Calluna

Chapter Twenty

To say my mouth dropped would be a gross understatement. His father? That doesn't make any sense. Atreus is the crown prince of Oculi, heir to the throne. King Osiris is his father, not this man. Not this brown-eyed man.

The rest of the group has the same reaction. Some are too shocked to speak, like me. Others, like Talia, are outspoken with their disbelief.

"Atreus, what... what are you talking about?"

Atreus puts both hands up, trying to calm the room. "Please, just let me explain. I will tell you the whole truth. Just let me, I beg you."

One by one the group nods. A cold chill runs down my spine, but I do too.

"I'll start at the beginning," Atreus starts, his voice level. "King Osiris was engaged to marry Heather, but the night before their wedding, she ran away, and no one could find her. The king was so furious that he married my mother, Adara, the next day. At the time, she was already pregnant with me. Adrian had worked in the palace, in the stables. When she found out, she told him to run, to flee. Brown-eyed minds can be read almost instantly by the king. She knew she and her child would both be killed if she told anyone the truth, so she went along with it. She blocked her mind from the king."

I look over at Adrian and his eyes shine with unshed tears.

"I was born with purple eyes," Atreus goes on. "My mother was so confused. She was expecting a brown-eyed child who would easily be ignored by the king. Colored-eyed children, as you all know, are born with white eyes and the color grows as they do. But I was born with color. My mother was frightened. So, she had the palace healer make a lightening potion that was meant to cover just the color in my eyes. It ended up coloring my hair white as snow, too. It has only now faded now that Vulcan's released his hold on me. I was never told the truth by my mother; she didn't want the king ever reading my mind. Only when I was reaching adolescence did she tell me why my eyes weren't changing color when my power was growing. It was also then when she snuck me out to meet Adrian for the first time. Since then, I've visited every year, more often if I could."

"Why?" I ask, the question just slipping out of my mouth. "Why wouldn't she just lie to you as she lied to everyone else? To keep both of you safe?" I add quickly, hoping not to sound condescending.

"I can't speak for her," Atreus answers, his voice tender. "But she told me once that she wanted me to know that I wasn't related to the evil of the king. That I didn't have the cruelty in my veins that caused the monarchy's ruthlessness." He pauses, swallowing. "She wanted me to know how the brown-eyed people live. She wanted me to change things."

Everyone's silent and I no longer have the strength to eat the food in front of me.

"I've kept this secret. I vowed to keep this from anyone. But you all must know the truth to fully understand what's happened." Atreus's eyes have turned dark with grief. "When Vulcan was in my head, I put up a wall, it was a weak wall and plain, but it was all I had the strength to keep up. I kept the secret of my father; I kept the secret of this place. I only hope my attempt was successful. Or else... your safety is compromised." Atreus's eyes are now on Adrian—his father.

"I'm sure that you were strong enough," Adrian says, his voice comforting.

Atreus nods, some weight lifted from his shoulders by his father's faith in him, but he still looks tense.

"Who is Vulcan?" Briar asks. "Why did he take over your body? Why did he choose you?"

Atreus's exhale is so long that I don't know if he will ever respond. "When he was in possession of my body, he could hear all of my thoughts, which meant I could also hear all of his. Vulcan is King Osiris's first-born son, five years older than me and illegitimate. He was born of a brown-eyed mother, a servant in the palace, who left when she found out she was pregnant. He has white eyes that never developed into color except a slight gray tent. However, he still has power.