To Owe a Favor

Killian's POV

The Royal Warriors sit in the living area after training. The space is noticeably quieter without Lillianna.

I keep near the drink bar, watching those come and go. Selivan comes through the living area, still in armor, and looking like he just finished his night shift.

"I thought you took the night off for the ball?" I ask. He ignores me. "Hey," I elbow his arm, "What-"

"I blew it, Killian," Selivan leans against the drink counter heavily, "Forgot my shift. Got stuck with the one prince that didn't want to attend the Courting Ball. Told Yasmil last minute that I couldn't go."

Killian nods, "I heard. We got stuck in the same group-"

"Is that why you ditched Lillianna?"

"I didn't ditch-"

"I saw her come back with Prince Elik from where my station was positioned. The poor thing was in distress," he raises his eyebrows at the memory, "Why didn't you switch groups?"

"They didn't allow it. The groups were to meet both fae and shifters. Lillianna was talking with her group for a bit, I saw it."

Selivan rolls his eyes, "And I'm sure Lillianna saw you talking with Yasmil."

I shrug. It's possible.

"She's smitten with you, you know?"

"I- it doesn't matter. She left without saying a word, Yasmil and I had to search the entire kingdom before even thinking about her getting back here somehow."

Selivan chuckles, albeit sullenly, "You don't get it. Lillianna is jealous."

"Of Yasmil?"

Selivan raises a shoulder, "If I didn't know you both, I would've been jealous too, after seeing you together last night. And now I have to see her again at training, maybe explain what happened... again."

I stare at Selivan, jaw hanging, he knows I would never get in the way of him and Yasmil. But that's the point, Lillianna wouldn't know that.

"I need to talk to Lillianna," I say, already walking toward the door.

"I think she left early this morning," Selivan responds. I wave a hand over my shoulder, where would she even go?

I knock on her door. A total of three times before swinging it open fully. Her bed is a mess like she left in a hurry, and the woman in question is nowhere in sight.

With swooping flaps to my wings, I exit Lillianna's room and up to the kitchen quarters where my mothers are bound to be.

I step up to Adrin first, knowing she was the last one to be near Lillianna, "Where is she?"

She sighs, "She needed someone close to her."

"Mom, please. Where is she?" I repeat and Lona gives me a knowing look.

After we had left Lillianna's room, Lona spoke to Yasmil and I. Soothing things and telling us to get some rest. It had been a long night and both of us were worried about Lillianna's whereabouts.

Adrin purses her lips, "She went to see her parents."

"The ones that kidnapped her as a baby?" She doesn't answer my gruff questions, the answer ever-present.

"I'm going to-"

"Killian," Adrin calls out to me before I can completely fly off, "She needs someone to talk to. Just let her see what happens with her parents. They did raise her."

I nod but still set out. Even if she only wants me to fly her back to the kingdom instead of walking.

I know the location of their house well. I'd 'helped' move the main furniture items from the old to the new location, which included dumping their items in the center of the house. They didn't even deserve that.

When I arrive, across the street near a large oak, I look through one of the main windows.

Lillianna is inside, wiping her eyes of tears and smiling at her parents, one on either side of her while they sit on the couch. She looks... relaxed. So different from the constant excitement she has learning about the kingdom and the fae.

I watch for a while longer and am about to take flight when she stands from the couch. Her parents stand as well, and I wonder if she's about to leave. But instead, she turns around and bares her crumpled wings to them. Her mother begins to pry the wings outward.

I don't need to see anything more. In seconds, I'm at the front of the house and barge through the unlocked door.

Everyone freezes but recognition passes on her mother's face. The older woman looks at her daughter and whispers, "Well, that may be a sign." She laughs then, and so does Lillianna.

Her dad walks closer to Killian with his hand outstretched, "Killian, right?"

I ignore his hand, stepping closer to Lillianna and swatting her mom's hands off her wings. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see my parents," Lillianna mumbles.

"You've seen them. And now, we're leaving."

"Have lunch with us," her mother blurts, "It's been months, we want to have lunch with our daughter."

I keep my jaw clenched, knowing that if it opens, I'll denote their parental status. Looking back to Lillianna, I gesture toward her wings, "You'll need a healing solvent soon," I look at her mom, "Before they damage your wings more."

Her dad steps closer, "Woah, we would never try to damage her wings now that they're out. They need to unfurl."

"They can do that on their own," I grumble back.

"Not exactly," her dad says in response. I watch through a glare as he places one hand on each side of her wing, gently rubbing circles around a ridged section. From the base of the wing to the top edge, her dad follows the circular motions until the folds begin to lessen.

Lillianna sighed in relief when the crinkled fold was completely straight, "I can feel them now." She whispers in disbelief, covering her smile with her hands.

I squint at the wing, reaching out carefully to touch the appendage. Lillianna shivers.

I pass a sidelong glance at her father, "How did you know that?"

"When we gave Lillianna medicine to hold back the growth," his eyebrows pinch together and he gently touches the blackened wing, "It was through a new type of fusion medicine."

He stops, but Lillianna's mother continues after a long pause, "It was supposed to fuse and dissolve the wings inside of her. Now that they're out, they need a little help."

The glare is back on my face, and Lillianna's gaze is glued to the floor.

"We always considered Lillianna a daughter of our own." Her dad suddenly adds.

"Of course," I start with venom dripping from my voice, "By keeping her away from the kingdom. Trying to dissolve her wings, oh, and always keeping her sick. Real loving." I dote on them.

"For good reason! The second her secret was found out, we lost her. Our data is now completely skewed-"

"Your data?" Lillianna wrinkles her nose.

Her father grounds, hand fisted in his hair, clearing not meaning for that part to slip out.

"Lillianna, we love you. We always have, and part of that love comes from admiration for being Fae," he tells her.

Lillianna stands fully from her parents, taking a step back, "So, you kept me and hurt me to use me for data? That's not what parents would do." She cries out.

Her mother, annoyed, jabs out, "Then find new ones."

Lillianna gasps, and with a disgruntled look, storms out of the house. I'm not far behind.