Chapter 15 Jayne
It had been a while since I’d had a serious talk with my dad like this.
I was not looking forward to it. Not because I thought my dad had done something shady.
I didn’t think that for a moment. But there was so much unknown about this name that I couldn’t help but think I was opening a can of krampers.
And those nasty little ice worms were not to be trifled with.
At least the walk to my dad’s office was slow, giving me time to think. Sin was doing his best to move on the crutches, but the boot wasn’t helping either. We probably should have kept one of the Segways for him. We’d dropped those off after returning to the first floor.
Ezreal had gone back to his office, too. Wasn’t fair to make him come along with us.
As we approached my dad’s office, I glanced at Sin. “Let me start the conversation, okay?”
“Whatever you want.”
“I have no idea how this is going to go, but if he’s going to yell at someone, I’d rather it be me.”
“He won’t yell. You think he’ll yell?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. Probably should have brought JJ. He’d stay calm with JJ in the office.”
“It’s not too late.”
The office was ten yards ahead of us. “I think it is.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He smiled, probably an attempt to reassure me.
But I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
We went into the office. Mrs. Greenbaum, the woman who’d replaced Ezreal as my dad’s administrative assistant, gasped as we entered.
“Princess! And the Prince Consort! What a nice surprise.” She got up from her desk, heading straight to Sin. “I heard about your injury. How are you feeling? So brave protecting our princess like that.”
“Thanks, I …” Sin glanced at me.
I shook my head. I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently the NP rumor mill had churned the story into a heroic tale. I was fine with that. I put my hand on his shoulder. “He doesn’t like talking about it, but he really is brave.”
“Oh, absolutely, I understand. Say, would you like a lingonberry scone? Made them fresh this morning.”
“I would love one.” Her lingonberry scones were literally one of my favorite things, and having a little sugar fortitude before going in to see my dad would be perfect.
“I’m good,” Sin said.
I shot him a look as she went to get the scones. Maybe he didn’t want one, but he could give his to me.
“On second thought, I’d love one, too,” he said after correctly interpreting my look.
She came back with the lidded container, opening it as she approached us. The whiff of those sweet tangy berries and the light vanilla glaze she put on the scones made my mouth water like Niagara Falls.
I picked the biggest one I could see and since Sin had crutches to deal with, picked out the second biggest one for him. “Is my dad in?”
“He is. He’s in a meeting with the head of the tinkers guild right now, but I don’t think he’ll be much longer if you want to wait.”
“We do.” I took a bite of my scone as we took seats. The flavors I’d been smelling filled my mouth with such deliciousness that Sin’s chances of actually eating his scone went down dramatically.
“Mmm, this is so good. I think scones must be your superpower, Mrs. Greenbaum.”
She smiled, back at her desk. “I do put a lot of love into them. How’s the princeling doing?”
“He’s doing great, thank you for asking.”
Now that he was seated, Sin helped himself to the second scone. I frowned at him, but I knew he loved the scones, too.
I held up the last bite of my scone. “Any chance I could get another one?”
“Help yourself, Princess. Take as many as you want.”
“Thank you.” I took two. They were small.
I was just finishing the last bite when the door to my dad’s office opened and the head of the tinkers guild, whom I immediately recognized, walked out. “Stanley Kinder?”
The man turned, saw me, and nodded. “Princess Jayne and Prince Consort Sinclair. How lovely to see you both.”
He was the tinker who’d won the Tinkers Tourney some years ago and almost lost his win to a cheater who was trying to pass off the same toy invention as his own.
Thankfully, Sin and I had figured out there was nefarious business going on and made everything right.
“It’s great to see you, Stanley. How are you? ”
“I’m wonderful.” He gave us a big smile. “Congratulations on the birth of your son.”
“Thank you,” Sin said.
With a bow to my father, Stanley left.
My dad looked at us, brows raised. “Everything all right?”
I nodded. “We just need to talk to you. If you have time.”
“I always have time for my daughter and son-in-law.” He gestured toward the interior of his office. “Mrs. Greenbaum, hold my calls.”
She gave him a nod as we went in. We took seats while he moved behind his desk, which was made of ice. It was a show of power, one that took him very little effort and had great effect.
He rested his elbows on the surface, steepling his fingers, his expression still looking like he was pleased to see us. “So what’s going on?”
I gave him a quick smile. “It’s a strange thing, but I don’t know who else to talk to about it, so here we are.
There’s a name on the guest list for JJ’s Naming Day that’s been magically redacted.
The same name was probably magically redacted from your Naming Day, too.
But it was still present on the official lists in cold storage. ”
His mouth thinned.
I asked the question I’d come to ask. “Who is Janvier Frost? Has to be a woman, right?”
His hands flattened on the desk, and his gaze dropped. If I had to guess what was going on, I’d say he was searching for the right words, but my father wasn’t often speechless.
“Dad? What is it? You can tell me.”
“I had hoped I’d never have to.” His gaze met mine, then he glanced at Sinclair. “You have to understand, this is not something we speak about.”
