“To hide the truth.”
“What truth?” Aledwen pressed.
“That I killed the previous princess,” her mother shouted.
Shock rippled through the room, and even Aledwen was taken aback. That hadn’t been what she’d expected her mother to admit. At least not so easily, and not quite so brutally. In her imagination, the worst they were going to have to deal with was power stripping. This was just a completely different level.
“Leave us,” she ordered the fae, her voice scarily commanding even to herself. “And send in some of the guards.”
The fae were quick to leave and
she wasn’t surprised. They probably didn’t want to be around for the drama that was about to happen. She didn’t really want to be either. But this was her job now.
“How did you kill her?” Aledwen’s voice shook. How could it not? She was inquiring after someone’s death.
“It was an accident...”
“Tell us,” she ordered.
Slowly, she watched the Queen crumple in on herself as the words sprung forth. A hunting accident is what it sounded like, though there was no real way of verifying that. Cold fury settled in Aledwen as the whole story unfolded. Basically, they’d covered the whole thing up. Anyone who was around at the same time as the flame haired princess still saw her when they looked at the current Queen.
“And you hid me away because...”
“No one would have believed you were from the same line.”
“How could you do that to a child?” Brandon half-shouted.
“I had no choice. It was that, or let the world know what had happened.”
“Why didn’t you just explain?” Aledwen asked. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I could have been killed,” her mother spat out.
“So you decided to pretend to be Queen instead?”
“No. I pretended to be the princess. When my eighteenth birthday came, the true powers transferred to me, and I became the princess in truth and not just in name.” Anger seeped through every word, but Aledwen was having none of this. There had been decades in which her mother could have come clean, and yet she never had. That was more telling than anything.
“So where does that leave us? You’re the proper Queen now, and I’m what?” She was genuinely curious, and genuinely a little concerned.
“You’re still the princess if that’s what you want to know. The powers are ours. Is that really all you care about?” Her mother’s disgust flowed through her.
“No. I care about our people, and not lying to them. If there’s another person waiting to take my place, then I want to know something about it. That way, I can actually have a civil conversation before they end up thinking I stole their powers, like you stole their mother’s.” She’d never been so angry in her life, and something unfamiliar bubbled under the surface. Maybe she was finally getting the magic she so needed. They did say that the truth set people free.
“There is no one else. And if you think you’re ready for this...” her mother snarled, but backed off quickly when Drey hissed, and the twins glared at her with narrowed eyes.
“No, I’m not ready for this. I’ve never had an opportunity to get to know our people, or learn about my position or my magic, but I’ll do a damned sight better than lying to them for decades.”
“You think it’s so easy...” her mother started again.
“Guards, please place her under house arrest. In her quarters please, and still deliver the necessary comforts. I’ll let the people decide what to do with her.” Her voice held strong, surprising her. She almost didn’t expect that to be the case. There was so much going on in her head after all.
The four guards in the room nodded, and did exactly as she bid, receiving a surprisingly small amount of resistance from her mother. While they’d started getting things sorted out, Aledwen was well aware there was more to do than just putting her away.
“Are you okay?” Cyprus asked softly, once the room had been vacated by all except her and the four men.
She nodded, looking between them, and noticing Fane’s discomfort. She didn’t know what was going on there. .But she’d need to find out soon.
Eighteen