130: Ada's POV

*“You do not make demands of us,” Dagger pointed at me, “She does.”*

I blinked, processing his words. Was he an idiot? The way Nik’s jaw ticked told me Dagger was one disrespectful statement away from having my mate’s wrath unleashed on him. Still, despite his clear annoyance, Nik met my gaze and dropped his chin subtly.

His voice flooded down our bond, which is the only one I had kept open: *I trust you to handle this.*

The admission was enough to make my head spin even more than the situation with Dagger and Blade. Sucking in a deep breath, I looked right into Dagger’s eyes, “Start with how you knew we’d gone through a portal.”

“We felt the portal’s presence the moment we arrived,” Dagger sighed, leaning back against the couch beside me, “We didn’t know where it led, or where it was in the castle until you went through it.”

*Close your bond to Nik,* Blade’s voice flitted into my mind, and I jolted. My head snapped in his direction, and I cocked my head to the side. Blade insisted, C*lose it. I’ll be feeding you additional details here.*

The mental channel he was using to talk to me felt foreign. It was like he was scratching on a part of my mind I didn’t even know existed until he touched it. I slammed the bond between Nik and me. My mate’s hand balled into a fist on his thigh, his eyes locked on my face. With a bit of concentration, I managed to respond to Blade:

*Explain how you’re doing this.*

Dagger continued talking out loud, “We could only tell because we are directly tied to the Fae Lands. I imagine if Ada wasn’t the one to go through the portal, she would have felt it as well.”

Blade chuckled. *The fae have their own channels of communication. Consider this test one.*

I responded aloud to Dagger, “Is the portal why Velentaria is starting this war?”

“Probably one of the reasons,” Dagger responded verbally while Blade shot into my mind, *She’s starting this war because of you*. Dagger sighed, shooting his twin a look, “Since her banishment, it is most likely the only way she has to return home that would be undetected by those watching her lands.”

*Why, because of me?* I shot over to Blade. Then, to Dagger, “Where exactly does the portal take us?”

“Based on what I saw, to the dungeons of her castle,” he turned to look at Nik, “Is there another exit that leads back to your realm?” Nik nodded, crossing his legs as his eyes never left my face. Dagger clucked his tongue, “Interesting. Where does it lead?”

*While my brother pursues that line of questions with your mate, I’ll tell you why she’s coming,* Blade said in my mind while he pivoted his body to look like he was engaged in the conversation Nik and Dagger were having, *You are a hybrid between Fae and werewolf. Your Fae lineage comes from Velentaria. You are the only surviving female descendant of her.*

*Why does that matter?* I worked to mimic him, looking between Nik and Dagger as they spoke back and forth.

*The Dying Lands were once the most prosperous of the Kingdoms in the Fae realms. It was rumored to have been that way because they practiced Earth magick,* Blade explained quickly as Nik and Dagger’s conversation came to a close. *As such, their line was passed down from queen to queen. A matriarchy, in human terms.*

I blinked as they all turned to look at me. My lips parted as I worked to connect the dots. If I was a descendant of the original royal bloodline of the Kingdom of the Moonglade — the Lunereaux bloodline— and also a descendant of Velentaria’s line, that would mean that I had a claim to a throne in the fae lands, and that she had a claim to the throne here. It had to be why she was coming for the Ashfords after all this time. She was using my father as her frontman, and since he was the connection with her... He had probably known about her all this time.

“Nik, I need you to leave,” I whispered, looking into his onyx eyes. My mate shook his head, and I leaned forward, “Please. If you trust me, I need you to leave.”

“Ada, I’m not leaving you with them,” he insisted, leaning back further on the couch.

I stood, “Five minutes. You can time it. Out in the hall, no shadows or spies left behind.”

“Ada—” I cut him off with a pleading stare. Nik wiped his palms against his pants and stood, “Five minutes.” He walked over to me, lowering his lips to my ear, “You’re sure about this?”

“They won’t hurt me,” I nodded slowly, “They need me.”

Nik gave a curt nod, “Okay. Five minutes.”

“Five minutes,” I echoed as he walked away.

When the door shut, I turned back to Dagger and Blade, “What was she waiting for?”

“A female descendant,” Blade answered quickly, “You are the first in several millennia. Every generation has been male.”

“Don’t tell me there’s some crazy fae prophecy I’m now a part of too,” I sighed, exasperated, and plopped onto the couch with a *hmph*, “I don’t think I could manage another.”

Dagger shrugged, smirking, “I don’t know of any *more* prophecies. But I do know that you all have assumed your prophecy is wolf-based, and it isn’t. Your curse comes from your fae bloodline,” Dagger ran a hand through his loose hair. “There’s a lot about your fae nature that you don’t know. Given your mental links with us, you’re one of the most full-blooded part fae I’ve ever been around.”

“What do you mean?” My eyes widened.

“Only individuals who are *mostly* fae can do that with each other.”

“I have a wolf.”

“That you suppress. When’s the last time you even spoke to Ashlinda?” Blade crooked up an eyebrow.

I gasped, putting a hand to my chest, “How do you—”

“Her name is Ashlinda Sahara Crookedstar,” Dagger interrupted me, “She goes by Sahara and is the first of her kind.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ask her. She knows who she is,” Blade shrugged, “Well, *what* she is.”

I tossed my hands up, my heart hammering in my chest, “This is too much.”

Blade pulled a book out of the pocket of his sweatpants, “Maybe this will help.”

I ran my fingers along the dark brown leather cover. Imprinted into the material was the word *Lunereaux*. It was nearly identical to the one that my father had in his study when I was younger. My eyes remained fixated on the name.

“Where did you get this?” My voice was barely a whisper.

“You have much to learn about your heritage,” Dagger snorted, “And for that matter, your mate’s heritage as well.”

The door burst open, and Nik stormed in, “It’s been five minutes. You two, get out.”

I was about to argue when Phoenix and Darius stepped in behind them. Fury radiated off of each of them. I swallowed, lifting the notebook, “Look what I’ve got.”