I inched forward in my seat. “What isn’t? Who is she?”
He sighed, his breath curling out in an icy cloud. “By six minutes, she is my older sister and my fraternal twin.”
It was my turn to be speechless, although it didn’t last long. “You have a twin? An older sister? I have an aunt? Shouldn’t she be queen?”
He held his hand up. “Yes, I have a twin. Your aunt. And yes, she should be queen. She would be, if she hadn’t renounced the crown and her royal lineage. She made the decision to leave the North Pole and abdicated her claim to the Winter Throne.”
I was reeling from this information. “Why would she do that?”
“Because she fell in love with a human and decided to marry him.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh.”
Sin looked at me. “Is that a big deal?”
I gave him a quick, firm nod. “Marrying other supernaturals isn’t a big deal, but if you were human, I’d have had to do the same thing.”
My father leaned forward. “A human cannot become part of the royal family, not if it impacts the heir who will ascend to the throne. That elf, being half-blooded, would never have the power needed to be the Winter King or Queen.” He shook his head.
“It’s a law of necessity, not bias. An elf who cannot control winter cannot rule the North Pole. ”
I still didn’t fully understand. “Why did she leave? She could have stayed here and lived her life as a princess, just no longer in the line of succession. Right?”
My dad nodded with sadness in his eyes. “She could have. I tried to make her see that, but she wouldn’t listen. Insisted that there was no reason she couldn’t still be queen. But when she realized that was not going to be allowed, she refused to stay. It was too …”
He looked off into the distance, maybe replaying the scene in his head. “She was embarrassed and too proud to back down from her demands. There was nothing for her to do but apologize. Or leave.”
In a quiet voice, Sin said, “So she chose to leave.”
My dad sat back, one hand still on the desk.
It was odd to feel the loss of someone I’d never known, but that’s exactly how I felt. “Do you ever talk to her? Do you know where she is?”
“I haven’t spoken to her since I was twenty-one. Every once in a while, I hear a snippet, a rumor of a woman that might be her. I’ve written letters to addresses she was supposed to be at. Never had a reply. I really don’t know what’s become of her. I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
“I’m so sorry, Dad.”
“Thank you.”
“Does Mom know about her? Do Uncle Kris and Aunt Martha?”
“Yes, they all know. But it’s not a subject we ever discuss. I’m sorry for not telling you, but once she was frozen out, the decision was made.” He raised his fingers as if there was nothing more to say.
There wasn’t, because I understood. I shook my head. “Frozen out. Wow.” No wonder no one talked about her. “Dad, did you take her Naming Day guest list out of cold storage?”
Slowly, he nodded. “I did. I removed it and tucked it behind the cabinet. Tradition says it’s to be shattered, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that.”
“What’s frozen out mean?” Sin whispered.
“Being frozen out is as good as being exiled,” I said. “The person isn’t spoken of at all. Of course, in this case she did it to herself, but it’s the same thing.”
“She did,” my dad said quietly. “She was stubborn and in love and couldn’t see reason because the only answer she would accept was getting her way. She insisted the throne would be hers.”
Silence stretched out, the kind that came from knowing there were no words that could make anything better.
Sin cleared his throat gently. “Why would someone kill Delton over this?”
My dad looked at us, frowning. “What do you mean?”
Sin answered him. “We were in the archives to get a copy of the guest list so Jayne could see whose name was redacted from the list, but someone got to the book before we did and tore the pages out. The book was in the same aisle where Delton’s body was.
Right above it, actually. I find it hard to believe the two aren’t related. ”
My dad blinked. “It makes no sense. No one is supposed to talk about Janvier or even mention her name, which was why her name would have been redacted, but it’s not such a secret that a man should have been killed over it.”
“Except,” I said, “he was.”
Sin stuck his booted foot straight out in front of him. “Is there any chance there are citizens still loyal to your sister who might be unhappy about JJ? He might not be half human, but he’s certainly not a hundred percent winter elf.”
That was a thought I didn’t want to entertain. That my son might be in danger because someone thought him unfit for the throne.
My father shook his head. “I don’t think so. I know there have been some who were displeased Jayne didn’t marry a winter elf, but you’ve proven yourself over and over to be a worthy partner to her and a strong supporter of the kingdom. All the same, if you want, I will assign you some security.”
“Might be a good idea,” I said. “I don’t like that Sin or JJ might be in danger. Look what happened with Gregory.” The former palace steward had kidnapped Sinclair and tried to frame him as a cheater to ruin things between us and keep me from marrying him.
I was so glad Ezreal was in that role now.
Sin put his hand on my arm. “Nothing will happen to JJ. I promise you that.”
My dad nodded. “I will make you the same promise. No harm will come to that child.”
“I know you both mean well, but the only way those promises can be kept is if we find out who killed Delton and bring them to justice.”
“Agreed,” my dad said. “So long as JJ is safe with either Sinclair’s parents or aunt, your aunt and uncle, or your mother and myself, you and Sin are free to investigate as you see fit. I know what you’re capable of, and I’m not about to stop you now.”