Chapter 16
The next day, Elle and I sit in the library, sipping on coffees.
The rest of the Herd isn’t here yet, so we’re waiting in two oversized chairs by the open wall, talking about my date with Marik last night.
Outside, rain falls in a slow drizzle, sending a cool earthy breeze through the library.
Elle’s hair falls in loose waves off one shoulder, and her all-black outfit accentuates the vivid color of her hair.
“Did you kiss him?” she asks me, peering over her steaming cup of coffee. The aroma wafts toward me, and I take a sip from my own cup, savoring the taste of the sweet cream.
“Perhaps,” I say, trying to hide my smile, and utterly failing.
She leans forward in her chair, eyes wide. “And? How was it?”
I groan. “I don’t know. It was fine.”
“The kiss was fine? Yikes,” she says with a grimace. “That surprises me. The Serpent Princes have always given off this bad-boy energy. I’ve always assumed they’d be incredible in bed.”
“Last night was only a first date!”
“True. I’ll back off now,” she says, holding her hands up in mock surrender. “I know you’re pissed at Asmo, but I can’t wait to hear how that one goes.”
My smile falters at the thought of seeing Asmo again. “That makes one of us,” I mutter before changing the subject. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something before everyone else gets here.”
“About the First Deer Queen?” she guesses.
“How did you know?” I ask.
She shrugs. “A little birdy told me.”
Nora or Ruby, then.
“That wasn’t it, but now that you mention it…What do you think? Do you think it’s true? Or is it just a fairytale?”
She adjusts in her seat, brushing a lock of hair behind a pointed ear.
“Honestly, I have no idea. When I was a kid, it was fun to imagine that it was true and that I was the First Deer Queen’s true daughter.
” She smiles but continues, “Whenever my friends and I would play, they would always say I was Wrena’s daughter because of my antlers.
But it’s only a myth, or a legend, or whatever you want to call it. ”
She downs the rest of her coffee and sets it on the wooden side table next to her chair. She motions with her hands and says, “Get on with it. What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Marik kind of went off about our court. I thought all the Houses were copacetic.”
Her expression darkens. “What did he say?”
“I mentioned changing some policy that would impact his court, and he seemed pretty pissed off. He made some comment about how the Deer Court has always had this idea of how the kingdom should work and tries to force its beliefs on everyone else. Is that an opinion that is widely held?”
Her eyes narrow. “I haven’t heard any open dissatisfaction with King Silas’s rulings, but I might not be the person to ask since I work and live in this court.”
“So, this might just be Marik’s opinion, not the opinion of the kingdom?” I ask hopefully. Taking over a kingdom where there’s open dissatisfaction with the High Crown would be a challenge that I’m not quite ready to take on.
Elle nods in confirmation before propping her feet on the coffee table in between us.
“I wonder if Cally would know,” I say.
Elle tilts her head in consideration. “She might since she’s from a different House.
As far as the tension between the courts, there have been rumors, but they’ve only been rumors.
I’ve never looked into them. There were some rumors of the Houses being upset when King Silas passed a law that ended up increasing the amount that each person had to pay the High Crown in taxes, but the increase in taxes would be put toward various charities chosen by the High Family.
I heard that the different Houses were upset by this because it felt like a unilateral decision, not a decision made for the benefit of the kingdom. ”
“But why would there be tension between the different Houses? Why not just dislike for the High Family?”
Outside, a rabbit hops past, pulling Elle’s attention away from me.
I clear my throat, and she twists her head back to me.
“Sorry,” she says quickly. “Well, Houses Serpent and Panthera have a history of being dissatisfied with the Deer Court being the ruling court, while Houses Ursine and Canis have always been supporters of the Deer Court.”
“Why do they have a history of not liking our court as the High Court?” I ask.
She takes a deep breath and gives me a look. “You have lots of questions today, Your Highness.”
I offer an apologetic smile. “I’m trying to learn everything about the entire kingdom in a week, and I’d rather ask you now than wait for Holly.”
She nods and waves her hand as if waving the apology away.
“No, it’s okay. Both Houses are more powerful than us.
There is talk that they feel like our court weakens the kingdom and stifles powerful individuals from ruling.
