Chapter 32 #2
“But I wasn’t born a noble. I didn’t become a rebel within the walls of Caerwen Palace. I lived in White’s End.”
Hunter’s eyes shoot to mine. White’s End is where we found the first moth carved into the wall of a dusty pawn shop.
The Dead Queen must recognize the looks dawning on our faces. “I see you’ve been there. Clearly, I’m not the only one with secrets.”
The Dead Queen holds out her hand expectantly.
With shaking fingers, I reach into my cloak, pull out the water-damaged book, and place it in her outstretched palm.
Without hesitation, the Dead Queen opens the front cover to reveal the names written there, some blurry from water damage.
With one skeletal finger, she points to the last name on the list.
“Rhiannon,” she says. “In the language of the ancient north, it meant ‘queen’.”
I stare at the shaky signature. This is the handwriting of someone who wasn’t used to holding a quill. Someone who may not have grown up with the luxuries of palace tutors. Could it be true?
“I am not what you say!” Hunter shouts.
I jump at the sound. The green book slips from my hands and lands on the stone ground with a thud.
Hunter’s eyes are wild with disbelief. “I’ve spent my entire life hating Annwyn. My mother can’t have been the Heir to the North.”
The Dead Queen leans toward him. “Have you ever tried to summon shadows? Or hide in darkness?”
My heart seizes in my chest. We spent most of our childhood hiding from our ruthless fathers.
Hunter was never talented in healing or light power.
That was one failure on a long list that Commander Malen held over Hunter’s head for his entire life.
So, we spent our childhood in hiding—the library, the gardens, anywhere we could escape our fathers’ judgment.
The only person who ever made us feel safe or loved was Grandmother.
I never saw Hunter create swirling shadows or summon darkness like Tristan, but now I wonder ... How were we able to hide so well?
When I glance over at Hunter’s face, it’s stricken. Does he remember? Deep down, did he suspect something about him wasn’t normal? At least, not by Llwyn’s standards.
Something about all of this doesn’t feel right. I turn to Tristan.
“If you didn’t suspect I was the Heir, then why did you risk your neck to take me across the border? Why didn’t you just leave me behind?”
“Because your father would have killed you.” Something dark flashes behind his eyes. It may not be a lie, but it’s only half the truth.
“And?”
The queen’s cold, dead voice rattles behind us. “And it was the only way to lure the Heir to the North across the border.”
I whirl around to face her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Behind her black veil, she lifts her chin in what looks like defiance. “It means I knew Hunter would follow you to the ends of the earth. Anyone could see that. If Tristan brought you to me, then Hunter would soon follow.”
I turn back to Tristan, my eyes wide with indignation. “So, I was just bait?”
His jaw is set firm, but his voice is soft. “Not to me.”
“You used me.” The words come out like venom, tasting like poison on my tongue. My eyes are fire as I glare at the Wolf.
“I don’t like defending the Wolf,” Hunter says. “But he couldn’t have known I’d follow you.”
I nod. “Yes, he did.” I tilt my head as I watch Tristan for a reaction.
“What was it you told me? That Hunter is unendingly loyal. That he will do anything for the people he cares about, even at the detriment of his own safety? That he’s the type of person who will do anything to save the people he loves? ”
Tristan stares at me, his face blank as stone.
“I can’t believe I’ve been so na?ve.” I laugh humorlessly. “I feel a little foolish now.”
Nalina scoffs. “It’s about time.”
Tristan growls at her, like the Wolf he is. “It wasn’t like that, and you know it.”
Nalina grins at him like a predator. “All I know is, the queen sent you to fetch the Heir to the North. And you did. Like a good little Wolf. That one,” she points to me. “Was a means to an end.”
My power fizzles and pops inside me, fueled by my growing rage.
I point toward Tristan. “Why send him? Of all the people left in Annwyn, why send him to fetch me?”
“Because I trust my Wolves above all others.” The queen folds her skeletal hands in front of her. “My Wolves would do anything for me. They helped create me.”
The hair on my neck bristles. “No riddles. Tell it plainly.”
“It’s not a riddle. They were there in the borderland when I died.”
I blink rapidly. “Explain.”
No one moves. We barely breathe as we wait to see how much the queen will tell me. A moth floats down from the rafters, fluttering on gray wings. It settles on the queen’s dead chest, unafraid.
“These two.” She tilts her head toward Tristan and Nalina. “They were barely more than children, but they were soldiers nonetheless. It’s something far too many Annwyn teenagers must become when we have so few soldiers to protect our land from Foxes.”