right thing to do. Iâm on the outs with the clan, so Iâm a free agent. You know this, otherwise you never wouldâve let me in the door, given our history. For Godâs sake, Rourke, this isnât a game.â
âBut it is . A dangerous one, but it is always a game when the Fae are involved. This is a game, and I am a king. Which piece will you be?â
âNone of them. Iâm not a piece, Iâm a hero.â
Well, Jamesâs hero, at least.
He sighs at that, getting up as well. âSo youâre a pawn.â
âIâm not aââ
âYouâre
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