Page 85 of Their Trials

Remaining silent, she simply inclined her head as if to say, “Touche.” Setting the drink back on her side table, she finally got down to the point after my silence told her that I was done giving her more information without something in return. “I know the trials have sent you here to seek a boon, although the tyrant Queen is hoping to use that to her advantage.”

“Clearly.” My response gave nothing away. I crossed my arms as I waited for her to continue.

“I’ve decided I’m willing to entertain the boon you seek, but I make no promises,” she said, tilting her head again, sending the ball back into my court.

I already knew what I would ask, so my words came out confidently. “Can you unlock my magic and glamor?”

Her lips turned downward in response, and I knew what my answer would be. “A boon I would gladly grant if only I were able. Beneficial to you and yet not usable to the Queen. Smart child.”

She stood again, gliding over to me as my shoulders slumped in disappointment. I should have known that it wouldn't be so easy for me. Nothing in my life had ever come easily. I'd just have to figure out another way to break through these barriers.

She paused in front of me again, reaching out her hand and settling it over my heart. I felt her magic teasing along the threads, weaving between my Consorts' magic until she reached the core of my own magic. The one that was completely inaccessible to me, the crack that ran through the middle of it barely visible, the result of saving Baer and binding us together in inexplicable ways.

She jerked her hand back with a gasp, her eyes flashing wide as she cradled her hand against her chest as if burned. “It's not possible,” she breathed in a whisper.

Chapter Forty One: Rhowyn

I regarded her cautiously, her confident demeanor completely shaken, revealing her uncertainty. Her eyes remained wide as she shook her head as if trying to convince herself of something. She turned her back on me, rushing over to the side table and draining her drink.

Unable to wait any longer for her to pull herself together, I approached her slowly. “What's not possible?”

She whirled around to face me, startled to find me so close to her. She laughed nervously. “Nothing.” She waved a hand as if to swat away my doubts. “It's nothing to worry yourself about.”

If it hadn't been for the tremor in her hand, I might have believed her. “You saw something. What did you see?” I pressed her.

She laughed again. “It's nothing to concern yourself about, child.”

Her mouth opened to continue, but I cut her off, my temper flaring. “As much as you might think I'm some stupid child, I still know enough to understand that whatever you saw was clearly not nothing. What did you see?” I pressed again. Her hand raised again to wave me off, but I snapped, “Do not lie to me again. Your lies are convincing no one, least of all me. It's time I learned the truth.”

Her shoulders slumped with a sigh, all her protestations escaping like the air from her lungs. “I can't unlock your glamor or your magic. It must be undone by the one who locked them to begin with.”

I took a step closer to her, ready to shake the information from her despite the fact that she was clearly more powerful than me. She stepped back and continued nervously, her hands raised to placate me. “I can tell you who locked the magic. I recognize the signature, but you're not going to like it.”

“Continue,” I ground out through clenched teeth, my patience wearing thin with her games.

“Your magic was locked by your father.”

I froze, her words shaking me to my core. She continued, oblivious to my shock. “That memory I showed you was only part of the truth. I hid my part in it. I was the friend your father mentioned. I called the portal that sent you to Earth. I didn't know that he'd locked your magic, or that he'd given you this unbreakable glamor. It shouldn't have been possible. His magic was strong, but the amount he must have needed to do something like this...” she trailed off, pacing around the room. “He must have given a piece of himself permanently to the magic in order to hold it for so long,” she said, musing the puzzle out for herself, clearly not speaking to me.

I didn't dare move, keeping my breaths shallow in fear that I would startle her and she'd stop sharing this information with me. Information that I was desperate to hear. “The only way it could remain in place is if he was somehow still alive. But that's not possible. He was supposedly executed by the Queen.”

Unable to hold back anymore, I hissed out, “What?!”

She whirled on me, facing me with hope in her eyes. “Your father is still alive, though no one has seen him in decades. Not a trace or a whisper, and believe me, we've all searched for him. Even the Ravens were sent to find the leader of the rebellion, but there was nothing to be found. It was as if he'd just disappeared into thin air. We all assumed he had been executed, but if his lock is still holding, he must still be alive somewhere.”

“Wait. You're not making much sense, start from the beginning. You were there when my mother and I went to Earth?”

She smiled at me gently, although it was tinged with sadness. “Yes, I was there the day your father resorted to such measures. He needed a portal, and I was the only one who could create them without the Queen knowing.”

“Why would you help him?”

“Once upon a time, I loved him. A male of such indescribable strength of mind and fortitude. He was charismatic and passionate about his beliefs. His kind heart was unable to stand the abuses that our people suffered under the new Queen's reign. I was never able to resist his requests, even knowing that his heart belonged to another.” A tear leaked from her eye as she recalled my father, her smile tinged with indescribable sadness. She still loved him, even to this day.

“He began an underground resistance which quickly grew to include the leaders of several seasons. Autumn being the biggest supporters, as the tyranny was affecting their lands more than the others, but it was only a matter of time until the other seasons were affected.

“We were making progress when we discovered we had been betrayed. Your father feared for your life, afraid of the retaliation that would occur should you be discovered. We kept your birth a secret; only those who were most loyal to your father ever learned of your existence. The plan was to send you two to Earth before our final battle. We planned to dethrone the Queen, convinced that the Queen had twisted Avalon's magic in a way that would end us all.”

She paused, her eyes widening in realization. She gasped, speaking in a whisper. “He knew.” Her hand went to cover her mouth, another tear leaking from her eye. “He thought that he wouldn't survive. He sent you to Earth as our final hope. What did he know? What is so different about you that he kept you secret at all costs?”

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