Page 57 of Knowing Trust

“No, I get it. I would have been too curious not to check either,” I forgave. “So you could sense I was… Walk me through it?”

“We came through the portal at your house and I could sense which direction,” he explained. “Then I could open a portal in Faerie.”

I almost fell over. Only fairies were supposed to be able to open portals in Faerie, even non-fairy mates.

“We didn’t let him go through. That seemed too dangerous,” Ara interjected.

“Yes, thank you. Not without Lageos or someone to check,” I agreed, leaning in and kissing Julian’s cheek when he sighed and agreed.

“He can do it,” Julian grumbled. “He teleports too.”

“He’s a demigod,” a few of my detail said at the same time.

So clearly, they had already used that argument with him. It was fairly amusing.

“When he told us the direction, we figured it was Theripolis, so I brought us here,” Ara continued. “Then he said the castle and I opened another portal to the guard station. He just walked us over here like he had a tracker. Then he reached out where there was nothing and interacted with nothing until you took down your cloaking.”

I nodded I heard her but focused on Julian. “You saw me?”

“No, I saw…” He frowned. “I think I saw the magic around your wings. I saw like a purple glow. Faint. It was weird. I just knew it was you and guessed where your wings were and from there assumed you were sitting on the bench and I could touch your hair. I did call your name.”

Right, the journal. “Sorry, I figured something out and was totally absorbed.” I let go of his hand to retrieve it and waved it so he saw what it was, nodding when his eyes went wide. “There’s way more to it and I had to read it here. In Faerie. And my mom gave me a lot of tea that would have been helpful. Something…” I gave my detail an apologetic look.

“I’m going to go stretch my legs by the water,” one of the guys said.

“Excuse me, Your Highness, but I have to use the bathroom,” another said.

They all came up with excuses since I was safe at the castle, and I thanked them before I still put up a barrier over Julian and me. He couldn’t read it since it was in Faerie—the language—and I picked up where I had left off.

“You said your dad’s mind was shredded by being trapped in the darkness,” he muttered. “I would bet anything pertaining to the plans of what to do when you got back to Faerie—he’s probably completely traumatized he didn’t help you with it. I would absolutely believe he’s blacked it all out or that was eaten away in his mind. You said you’ve seen it.”

I nodded. “He has gaps at times. He gets—it’s why I have trouble bothering him sometimes.” I let out a slow breath but then shocked both of us by breaking down crying.

“Oh, my sweet mate,” he whispered as he gathered me onto his lap. “I know. I know how much it hurt you that your mother left so much danger for you to handle. I know you hated that she didn’t love you as much as her fairness and Faerie.”

That was exactly it. That was exactly how I had felt.

And I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The truth? My mom had wanted my father to murder the ancients. They were never supposed to “wake up” from the darkness. And then with the proof she had compiled of their corruption, we were going to make a story up that the gods refused to let them influence Faerie anymore since this was going to be a reset for the planet.

We were going to go back to the original way Faerie was ruled with queens truly ruling, everyone equal, and hobgoblins having more of a say in the government… Which apparently, my mother had been a huge advocate for.

Wow. We really were a lot alike.

“What are you going to do with this information?” he asked me gently.

That was a very, very complicated answer. “I’m going to tell Iolas, Shael, and Morgan. They deserve the truth after how I trashed her and they had such faith in her. Onas, Stefanie, and Taeral. They deserve to know. Just the top.” I tapped the journal. “It’s in here that she trusted Onas to help to do the same in the dark realm with Neldor with the proof she had.

“She trusted that he would do the right thing and protect Neldor with the proof she had that their ancients drove Queen Elora mad. He deserves to know that. So does Taeral when he’s mentioned in here as well. So does Neldor. I’ll tell them. I’ll tell…” I frowned.

“You won’t tell Hudson, Lucca, or Darby?” he hedged.

“Not yet. After we mate. These are Faerie secrets for now. Once we mate. Maybe after we’re all more stable and all in.”

“That’s fair. This isn’t just about your mom but the Queen of Faerie,” he accepted before giving me a soft kiss. “I’m glad I was able to help you with this.”

“Me too.”

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