Page 34 of To Steal the Sun

“But I’m surprised Gwen didn’t mention it to you,” he said. “It’s the reason she finally defied her mother and escaped.”

Charlotte’s frown deepened. “I don’t think so. It was finding out about being drugged every night and being a bear that pushed her to escape. She’s always talked as if Celandine is her…” She trailed off as she reviewed their conversations, skimming over them in her mind, her certainty growing. “Gwen thinks Celandine is the woman who gave birth to her,” she said with confidence.

“No, that can’t be right,” Easton cried. “I’m sure she said…” He too trailed off into thought, and when he spoke again, he sounded uncomfortable. “Or did I just assume she’d found out the same thing I did?”

“What are you both talking about?” the count asked. “I heard her say it with my own ears. Back in that basement hideout, she plainly said Celandine isn’t her mother.”

“She did say that.” Charlotte drew out the words. “But I interpreted it to mean she was rejecting Celandine’s role in her life. Don’t you remember how nervous she was to say it? Like she was anxious over the rejection.” Charlotte’s feelings about her own parents had seesawed often enough for her to have recognized the high emotion of the moment.

“You’re right.” Easton sounded horrified. “She could easily have meant that. And the rest of us just assumed…”

“How is that possible, though?” Charlotte asked. “Why is Celandine queen if she’s only a stepmother, and how could it possibly have been kept a secret from Gwen? What has been going on in this kingdom?”

“What hasn’t been going on?” Baden muttered, and for once Natalie nodded in agreement.

“I suppose you don’t know anything about our history or laws, do you?” Lydia asked.

Charlotte winced apologetically. “In the Four Kingdoms, the mountain kingdom is seen as a myth, if it’s thought of at all. I didn’t even know it was a real place until Gwen said she came from here.”

“Our succession laws are a little complicated,” Lydia said. “The oldest child of the previous monarch inherits the throne, but if they marry, they rule jointly with their spouse.”

“So if they die, their spouse just becomes the monarch on their own?” Charlotte asked doubtfully.

“Not exactly.” Lydia sighed. “If the next heir in line is an adult, the throne passes immediately to them. But if they’re a child, then the spouse continues to rule as before until the child comes of age and is able to take the throne themselves.”

“Like a regent?” Charlotte asked.

Jett nodded. “But without the limitations of a regency.”

“Celandine must have married Gwen’s father when Gwen was very young if she doesn’t remember anything about it,” Charlotte said, trying to puzzle it all out.

“Sadly, Gwen’s mother died in childbirth,” Lydia said. “Gwen never had the chance to know her. And when Gwen was three, King Isander became ill. The royal doctors could do nothing to prevent his decline, and the king—who loved his daughter very much—decided to take her to spend some time away from court before the end.”

“I thought you were all trapped in the mountains?” Charlotte queried.

“They didn’t go far,” Jett clarified. “Just to a lodge belonging to the royal family that’s on the very edge of our valley. In the past, it was used frequently by the royal family as a retreat where they could spend time together without the pressures of court. But it’s fallen into disuse since Celandine took the throne. She said too many bad memories resided there for her to take the princess back.” He fell silent, and his wife continued the story.

“While they were at the lodge, King Isander’s health deteriorated faster than expected, and he died there. The princess was brought back to the castle by Celandine, who claimed to be her stepmother and the queen.”

“What?” Charlotte cried, startled. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “But everyone at the palace knew her, right? She’d gone down there with them?”

Lydia shook her head. “She met the king during his final weeks at the lodge. He sensed his death was coming sooner than anticipated and proposed marriage so his daughter wouldn’t be left alone without a parent. He wanted her to have a proper monarch to take the pressure from her shoulders during her childhood and youth. She had the marriage certificate and the proper seals, and the servants and guards who returned from the lodge all corroborated her story.”

Lydia shrugged. “I was busy with a young son at the time, but it seemed just like Isander not to want to abandon his daughter to so many years in a regency. I only wish he had made a better choice for his new wife. He had no idea what misery he was condemning the poor princess to.”

“So Celandine turned up, claimed the throne, and then made everyone pretend she was Gwen’s real mother?” Charlotte gaped at them. “How is that possible?”

“The loyal guard force she brought with her were persuasive,” the count said dryly. “And those of us closest to the king scrutinized the documents closely. There was nothing out of order.” He sighed. “If we’d known how it would go, we might have fought harder, but she was charming and persuasive back then, before she’d consolidated her power. And King Isander had consistently refused to name a regent. It had all of us worried, concerned about what would happen in the case of a sudden decline. It made sense to us that he had held off because he had another plan in mind, and none of us relished the power struggle that would eventuate if we had to choose a regent instead. We let it happen, and by the time Celandine made a move—evicting those members of the court most loyal to Isander and replacing them with her own people, her hold had become far too strong to be challenged.”

“But someone did eventually challenge it,” Jett said ruefully. “A thirteen-year-old boy. And she responded by binding the court to her with an enchantment. No one knew what we were facing twenty years ago.”

“That is one massive loophole she exploited,” Charlotte breathed. “But Gwen’s been an adult for years. Why is Celandine still queen?”

The count sighed. “Celandine has always ruled with the expectation that she would eventually hand over to Gwendolyn. That was part of the reason she was initially accepted. But she has played the enchantment to her advantage, always coming up with a plausible excuse for why Gwendolyn isn’t ready to take the throne. Marriage to a prince, along with the destruction of the enchantment, was supposed to be an end to any possible excuses. She’ll have to step down. Or at least, she should be forced into it. Knowing her, though, I’m sure she has some further plan to delay the handover of power.”

“Something Gwen said gave me the impression she did mean for Gwen to take the throne after her wedding,” Charlotte said thoughtfully. “She meant to install her as a puppet queen. I guess she had to make sure Gwen was sufficiently beaten down before taking that risk.”

Easton winced, his face lined with pain. He had been gone for the past ten years, but he must have seen enough in the ten years before that to know what Charlotte was talking about.

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