CHAPTER EIGHT #3
Her face drops and her gaze darts around the room before searching me as if she would be able to see the necklace in my pockets.
She won’t find it, though, because the moment my thoughts entered Aemon’s mind, he took it for safe-keeping.
What made my suspicion even more realistic was that the moment he took the necklace from my presence, all the weariness and exhaustion that I’ve been feeling since I entered his office yesterday, went with it.
As my mother and I stare at each other, she casts her eyes downward, looking more ashamed than I’ve ever seen her look.
“Yes,” she whispers. “When we discovered that Lord Craven might try to overthrow us and others of the Gallalaus fae were going missing or turning up dead, your fathers and I went looking for answers.”
“Answers?” I glance at Jesper who eyes my mother with betrayal.
“Yes. We searched the realm for answers on how to keep you safe and out of his hands. To keep not just my daughter safe, but the fate of the realm, should the worst happen to us—but we couldn’t find anything that guaranteed you to be able to grow up and come into your magick.
” She catches her breath and swallows roughly.
“You were young and wouldn’t have understood the gravity of the situation.
You would have wanted revenge, to find your friends, and if he found you before you were ready to become Queen and take back your kingdom, you would have ended up with my fate or worse.
” She coughs and I grab the water on her end table and wait for her to finish so she can take a sip.
“Eventually we discovered tales of a lost stone, one that was a curse and a blessing to our blood: a weakness for an all-powerful fae type. Only to be used in times of great peril—where there is no other choice. See, the Soul Stone has the ability to alter memories, corrupt or heal the soul and body, and summon the dead to battle. Only those of Gallalaus blood can wield it because only our blood can activate the stone: it takes pieces of our magick as payment.”
Jesper shifts me in his arms. “If it’s so powerful then why don’t you royals rule with it? Surely it could bring peace?”
My mother shakes her head softly. “Would you want your citizens to be slaves to their own minds? That’s not ruling or living. Free choice and equality, those matter.”
“So then why use it on me?”
Her gaze softens and tears run free. “Because I had no other choice. Lord Craven found out about the stone before us. It was through him and his years-long search for it that we learned of its existence. He was getting close, and we knew it was only a matter of time before his plan to get his hands on it came to fruition. The stone can’t be fully destroyed—we tried—so hiding it was our only option.
So before it was too late, we broke it into six pieces and hid them over the realm behind blood key doors, and the last within a necklace that was crafted for you.
We covered the stone in blue sapphire with the help of your fathers’ and my earth magick, and on the night of the attack, I activated it with my blood. ”
“But that would have made you weak!” I think back to how the stone taking my magick felt. She wouldn’t have been able to fight.
She nods, tears pouring down her face. “Once you left, I tried to make it to your fathers, but I couldn’t move—the weight of the price left me temporarily on the floor of that stable.
I used the last of my energy to cast an illusion so you wouldn’t see me like that…
” She pauses and her face crumples, showing me a vulnerability I’ve never seen from my mother.
“I felt their bonds to me snapping one by one as that bastard took everything from me. I thought I made the right choices, but now…” She swallows, sounding far more exhausted than before.
“At least you are alive and you can right the wrongs I’ve made.
I never should have let Craven get as far as he did.
He was our friend, and we always thought that maybe he would see reason.
By the time we realized it was too late, he’d managed to get two of the Soul Stone pieces before they made it to their destinations, and another two he found after he imprisoned me and took my blood.
That male is corrupted by a great evil. I’m so sorry, daughter. ”
I stare at my mother in shock. She could have imprisoned him or killed him, but instead she let him grow to power he had no right having, that no one did. Rage blooms like a wildfire inside of me. There had to have been more they could have done. Anything.
Words begin to spew from my mouth, but my mother has slipped into a sleep, her breaths light and face glistening with tears still streaming. I received my answers, but what do I do with them?
Jesper’s arms wrap tightly around me as he nuzzles my neck. “She did what she thought was right. No one is perfect. Come on, we should let her rest.”
I nod, unable to speak as he leads me out of the room.
Nero’s wings flutter. “At least we may be able to fix Talyn’s problem now.”
Jesper and I freeze and stare at my feathered familiar with wide eyes as I piece together his words. “The stone corrupts and heals the soul,” I whisper, my eyes wide as I stare up at my mate whose expression matches mine. “We need to go see Aemon.”