Claimed by the vampire prince

Chapter 448: Chapter 448

The fire had been burning for some time.

Circe sat before it, her hands on her lap as she stared at the flames. The room was warm.

She had not wanted to think about Mirelle.

She had told herself not to on the walk back from the dungeons, and again when she had changed out of her clothes, and again when she had lowered herself into the chair and drawn her feet up beneath her. She had said it to herself like a command.

She had done what she went to the dungeons to do. She had said what needed to be said. There was no use in revisiting the memory over it again.

And yet. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

You were so ready to spread your legs like a whore for the bastard prince.

The words played in her mind repeatedly and was now determined that she not forget a single syllable.

I did what I believed was necessary. Someone had to.

It pained her that this was what she had been reduced to in their eyes. She never imagined that her own countryman would see her as a traitor for falling in love with Ragnar or even hate her enough to want to harm her like that.

She was angry at herself for letting it take up so much space in her mind.

She was still sitting there, when the knock came at the door. Her thoughts scattered at the sound.

"Enter," she called.

The door creaked open, and Rowen stepped inside.

Something in her chest eased the moment she saw him. She spread her arms wide, beckoning him over without a word. He didn’t need to be told twice.

He crossed the room quickly and walked straight into her arms, and she held him for a moment, her chin tipped down toward the top of his head.

She had barely seen him in days since she was ill.

When they finally stepped apart, Rowen looked up at her with concern.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked. "His highness said you were sick."

"I was," Circe said. "But I’m feeling much better." She paused, then added carefully, "Is that all he told you?"

"He also said that you’re pregnant."

"That’s right." She watched his face as she said the next part, gauging his reaction. "In a few months, you’re going to be an uncle."

Rowen’s brow furrowed. "Aren’t I too young to be someone’s uncle?"

"You might be young," she said, "but I have no doubt you’ll be a good one."

The furrow smoothed over immediately. His whole face changed. He was so pleased by her answer that he could barely hold still, and when he smiled it lit up his face.

"I’ll be the best uncle," he said confidently. "And when the baby is old enough, I’ll teach them how to handle a bow."

Circe laughed softly. Her child wasn’t even born yet and he was already making plans for them. She reached out and cupped his face in both hands, tilting it upward gently.

"I am so proud of the person you’re growing up to be," she said. "My child would be lucky to be anything like you."

He beamed.

A strange feeling settled in Circe’s chest.

Her mother didn’t know this boy. Thalora had never held him the way Circe was holding him now. She had never seen that smile or heard the particular sound of his laugh. She didn’t know how his face looked when he was excited, or how seriously he took his training, or how hard he was trying, at every turn, to be someone worth being proud of. All of that had happened without her. And Rowen, for his entire life, had grown up without ever once feeling the full weight of their mother’s love.

Thalora was only a few halls away.

Circe thought about the last time they had spoken. She did not regret all of what she said, she just wished she had ended the discussion on a better note.

Her attention had drifted further than she’d realized, because she barely heard a single word when Rowen spoke again.

"You look lost in thought." He tilted his head. "What’s on your mind?"

Circe looked at him for a moment. Then she made a decision.

"There’s something I need to tell you," she said. "Come sit with me."

Then she exhaled and reached over to take his hand, drawing him gently down to sit beside her. "There is something I should have told you sooner."

His expression shifted, settling into something more serious. "What is it?"

She chose her words carefully. "You know that I have always tried to protect you. Even when that meant not telling you things straight away." She felt him watching her and pressed on. "But this is not something I can keep from you any longer. Our mother is alive."

"What?" he said, almost too softly to hear.

"She is alive," Circe repeated. "She is here, in this manor. She has been recovering in one of the rooms just down the hall. Do you remember when you went missing?"

"Yes." His voice was careful. "You came for me."

"I did," she said. "But you weren’t the only one I found that day."

Rowen stared at her, confused. "But— everyone said she died. You said—"

"I know what was said and I am sorry for it. I only learned the truth myself not long ago, and I have been trying to find the right way to tell you."

"She is really here?" He looked uncertain.

"Yes."

"And she is alive?" he pressed. "Truly?"

"Truly."

He was quiet again. She could see him turning her words over in his mind, trying to make sense of it alongside everything he had believed for years. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Why did everyone think she was dead?" he finally asked.

"I don’t have the answer for that yet," Circe said. "But the most important thing you need to know right now is that she is here and alive. Our mother is a bit different as well. She is a fae."

She told him what it meant. She told him about the cave, about the night he had gone missing, about finding them both and bringing them back here.

Through all of it, Rowen listened without interrupting. He had always been that way, attentive when something mattered, almost unnervingly so for his age.

When she finished, silence settled over the room again. The fire popped softly.

"She is truly just down the hall?" he asked at last.

"Yes."

He looked down at his hands for a moment. Then back up at her. There was no anger on his face. No accusation. Just curiosity and a look that showed he was contemplating on all that he had been told.

"Can I see her?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, seeing no reason to refuse him. "I will take you to her whenever you want."