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slowly. I hated to talk about my past and my horrendous childhood. I didn’t want to sound like one of those people who blamed everything wrong in their lives on their parents. But the simple truth was my parents did fuck up my life. Well, my father did mostly.
    Sol’s warm breath on my neck sent tingles rippling all over my body. “Cordy, was your nightmare about Pandora?”
    I snorted. “No, and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention her name again.” The urge to hit something rushed back.
    “Gotcha. Hmm, so if your nightmare wasn’t about…that person who shall not be named, then it could only have been about something from your childhood.”
    I stiffened in his arms. “How…how could you possibly know that? I’ve lived a hundred and fifty years.”
    “Because I love you and the connection between us runs deep. I sense an old wound. I know from a few things you’ve told me about your Royal dark father that your childhood was a rough one.”
    “You have no idea.” Tension hummed through my blood, and I didn’t want to talk anymore. I didn’t want to remember.
    This time he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right, Cordy. I don’t know, but I want to. I want you and I to share everything…the good and the bad. Whatever happened in the past still haunts you, but it won’t change how I feel about you. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you as a child to cope with your dual nature…half light-empath, half dark-empath. You would have been vilified or burned at the stake if humans had suspected what you were, and yet, you were scorned by your own kind for being a mixed-breed. Not light, but not dark either.”
    I sighed and mulled over whether I could handle telling someone about my life. But this wasn’t just someone I’d met yesterday, prying into my head. This was Sol, and he needed to know. I’d struggled alone for so long, and now I had someone in my life who genuinely cared for me and helped me heal. Not only that, but he gave me the strength to merge my dual natures and come to terms with my lot in life.
    I tightened my hand in his, took a deep breath and held it, then said as I exhaled, “Okay. This is what happened when I was sixteen.”
     
     

The past of Cordelia Kelly
    1879
     
    “Your father will be home soon,” my mother said as we ate breakfast in the small courtyard off the kitchen—a meal featuring poached eggs, toast, and bacon. Despite the late morning sun, a chill ran down my spine underneath my laced purple corset and heavy woolen skirt.
    She set her fork down and wiped her mouth. Her dark blonde hair was brushed to a shine and her face caked with makeup to hide the hollowness of her eyes and cheeks. She stared across the grounds and watched the water stream from the fountain, framed by large fieldstone boulders covered with moss. The sound was comforting on a normal day, but now reminded me of a rushing river of angst.
    “Do you know when? How long do we have?”
    She shook her head. “Just a feeling.”
    I trusted Mom’s intuition. She’d yet to be wrong on dictating father’s returns. I stood at the iron table and wanted to gag, but I forced the bile back and steadied myself with a hand on the metal. “I’ll go tend to the animals.”
    She nodded and closed her eyes, soaking in the last sunshine we’d have in the wake of his impending arrival. “I’ll let the men know, and start the ladies cleaning. Hide what you can, Cordelia. Set free whatever is able to leave.”
    I fought the burning behind my eyes, knowing I’d have to give up my only friends and companions today. My father had been away from our manor for nearly six months, and God, did I wish he’d stay away and leave us in peace.
    The stable at the edge of the field housed my friends. Animals I’d rescued and healed. Some stayed to keep me company; others came and went as they saw fit. Quite a menagerie resided in the cedar barn. I had an owl, whom I’d named