Page 74 of Knowing Trust

Everyone seemed to accept that for the moment and he put up a barrier once we were all gathered.

“Why won’t you tell us what happened, Morgan?” someone demanded of him.

“Because he’s protecting me,” I snapped. “So just shut the fuck up and listen instead of trying to pull rank.” I let out a slow breath and scrubbed my hand over my head before looking at Dad. “And I’m sorry, but you were wrong and Mom knew.” I nodded when he couldn’t hide his shock. “That’s what the magic was at Artemis.”

“Wait, wait, just back the fuck up,” Lageos seethed. “Meira would never have kept that from me!”

“She did because—let’s just back up,” I sighed, realizing I had to be the adult here. I looked away from him and focused on Morgan who was near a breakdown from what I could tell. “After the man who attacked me before tried to let demons into Faerie, I took a chance and followed his magic to find him.

“I wasn’t stupid and teleported all around. I didn’t stay long. It was quick.” I swallowed loudly. “But I felt that zing of my magic that others speak of. We are related.” I gave people a moment to let that sink in… And they needed it. “And he has my mother’s eyes.”

“Meira didn’t have a living relative, Tamsin,” Iolas argued.

“That’s what I said and that’s why we didn’t report it,” Lageos agreed. “I thought maybe one of my siblings had a child too and I didn’t know. Or… I don’t think I would have forgotten that, but maybe they did while fading? I don’t know, but our glamour is stronger than yours. It would be a way—”

“Thinking there was another Vale alive would be the best way to fuck with your head,” Onas muttered. “It’s smart, and this person has proven to be smart. But you were smart and didn’t try for them again after that?”

“No,” Lageos said firmly.

“Yes,” I confessed, sighing when my dad looked like he would pound me. “Just to—I got upset with myself that I wasted my one chance to teleport to him and I did. He—he didn’t block me, but it’s like—it’s kind of like the wall between Faerie and me. I can’t reach him. I can’t open a portal to him either. But I know why that is now.”

“He’s a Vale,” Iolas muttered, swearing under his breath.

I held up a hand to my dad and the others. “One of the last times you snuck to Earth to be cute with Mom years before the war even, she sensed a relative. That was it. All of her years alive or even going to Earth and it was the first time. She wrote—and you can read it—that the magic felt benign. It meant no harm and wasn’t icky.

“She thought—as I snarked before—that maybe Grandma’s brother had a bastard or something. And like so what? Why bug the guy if he was living quietly on Earth and drag him into crap? Clearly, he wasn’t a threat to her if she hadn’t caught even a trace of him for all of those years. So leave him be and out of the drama of being a Vale. Those were her thoughts.”

He let out a slow breath. “That is absolutely your mother’s kind, stupid heart.” He sighed when I couldn’t hide my shock. “Your mother was far from perfect, Tamsin. I know—we’ve both made mistakes. This was hers. Clearly, he’s not passive. We had been to Earth a lot and obviously he was hiding from her! We should have at least investigated this!”

“Agreed,” Iolas muttered, double shocking me. “What about this magic at Artemis?”

I explained to all of them about the item I’d found after going for the reward I could get from the Power Playoffs and what I found. “I didn’t know it was Mom’s magic then. I just knew it shouldn’t be there.” I swallowed loudly and met my dad’s gaze. “Mom hid it there specifically because she had a vision of me at Artemis.”

He opened his mouth but then closed it. “She never told me that. It was never the plan to have you there or out in front of supe society. That would have been too risky.”

Yes, yes it would have. Clearly, she didn’t understand that it was in connection with her outlier vision, and I wasn’t going to judge her for that. Not at all this time.

“It’s just a quick line about something must have changed or I needed more help than you could give—she wasn’t upset, but she saw me there and knew it would be safe.” I waited until he nodded before looking at Iolas. “But she said you would be able to explain to me why it was needed and I should talk to you before reading her explanation of how to use it.”

He glanced around and swallowed loudly.

“Most of us know the answer,” Onas said quietly. “It’s the same with the Donovans.”

“Royal family secrets,” I muttered, bobbing my head and glancing at Neldor… Except he wouldn’t look at me.

“When did you learn this?” he asked, steam about coming out of his ears.

“Thanks, Nel,” I whispered. “I don’t feel like shit enough because I didn’t read my mom’s journal faster or figure out how to unlock it or any of the other million ways this is my fault.”

His face instantly lost his anger. “I’m not angry with you. I’m just angry, Tams. I’m hurt you didn’t tell me when I was trustworthy before.”

“Thursday,” Morgan and Talila said together, Morgan nodding for Talila to go ahead. “You were distracted in class. You kept dropping things and we thought…” She glanced at Neldor. “Something new happened.”

I nodded. “Thursday after training I had breakfast with my unicorns and read some more. That was when I learned about it.”

“I’m sorry,” Neldor whispered. “Shit, yeah, okay, I’m a jackass.”

“Yeah, you are because even if it was a couple of weeks we’ve got a lot of shit, Nel. I mean pick anything of the crazy going on.”

---