Page 59 of Knowing Trust

“Nothing, Commander,” I told them honestly. “I’ve said a lot of—I have been harsh on my mother never even really knowing the woman. You did. You respected her. I’m being fair. I’m telling you the truth and there was more to the story. Everyone cannot know this with all that was missed, Onas and Taeral deserve to know my mom had faith in them to protect Neldor and more.”

“We didn’t deserve it after how much we did miss,” Onas whispered, wiping under his eyes, staring out the window. “I pushed constantly for our queen to murder yours and be done with the wars, and apparently she was the true queen and our realm was a lie.”

I sighed. “She never wanted me to show the ring just for this reason.” I nodded when they couldn’t hide their shock. “Yes, it was passed down as a Vale family heirloom and told we were the original royal family, a dark fairy relative was the one that broke off but…” I shrugged.

“There have been so many lies that your mother wasn’t ever willing to risk the chaos that would ensue over something she did not witness herself or on an ancestor lying and stealing the ring or something,” Shael muttered, nodding when I did. “She was so much better of a woman and ruler than I ever gave her credit for.” She frowned when I snorted.

“She had some choice words about you. My mom spilled the tea to warn me when I unlocked the rest of the journal. She was telling me where all the bodies were buried and warning me not to listen to your sexist ass even if you were maybe one of the smartest people she’d ever met.”

“Only Meira would call me on my shit while still praising me in a way I didn’t deserve,” she whispered, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. “Fuck, she did not deserve the ending she received, and—there better be a Paradise for real and she has everything there for her with Lageos.” She winced and shot me an apologetic look.

“I feel the same as I grieve,” I muttered, wanting the topic dropped.

“I don’t doubt your mother’s intentions, but why didn’t she keep such a vital relic in Faerie?” Taeral whispered. “Any number of things could have happened to it or you with it in the human world. I cannot understand why it was—I’m sorry to sound like I’m questioning here but…” He seemed at such a loss.

“She wanted you to have an ace up your sleeve should everyone immediately rally behind me and force us to mate and me to take over,” Neldor muttered.

“Oh no, she was quite clear to tell you all to fuck off if people pulled that,” I said with a dark chuckle. I nodded when their mouths all fell open. “Yeah, her journal already said I went way over the line of what she would have wanted and I should have let you all rot after she gave her life to save you.”

“Wow, okay, wow,” Taeral whispered. “Then why?”

I shared a look with Iolas and he was a bit squirmy. “What do you know?”

“That I’m a horrible friend and deserve to be banished from Faerie forever,” he rasped. “I already knew that, but clearly Meira was right and—”

“What, Iolas?” Shael interrupted, but I didn’t make him say it.

“My mother was sure that Ancient Simimar killed my five—or six—times great-grandfather,” I said, sparing him. I kept going when people started cussing. “And that he raped the current queen after her mate died trying to force them to mate and that he was going to take over. Luckily, she was already pregnant with her mate’s child so he couldn’t win.

“She found writings about something done to that queen that was unspeakable and magic put on her so she could never say it or warn anyone of the name. But she tried. She tried to warn all the heirs and queens after her. I have to find that journal next because my mother was close to breaking the code.”

“Something he said after you were born made Meira convinced it was him,” Iolas rasped. “He overindulged at the celebration announcing she was pregnant, and her trusted maid told her that he said it would finally happen now. That she would hand him everything by being a fool to mate a non-fairy as that was what he’d been waiting for.

“None had for so many generations, but that was the key he’d been waiting for, and now you would be the key as a daughter of a non-fairy. She said he would force you to mate him. She was absolutely convinced, and she told me, asking for my help, but wouldn’t tell Lageos because he would kill the ancient and chaos and—”

“But that was also why she jumped on the idea of our mating,” Neldor muttered.

“She doesn’t say that from what I’ve read,” I told him. “It was about saving your father and she knew we were mates. She saw something and knew we were fated mates or saw us together.” I shrugged. “I have to reread this whole thing in Faerie with magic now.”

He nodded. “But what does that have to do with…” Horror filled his eyes. “Ancient Simimar was strong enough to use magic to quiet a queen that he’d raped her. What other secrets did he learn or know?”

“Yes, that was my mom’s fear. And if he could sneak into the vault or get ahold of the ring. If he could get possession of it—because he knew of it—that he could use it and take over the realm given how fairies revered their stupid ancient men.” I rolled my eyes, not caring how many of them had been so stupid.

“How did he learn of it?” Shael whispered in horror.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, and I don’t know if she tells me later. She doesn’t have enough pages to tell me everything. She just warns me that he let it slip that he knew. He got pissy at her and said she should use it already and put Elora in her place and have her killed to end this war and then stormed off. He became that arrogant and controlling after she was pregnant.”

“Lag would have killed him,” Iolas whispered.

“Apparently, that was the best plan,” Shael seethed. “Fucker. That fucker got off too easy.”

“Amen, Sister,” I drawled.

“Wait, there’s no way your mother didn’t tell your father about that ring and to find that journal immediately if he was to be with you,” Shael put together.

I shared a look with Iolas, but it was Morgan who replied before we could.

“Being trapped in that darkness—clawing to get out of it deteriorated Lageos’s mind. You’ve seen it, Shael,” he said gently. “You were there when he forgot he had a unicorn of his own. He loved that unicorn that Meira gave him. He would never have forgotten a gift from his mate. He seemed confused and then wanted to see the princess and make sure she was safe.”

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