“We are badass princesses, after all,” I offered. “Daughters of a badass queen.”
The captain looked confused. Stammered. “I don’t understand this phrase. You all seem to have perfectly good backsides to me.”
Trinity laughed, which was so unlike her, but seeing the uptight and formal captain so flustered was fun. Leave it to Faith to be having opposite day. As usual.
“But who could it be?” Faith asked. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Who’s left alive?” I added. “Or, who can we rule out because they’re dead?”
“My parents,” Thor said and Faith leaned into him, took his hand in hers and kissed the back of it.
“Almost everyone in the building that blew up,” I said and Nix grumbled to himself.
“We have a list of names. It is extensive. There was also Zel,” Leo
added, and explained to Mom about the queen’s guard who had tried to kidnap Trinity during the fancy reception. Another bit of excitement I’d missed because I was busy pretending to be a nun.
“As we all know, Lord Wyse,” Faith offered. “He arrested me and tried to have me taken to a scary prison. And poor Radella,” Faith said, looking down at her and Thor’s joined hands. “Her dad’s dead, her mate is dead and her son is in prison.”
Apparently, Trinity agreed. “I can’t imagine having that creep for a father. Lord Wyse was vile. And so was that scarred jerk who was always following him around.” She shuddered. “He disappeared. Maybe we should start looking for him.”
“No need.” The queen spoke immediately as she held up one hand. “He’s dead. Killed by the clerics who took me from Lord Wyse.”
“Killed by the clerics?” Captain Turaya asked.
“Yes,” Mom replied. “The last few days, I’ve been held by clerics.”
“And you are certain he’s dead?” he wondered.
“Yes,” she repeated. “They killed him in my cell and dragged his body out after. He's dead as a doornail.” That small grin on Mom’s face was for me. I grinned back.
The clerics had had her for days. Shit. I’d been soooo close. So damn close. “Contact Amandine,” I said. “She’s a good guy. I know for sure. Maybe she can help.”
“Amandine? Is she still alive, then?” Mom asked. By the smile on her face, she seemed pleased with the news.
“You knew her?” I asked.
Mom nodded. “She and my mother—the previous queen—were very close friends. She was Aunt Ama to me when I was young.”
I was glad to see at least one happy memory of this planet existed in Mom’s head, but this wasn’t helping us get anywhere. “There’s no way it was the clerics. At least not officially. Amandine sent her best to search the Optimus Unit prison. She’d heard there was an unauthorized prisoner there and she was determined to find out what was going on.”
“What happened to that cleric? Where is he?” Leo asked.
“He’s dead,” I replied. God, everyone was dead! “I found his body the next morning when I followed him out of the main hall. I was questioned and taken to Amandine. That’s how I know she’s one of the good ones. We can trust her.”
Mom nodded, chin resting in her hand. Thinking. “Where is my cousin, Radella? How was it that her father, her mate and her son were all involved and she knew nothing?”
4
Destiny
“She’s not my favorite person, but she was a total wreck when everything went down,” Trinity said. “I don’t know if she’s that good of an actress. She had a total meltdown when we locked up Pawl—her son.” She added the last since Mom probably didn’t know anything about him. “And while I feel bad that her mate is dead, the guy was a jerk.”
“Once an asshole, always an asshole,” Mom clarified. Faith covered a laugh with her hand over her mouth. “The same goes for his father. You might need to be diplomatic, sweetheart, but not only did Lord Wyse try to hurt Faith, but he came to see me while I was being held prisoner. He took great pleasure in gloating. He really was an asshole. He wanted the necklace, he made that abundantly clear.”
“For himself?” Trinity asked, eyes wide. “The necklace would do him no good.”
“Lord Wyse was my cousin, and so was Radella, obviously, as his daughter, therefore of royal descent. It would explain the need for the necklace. Without it, they had no power.”