Years of childish curiosity and unanswered questions were followed by hatred and denial, and then a partial acceptance of his illegitimacy at the cost of convincing himself that he did not care who his father had been. Yet it had all been strategy, a way to make his existence acceptable in his own mind. Lies, merciful lies, and it had torn at Lainon’s heart to watch Fel’annár’s made-up world disintegrate upon the wind like autumn leaves upon a sharp breeze. To Fel’annár’s mind, his father had abandoned him—he had been unwanted. What he had always feared was the truth.
