"She's not your daughter."
The words came out of me with more strength than I felt, with more certainty than I had any right to claim. But I said them anyway because letting Daemon think he had any claim to Arianna was unacceptable.
"Isn't she?" Daemon moved closer, his shade rippling around him like a living thing. "Look at her, Princess. Really look. See the shadow magic radiating from her tiny body. That's my power. My curse. My legacy passed on through the ritual that created her. She's mine in every way that matters."
"Biology isn't destiny. Magic isn't parenthood. I carried her. I gave birth to her. I'm her mother and Kael is her father. You're nothing but the monster who tried to steal her."
