The Emerald Staff by Alison Pensy

For goodness
sake, I didn’t even know her or any of this until a few months ago,
yet she seems intent on destroying my family…and me.” Faedra’s
voice faltered a little. “She kidnapped my father last night and
has given me seven days to hand over the amulet or she’ll kill
him.”
    The king sucked in a breath and hung his head
in shame.
    “She keeps calling me samtero
kruwos. ”
    At the mention of those words, the king
brought his focus back to meet Faedra’s gaze and his features
softened a little.
    “I know what it means,” she continued,
sensing the king’s hesitation.
    “And?” the king asked after a short pause,
interested to see what conclusions the Custodian may have come
to.
    “I need to know why Vivianna hates me so
much. Why does she keep calling me half-blood?”
    The king hissed out a sigh and closed his
eyes.
    “Tell me who I am. I have a right to know!”
her voice was rising again, frustration getting the better of
her.
    The king sat down behind his desk, and Faedra
could see the indecision clouding his features.
    “Sit down, Faedra.”
    “I’m perfectly alright standing, thank
you.”
    The king looked at the young woman and saw
the determination burning with ferocity in her eyes.
    “Very well,” he conceded, as he steepled his
fingers in front of his face, masking his features just a
little.
    “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
Faedra accused, after a moment passed and the king remained silent.
“I’ll find out, you mark my words. I’ll find out why you people
want to destroy everything I love!” She turned on her heel to leave
but only got a stride forward.
    “She is your sister,” the king blurted the
statement, his voice sounded laden with guilt.
    Faedra stopped in her tracks. She felt her
knees buckle as the impact of what she just heard reached her
brain. It took all of her willpower to remain standing. She turned
with a hesitant step to face the king, a look of disbelief creeping
across her features. She opened her mouth to speak but no words
came.
    Her questioning eyes met the king’s intense
gaze and he held them captive.
    “Who are you? You… are my daughter,” he
stated, his expression neutral.
    He waited for a response but when the only
one he got was a look of shocked disbelief and silence he felt
compelled to explain.
    “My wife, Vivianna’s mother, died many years
ago by human measure. I met your mother when she made the rather
unusual request to seek an audience with me. I fell in love with
her almost instantly, and to my delight she fell in love with me,
too. I was completely enraptured and broke a number of our laws
when she fell pregnant with you. We decided it would be safer for
you to be brought up in a normal human environment and we ended our
relationship when Henry walked into her life.
    When you were just a baby she brought you
here to show me. Vivianna walked in on us and found out about you
and our prior relationship. She was angry beyond belief and swore
vengeance in the name of her mother’s memory. That is why you were
warded until you turned of age; you could not have your Guardian at
school with you. I was hoping that Vivianna’s anger would dissipate
over the years, but it just seems to fester and grow, instead.”
    Faedra couldn’t take another bombshell, not
today. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the imposing man
sitting behind his desk looking at her with a mixture of pride and
remorse. She stood rooted to the spot and stared at the king, her
real father. After a moment she dropped her head, closed her eyes,
and massaged her forehead, unable to think.
    “This can’t be happening,” she mumbled to the
floor.
    She heard a rustle to her left, then a hand
rested on her shoulder. When she looked up, it was into the eyes of
the king who was now standing in front of her, his face full of
compassion.
    “I am sorry, Faedra. On so many levels.”
    A feeling of suffocation crept around her
like tendrils. The walls seemed to be