Instant and truthful. “I don’t know who the father was.” Christ, I needed to get him off this line of questioning, so I went with the only thing I could to distract him, lifting her in his direction. “I know you said you would never lay a finger on her, but would you mind holding her while I eat since you don’t appear to be too hungry?” Yeah, there we go. He appeared a bit startled, his hard face cracking. “I’m starving, and it’s difficult to eat while holding her.”
And, as I knew he would since this was a formal dinner and he had tortured me, he slowly lifted his massive arms to take her from my grip, giving me a quick glare. She whimpered quietly going into a stranger’s hands, and peered back at me, but as soon as King Zeller tucked her against his body protectively, she made a cooing sound and ducked her head under his chin. She snuggled into his warmth, keeping a watchful eye on me to make sure I wasn’t leaving entirely. I smiled at her encouragingly then glanced up at King Zeller, saying, “Thank you.”
He grunted, his grip on Isa tightening, appearing massive compared to her. “She’s tiny.”
Covertly, I sniffed, and even though I could have blatantly called him on his earlier lie, since he reeked of protectiveness while holding her, I murmured, “She’s perfect as she is.” Lifting my silverware from the table, I blinked — my eyes flittering back and forth between King Zeller and Isa. I froze again, feeling light-headed, my vision dimming, heart rate shooting into a wild gallop. If she looked like me…well, the dual pairs of spring green eyes staring back at me, the mocha skin, the arched eyebrows, Isa’s red and his black…
The knife and fork in my hands began to shake as I sucked in a harsh breath, my body visibly trembling as, unbidden, I whispered, “Impossible.”
And it was. The Law that had mind raped me not only spelled the two who had broken the Law to not remember one another, it spelled them to be separated, never to see each other again. I shook my head, ignoring the way King Zeller’s eyebrows were beginning to furrow. It couldn’t be. There was no way. He just had to look damn near identical or be a great representation of the man I had been with. Hell, of the man I had loved and who had loved me in return.
King Zeller asked, “Are you feeling all right, Queen Ruckler?” His brows pinched even more as he glanced at my hands on my plate. “Perhaps you should eat if it’s been a while.”
An odd noise left my throat, but I was feeling a bit of sanity return at knowing this had to be pure madness on my part, and I turned my attention to Antonio next to me. And all air escaped me as he held my gaze with the most utterly blank expression I had ever seen on him, which was saying something.
Holy shit.
Instinct had my gaze darting to Elder Zeller. I choked, seeing the same expression there.
No way.
My gaze to Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs was returned in the exact same fashion.
I was hyperventilating — yes, hyperventilating — as the knife and fork fell from my limp fingers to my plate, clattering loudly. As I sucked air harshly, the noise loud and high-pitched to my ears, my gaze swung to King Zeller. His eyes were darting everywhere mine had, to the mute and motionless Elders around us, then back to mine. For the first time ever — in what I could remember — he showed confusion as he stared, his gaze swinging back and forth between my eyes.
Quickly, watching as I grabbed at my chest, he asked, “What am I missing?”
I sucked in air again, blinking hard, then pointed a shaking finger at him, wheezing, “You said you were at King Cave?”
Instantly, his eyes hooded, guarding any expression he might show. “Yes.”
“When?”
His eyebrows furrowed even further. “Directly after the attacks began.”
“What do you remember of King Cave?”
Lazily, he drawled, “Now, that’s an odd question to ask.”
Too bad his tense body didn’t reflect his calm words.
I stared. “Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.” A half-hysterical laugh escaped me as my attention snapped to Antonio. “Am I right?” I paused. “But how the fuck is it possible?”
No answer. No expression whatsoever.
My attention turned to Elder Zeller because he was acting exactly the same. “Can you speak about this?” My gaze darted furtively between his dark orbs. “Am I right?”
No answer. No expression whatsoever.
My gaze turned to Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs…who had the same blank expressions. “Oh. My. God.” My eyes were wide. Huge, in fact. I know they were as they swung back to King Zeller, another half-hysterical laugh bubbling as I stared, evaluating him. “I don’t even like you.”
Clear confusion was now displayed on his handsome face as he murmured, “The feeling’s mutual.” He leaned forward and whispered harshly, “What the fuck is going on?”
I countered, leaning forward and keeping eye contact, and asked bluntly, even if barely above a whisper as I was automatically conscious of confidentiality, “Were you mind raped a little over a year ago? Origins at King Cave?” I pointed to my head with a shaky finger. “Blank, black spots going back for some time?”