Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Their lost daughter.
A princess.
Commander of Minds.
I’d heard of the royal couple’s fated third child over the seasons. Everyone had. Stories of her great power and vicious tricks still circulated through the kingdom to this day.
I’d always thought it was interesting that we shared the same first name and similar magic, even if she’d been hated, but I hadn’t thought anything of it because she’d died long ago.
But all along, our name had been the same, because she was me, and I was her.
The royals’ third daughter had never died. I had lived.
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head vigorously. “If all of this is true, if I’m truly Princess Primelle, and my entire life has been a lie, then why tell me this now? Why no longer keep my identity a secret?”
The king, my father, nodded. “It’s because of what happened.
When we learned that Timith grew sick from an unknown ailment, we began to wonder if you were still safe, and we now know that you’re not and that someone does know who you truly are.
And if your true identity has been leaked, then carrying on the farce that you died no longer serves its purpose.
We only ever did that to hide you and protect you, but since your identity has been exposed, you deserve to claim your birthright and rightful place in your true family, and as our daughter, we can protect you better in the palace, much more than we could at Gwen and Timith’s. ”
The palace. Of course.
That was why I was still in Whiteolf. Kole had simply transported me to the royal’s residence. It also completely explained the opulence and finery. And it confirmed why Kole had followed my father’s orders.
Just as fast, another fact hit me like a thousand bolts of lightning, and a hailstorm of hope surged through me.
I jumped to my feet. “But if you’re the king and queen, then you can demand the Imperial Council return my Stone.
I can still save Timith! The Council is required by law to listen to you! ”
I looked at both of them wide-eyed, hope growing in me so suddenly that a smile bloomed upon my face, and a spark of my inherent joy flowed through me again.
“We can save him!” I nearly clapped in happiness.
“But we need to act now. You need to demand that the Imperial Council return the Stone to me this instant. Timith doesn’t have much time.
Please, we need to hurry. We can’t let him become whatever that potion is making him. You have to help me cure him.”
The response I expected to see, the widening eyes as that realization hit them too, then their frantic agreement, never came.
Instead, Russem’s expression crumpled, and grief leaked into his aura.
Oleander’s did the same.
Knees buckling, I fell back to the couch, and my words turned wooden. “I don’t understand. Why are you not acting? Surely, you realize after what Timith and Gwenery did for you, and did for me, that you owe him that much.”
“Prim . . .” Opalin’s—no, my mother’s voice—shook. “The Imperial Council took the Stone upon our orders.”
I whipped my head back as though slapped. “What?”
My father tried to put his arm around my shoulders, but I scooted away. “You’re the reason my uncle’s becoming a monster?”
“Prim, please,” my mother pleaded. “The Stone is the only way to guarantee we find who’s after you. Whoever it is, they’re back. We’ve learned that much from the questioning the Imperial Council’s done with Verin, but we need the Stone to reveal who’s at the heart of this.”
“How did you even know Verin was a part of it?”
“We didn’t at first,” my father replied, “but since Verin is relatively new to your household, as we’ve always done with newcomers in your life, we had her followed.
And several things began to alert us to things being off.
She would tell your aunt she was going to buy goods at one market but instead would go to another.
She oftentimes would go out at night when it was harder to see details of her actions, and she was able to thwart the fae we’d employed to follow her several times.
That’s something a normal fairy, without specific training, would not be able to do.
We grew suspicious, and we were going to demand that she be removed from your household, but then your uncle grew sick, and Verin didn’t sneak off again.
But when Jamie found that potion in Verin’s room last night, we realized our initial suspicions had been correct. ”
I frowned heavily, shaking my head. “I don’t understand. If you have Verin, just make her tell you who’s behind it by using a truth potion on her. Save the Stone for Timith.”
My father ran a hand over his face, his expression haggard.
“It’s not that simple. Believe me, I wish it was, but Verin was interrogated last night.
As you already deduced, she was forced to ingest a truth potion and was also commanded by a fairy with mental magic to speak the truth.
That magic made her reveal that she was at your home for an ulterior motive and that the servant who previously worked for your aunt and uncle didn’t decide to move away by chance.
They were bribed. All of it was planned, and Verin even revealed that the fairy she’s working for is the same fairy who tried to assassinate you as a child.
It’s all tied together.” His eyes dimmed.
“But a block has been put in Verin’s mind.
She’s unable to reveal who’s employed her or reveal any hints that would lead us to their identity.
Not even truth potions and commanding magic can pull that information from her. ”
“A block?”
“It’s very powerful, advanced magic.” His nostrils flared, and he shook his head.
“It’s the same magic that’s used by some organizations to stop fae from revealing information in the event that they’re ever captured.
The Imperial Council actually uses it on their warriors, which is why we need the Stone.
We need the Stone to reveal who’s after you.
That’s why we had it taken from you and have been holding it in safekeeping in case we couldn’t get the answers from Verin, and I’m sorry, Prim, but we need to use it. Verin’s proving to be a dead end.”
My breath left me, and it felt as if my chest was caving in.
But just as fast, an idea came to me like a clap of thunder. I straightened, and my mind raced. It went against everything I’d been taught, everything that I’d been told my entire life, but I was desperate and willing to try anything. Otherwise, Timith would be lost to me forever.
“What if I visit Verin and use my forbidden magic?” I said in a rush. “As your child, I’m assuming you know I can read minds, so what if I’m able to work around the block and pull the truth from her? Then we can still use the Stone on Timith.”
My parents shared a troubled look, and my father cleared his throat. “I know how much you love Timith, but I doubt that will work. The block on Verin is too strong.”
I reached for both of them. “Please, please, at least let me try. If you refuse to return the Stone to me, at least grant me this. Let me try. I beg of you!”
My mother’s face crumpled, and she sighed heavily. “She’s right, Russem. Prim’s already been through so much, and the Stone is rightfully hers. We should at least grant her this.”
My father raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t sound hopeful when he replied, “I suppose if you think it’s worth trying, we can allow that.”
I shot to standing. “Which prison is she being held at? I’ll go right now.”
“Not so fast.” My father raised his hands. “She’s at the maximum-security prison on the Nolus continent. It’s quite far away. Kole was used to mistphase her there.”
My jaw dropped. That was the worst prison of our realm, and it was all the way across the Adriastic Sea, which meant Kole was also the only way I could get to that prison in time to save my uncle.
I glanced toward the hallway, toward where the warrior waited outside, and even though he’d betrayed me, even though I no longer trusted him, I would need him for this.
I faced my parents again, my resolve unwavering. “Will you please instruct Kole to take me there?”
Even though my parents agreed to let me venture to the prison, time was ticking. The palace healers who had visited Timith that morning reported that they believed he only had another day, two if we were lucky, before he fully turned into whatever he was becoming.
We didn’t waste any time, but it still took an hour for the Imperial Council to get the necessary paperwork ready for me to visit the prison. Once it was set, Kole returned with it as instructed by my father.
The warrior’s focus burned into me, but instead of trying to talk me out of my request, as my parents had, he didn’t say a word. He simply clasped my hand and mistphased us across the sea in the blink of an eye.