There are also rumors that they’d like to be removed from the monarchy and just rule themselves like the Fae Kingdom did. ”
“What do you mean like the Fae Kingdom?” I ask.
“Well, they used to be a part of our kingdom, but they split from us a long time ago. They weren’t exactly…fond of the hybrids.”
Holly didn’t cover this in our lessons. I never knew that the Fae Kingdom used to be governed by ours. “When did they split? And why?” I ask, leaning forward in my chair.
Elle picks up her empty mug, then looks at me exasperatedly. “You’re making me give you a history lesson without coffee?”
I grimace. “I’m sorry!”
“You owe me,” she says. “It was forever ago, probably five hundred years. They’re incredibly powerful and felt…
bothered that they had to be ruled by hybrids.
So, they told the High King at the time that if they weren’t allowed to split and govern themselves, they’d start a war with the other courts.
” She looks down at her nails and begins picking at them.
“They got what they asked for, in my opinion.”
I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”
She doesn’t look up at me, still picking at her nails as she says, “Fae have always thought they were better than the hybrids—like their purebred status meant they were more powerful or whatever. They deserved someone to take their kingdom down.”
Yikes, Elle. Her nonchalant tone adds another layer to her opinion that I’m not quite ready to dive into. After all, Willa is High Fae.
“What happened to them? After their kingdom fell?” I ask.
“The surviving Fae fled and sought asylum in our kingdom, terrified of the witches. One day, they were one of the most powerful courts in the kingdom. The next, they had shattered.” She shakes her head, almost in disbelief.
“It’s hard to believe they were destroyed.
The High Fae were rumored to be vicious. ”
I frown. “Willa’s the only High Fae that I’ve ever met, and she was like a mother to me,” I counter.
She shrugs. “There’s always an exception to the rule.”
Thirty minutes later, we’re all gathered around the circular table in the Inner Room.
It’s been a few days since we’ve met as a group, and it’s my first official meeting as High Queen.
Ivan clears his throat, signaling the official beginning of the meeting.
Small talk dies around the room as everyone faces him.
He places his elbows on the table and clasps his hands together, his expression grave. I steel myself for whatever news he’s about to share.
“There’s been an update on the royal family’s death,” he says, looking around the table.
He pulls a single piece of paper from a folder in front of him and places it flat on the table.
“The investigators found two different strands of hair at the scene of the crime that don’t match any of the members of the royal family. It’s minor, but it’s something.”
Elle’s expression is dubious. “Two different strands? That’s it? What does that even mean?”
Ivan takes a deep breath. “Yes, that’s it. It means we were able to confirm that there were at least two perpetrators, but we feel confident that it was only two.”
“How did they even find them? Where were they located? And how do they know those hairs weren’t there before the murders?” I fire each question at him.
“Good questions,” he says. “The house was large, so it took some time to completely comb through it, collect forensic evidence, then analyze it all. There was a shorter strand of dark hair found in Etta’s bedroom and a longer strand of dark hair found in your father’s study, where his body was found.
The fact that they left no additional evidence is impressive.
They were very careful. We feel confident that they belong to the murderers because the family was very private and did not invite anyone to their private residence for any reason. ”
Dark hairs, one of which was found in Etta’s room…
“I think that Etta was the one who invited the murderer or murderers into the home. I think she was seeing someone, but I don’t know who.
I think that this person that she was seeing took advantage of that and planned her murder,” I blurt, looking directly at Ivan.
I hadn’t yet voiced this theory to anyone who is involved in the case.
I’m fully expecting Ivan to toss my theory out the window.
He doesn’t. Instead, he nods and says, “That’s one of the theories that we’re considering.”
“Do you have any suspects?” I ask.
“We did, but this new evidence has ruled them out.”
“So, you don’t have any suspects.”
He frowns. “That’s correct. We’re re-working our theories and reevaluating the people in the family’s social circle, especially those with black hair.”
I give him a terse nod and say, “Please continue to keep me updated.”
“Of course. On another note, I think you and Elle should continue your training. I believe that should be a top priority for you. You need to learn how to protect yourself. I don’t want you to have to rely on other people for your safety.”