\u201cWho is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEsme Blackwell,\u201d he said, shocking me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes grew wide, and my mouth felt dry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEsme Blackwell is here to see me?\u201d I asked, even more confused now. \u201cAlone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but I won\u2019t let her be alone with you,\u201d Gavin said, his eyes never leaving mine. \u201cWhatever she needs to say to you can be said in front of me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded without hesitation, my heart racing in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d I say without thought. \u201cBut I\u2019d like to speak with her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded, like he already knew I would say that, and it made me smile knowing that he wasn\u2019t going to argue\u00a0<\/p>\n
with me about this. He went over to the door and pulled it open. He stepped out into the hallway, and I could hear low murmured voices. And then suddenly, Esme Blackwell was stepping into the room, and Gavin was there beside her, keeping his eyes on her like he was afraid she would try something right in front of him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re here\u2026\u201d I whispered, disbelief riddling my voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Esme nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was speaking\u2026 my heart was practically in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cY\u2026you\u2019re talking,\u201d I stammered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am,\u201d she said again. \u201cThere is much we need to discuss, but first\u2026 are we safe to speak freely here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was directing her question at Gavin. He nodded without hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s safe here. Say what you need to say.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Esme turned to look at me again, her eyes shining with adoration and something I hadn\u2019t seen from her before\u2026 was it love? Why would she be looking at me like she loved me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen you since you were only a baby,\u201d she breathed, stepping closer. \u201cI have missed you so much\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cY\u2026 you knew that I was switched?\u201d I asked, needing her to admit it out loud\u2026 to confirm what I already knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said. \u201cI watched her switch you\u2026 I tried to stop her, to tell her that there was another way, but she cursed me into silence, and I couldn\u2019t speak a word after that. I couldn\u2019t move either\u2026 I was rooted to the ground, my body no longer acting as my own. That was the last time I had ever seen her\u2026or seen you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you moving now?\u201d I asked. \u201cHow are you speaking if she cursed you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she returned and undid the magic that held me hostage,\u201d she explained. \u201cShe is after redemption\u2026. speaking with your parents as we speak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My frown deepened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cM\u2026my parents?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
425 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour real parents\u2026 my son Zachary and his wife, Selene. They are your true parents, Judy. It was always meant to be you\u2026 never Lila. She is the true daughter of Megan Churchill and Ryder Thomas, a rogue who was killed at the hands of Arthur Churchill.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s all true then\u2026\u201d I whispered, my mind whirling with this information.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes\u2026 Everything is true. Cora told me how you went to see her, and she told you the entire story and that she plans to speak with Zachary and Selene as well. She\u2019s done running from the past\u2026. She misses her family and wishes to redeem herself. \u201cYour magic had been restored to you\u2026 And now you must be warned that you are not safe\u2026 the Churchills can detect you now. All Alphas everywhere felt the shift\u2026 the moment your magic was restored\u2026 they could feel it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shift?\u201d Gavin asked. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel any shift.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you were too preoccupied with the fact that your mate was hurt,\u201d Esme explained. \u201cWhich is understood \u2026 but if her well-being wasn\u2019t in question, you would have felt it just as well as the others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShift or not, I\u2019m not going to let anything happen to Judy or our baby,\u201d Gavin said, protectively, and made my\u00a0<\/p>\n
heart warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know she is safe\u2026\u201d Esme said, giving Gavin a pointed look. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t come for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let them,\u201d Gavin said, a snarl to his words. \u201cI\u2019ll put a stop to them just as I\u2019ve always done. The Churchills won\u2019t get near my mate or anyone in my family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you aren\u2019t going to be alone,\u201d another voice said from the doorway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to see Zachary and Selene entering, and behind them stood none other than Cora.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ENJOYING THE BOOK?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Give it a rating to show your support!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\ud83d\ude42\u00a0<\/p>\n
+2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We Built a Kingdom From Ashes That Still Remembered Love by Aila Frost 855 \u201cWho is it?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cEsme Blackwell,\u201d he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shadow-slave-by-author-novelnozi-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}