“So, you were treated poorly. Questioned about the royal necklace.” Trinity was back in analyst mode. “What else?”
Faith’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “Someone wanted the necklace? Did they find it?”
Mom shook her head. “That night.” She tipped her head toward Captain Turaya. “When I went into the citadel, I hid it. No one knows of its whereabouts, but me.”
That was a lie, of course. Mom knew where it was, but so did we. We’d made sure it was still in that hidden compartment inside the citadel when we’d first arrived. We had all agreed it was safest to leave it where our mother had kept it hidden all these years. And we’d been right to protect it. Someone kidnapped Mom to get the necklace. “If they want the necklace, then someone thinks they can take the throne.”
“But what if…” Leo lifted his chin. “I beg your pardon for speaking plainly, but what if your spire had dimmed? The necklace would have been lost forever.”
She shook her head. “No.” Her gaze flicked to each of us, nearly too quickly for anyone to notice. But Nix did. His hand still rested over mine on his thigh, and I felt his muscles tense.
“The royal jewels will remain hidden until I decide to retrieve them.” She said nothing more, and I glanced around the table. It didn’t answer Leo’s question, but he didn’t point that out.
“Why would someone want the royal necklace? What use is it without the queen herself?” Thor asked. “With no spire lit, there is no heir. The jewels are worthless without an heir.”
Mom looked to him, smiled. “A common belief, but not correct. The citadel chooses who shall rule. How the ancients created such a gift, I do not know, but the citadel is more than a building. More than stone. The citadel is alive. Intelligent. If the royal line were truly to die out, I am sure the citadel would choose another to rule in our place.”
“So if someone wanted to rule, but wasn’t the queen or a descendent, they would need the necklace,” Thor offered. “And what? Hope that by having the necklace the citadel would make him or her the true ruler of Alera?”
“Correct.”
“What?” What the hell was Mom talking about? I’d never heard this before. “Mom, are you telling me that if they actually managed to wipe us all out, they could actually take over and rule the planet?”
Mom thought for a moment, tilted her head. “It is possible. But not likely. The citadel sees all, and would likely not reward such dishonorable behavior.”
“It really is alive?” Thor seemed fascinated by the fact. Me? I was not amused. Not in the least.
“Not alive, as we are,” she answered. “But an ancient intelligence dwells within. I cannot explain it or tell you more.”
Well damn and double damn. I was going to be spending some time in the citadel. See what I could see. What Mom was describing was the most amazing artificial intelligence ever conceived, and it was millennia old. Five millennia, at least. No. More. That was more like ten… ten thousand years.
Holy shit.
“Then the person who kidnapped you wanted you dead and the necklace for himself,” Nix said. He’d been quiet until now, but clearly analyzing everything. “Or herself.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to consider the possibilities,” Mom said. “Years. You said there have been attempts on your lives as well since you’ve been here. I was found… after all this time. I was kidnapped and brought to Alera and questioned after the necklace. But then—”
“Oh my god,” I said, cutting Mom off, everyone’s heads whipping my way. “But then we arrived. Whoever wanted the necklace never expected the queen to have kids. Daughters to take over.”
“Very good, love,” Mom said, beaming. She looked to Captain Turaya. “I was pregnant with Trinity when I fled.”
The older man’s mouth fell open as he processed the words. “I never knew. Then Trinity is full Aleran, King Mykel’s daughter?”
“My true heir.” She took Trinity’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
Trinity looked to me and Faith, then stuck out her tongue. “The heir and the spares,” she singsonged, but I knew she was only playing around.
“Trinity can be queen,” I said, looking to Nix. “I don’t like people that much.”
Nix leaned forward hooked his hand behind my neck in a very possessive gesture. “You like me.”
“All right, you two,” Faith complained. “We had to wait forever for you to come up for air.”
“Like you weren’t well-occupied,” Thor said in a low voice. The way Faith blushed, I had to assume they’d made use of the time in very pleasurable ways.
Captain Turaya was the one who cleared his throat, yet smiled.
“Someone wanted to take over the throne by getting the royal necklace from you, then killing you,” Leo said, clearly not into the teasing. “But when it was discovered you had heirs, when the three extra spires lit, their plans went to hell. They had four females to kill, not one.” His gaze darted around the table, between us girls. “And they had one hell of a time finding you. Nicely done.”