I sat alone in my room in a state of shock, unsure what to do with the information I had been given.

Queen Aurelia was my mother, or so she claimed. How could I be the daughter of the Brizan Queen? Wouldn't that make me a Princess or something? And how could a Queen vanish from view for nine months and have a baby without anyone noticing?

I supposed it would explain why she always looked so sad, so lonely.

I thought about what my life would have been like growing up in the Brizan Realm. I had seen their stares over the past few days, the wary looks they gave me when they saw my skin tone, my hair, my eyes—so like theirs and yet so alien. Could I have grown up with that? At least in the Arcan Realm there was enough diversity that I didn't really stand out—until the purple, anyway. Besides, I wouldn't give up my childhood—with Brae, Caleb and Noni—for anything.

What about my father? It didn't sound like he had had much of a say in what happened to me—if he even cared. It might have all been a strategy to him, a way of ruining Aurelia in the eyes of her people. Not that I would have liked growing up in the Helian Realm any more than the Brizan Realm. Sure, it was warm, but the thought of growing up among those people, with their intense desire for control and power, made me shudder.

So, during the Occupation, Queen Aurelia had a relationship with the Helian General, Emmerich LeMarc.

Emmerich LeMarc...

I already knew that name; I had met him in the Helian Realm. My father. I had met my father in the Helian Realm.

He was someone else's father too.

Roxy. Roxanne LeMarc.

Roxy was my half-sister.

And I had left her—all alone—in the Helian Realm, with psychotic Cinaer and her control freak of a mother.

What in the air were they doing to her now? What fate had I left her to?

Darkness was growing outside the window and I headed to bed, knowing that sleep would be almost impossible.

I got changed and pulled the covers up over me anyway. They were soft, silky and cool on my skin. What would it have been like, sleeping in a bed like this growing up, instead of my attic bedroom at Caleb's?

I closed my eyes and dropped into a fitful sleep.

Roxy was running, hard and fast.

The landscape around her was shadowy and alien; full of thick dark trees and plants. Nothing like the Helian Realm I had visited a few weeks ago.

She stumbled, tripping over a branch and falling hard on her arms, scratching her soft, olive skin. She was barefoot, but didn't let that hamper her progress; she was clearly desperate to escape. But from what? I couldn't hear anything pursuing her. She didn't look like someone being chased.

I expected Cinaer to burst into the scene at any moment. His hair the red of dripping blood, flames dancing menacingly from his fingertips, lighting up the manic grin on his face.

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran alongside her, trying desperately to get her attention, to tell her that I was there to help.

My sister.

I could feel her fear, her powerlessness. She wanted, so badly, to use her powers, to spark flames in her palms; her symbol of strength and entitlement. But she didn't—couldn't—for some reason.

In the strange time of the dream, I could see everything about her in crystal clear detail, despite her speed. Water beaded in her eyes, whether they were tears or simply a result of her speed, I couldn't tell.

She must have been exhausted—it was the middle of the night—but she didn't stop and she wasn't going to.

A strange knocking sound broke across the picture, echoing through the trees.

Roxy didn't respond to it though. The picture slowly grew grey.

My eyes snapped open and I realised that the knocking was coming from my own door.

I stood up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and tried to smooth down my hair with my fingers as I went towards the door, swinging it open to reveal Brae.

"Hey," he said, his voice low and melodic.

"Hi," I breathed back, a smile spread across my face.

"I brought you breakfast." He smiled back, holding up a brown paper bag and a couple of steaming mugs.

"Oooh, thanks. Come on in."

I headed straight back to the bed and sat down without really thinking about it. I had sat on my bed with Brae a million times before, eating breakfast, watching films or just talking.

Now, it felt different. Intimate.

I was in half a mind to move when he sat down beside me and handed me one of the pear slices from his bag.

As I bit into it, my stomach churned. Here I was, enjoying breakfast with Brae, while Roxy was out there—somewhere—suffering because I hadn't told Brae what had really happened when we left the Helian Realm.

He lent towards me, kissing me tentatively on the lips, then drew back to watch me, checking that it was okay.

I moved towards him. Maybe I was right to keep him away from Roxy. She was wrong for him; dangerous. Even if she did deserve to be rescued, Brae shouldn't have to risk his life for her; that wasn't fair. As I kissed Brae, my decision suddenly didn't seem so wrong. Especially not when he wound his fingers through my hair, drawing me closer to him.

But I did need to tell him about what had happened last night, at the very least—discovering the identity of my parents wasn't something I could keep secret; especially not from Brae.

"Brae," I started, breaking off from the kiss. "I need to tell you something."

His brow creased in concern. "Is this not okay?"

"No! No! This is, pretty perfect—" I saw the smile spread across his face. "This is about my parents; I've discovered who they are."

{Any Jasmine fans out there who liked this chapter? I know a lot of the Roxy fans are going to find the ending frustrating. Let me know what you think in the comments!}