Page 10 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

My mother speaks now, her voice quivering.“I was Solana’s lady-in-waiting, but she was more than that; she was mybest friend. She asked me to take you if anything ever happened to her, and by the time you were old enough to understand, we were so happy. I couldn’t… I couldn’t risk destroying the family we had built.”

“I deserved to know the truth.” My fists clench in my lap, fingernails digging into my palms. I feel like I’m a second away from screaming at them and throwing up from all the emotions raging inside me, but I take a deep breath through my nose and force myself to hear them out.

“We did the best we could in the wake of her death and Valko’s banishment. If you want to hate us for that, so be it.” My mother crosses her arms, getting defensive.

An unexpected wave of grief crashes over me as I realize that I knownothingabout either of my birth parents.

I don’t know what their laughs sounded like, or their favorite foods; how they liked to spend their free time or what their childhoods were like. I’m angry and sad, feeling like I’ve been robbed of knowing them, even through secondhand stories. “Valkowas banished to The Obsidian Gap?” A barren wasteland at the edge of the Northlands, it’s a place of legend; it’s said that to be sent there is a fate worse than death.

My father’s nods solemnly.“After Selena killed your mother,Valko went mad with grief. His anger consumed him. I tried to convince him to come with us, but he tried to kill Selena. He threw a dagger at her in front of the whole kingdom as she sat on the throne during her coronation.” I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out, the scene he painted all too easy to visualize.“Instead of executing him for his act of treason, Selena banished him to live out his days in exile.”

“Selena always had a mean streak, but her quest to become queen brought out the worst in her.” My mother shakes her head in disgust.

“Wait,” Killian says, leaning forward. “So you’re aprincess?” He wiggles his eyebrows in an attempt to lighten the mood.

I’m too sullen to laugh, but I appreciate his effort nonetheless.“No,” I answer.“I mean, maybe? I don’t know.” I rub my temples, like a quick massage will help me forget all of this new, painful information.

“It depends on if Selena has any of her own children,” my father says.“If she has no heir of her own, you would technically have a claim to the throne.”

“We haven’t left Staghorn in nineteen years, Aurelia. We have no idea what the situation in the Autumn Kingdom is at this point. When we fled, she was unmarried, but that could’ve changed. I wouldn’t put it past her to marry purely for political gain,” my mother sneers, disdain for my estranged aunt lacing every word.

“An alliance between kingdoms through marriage hasn’t happened since your parents wed, as far as we know.” My father shifts in his chair uncomfortably.

A hundred new questions pop up in my brain, but only oneleaves my lips.“So, now what? I’m just supposed to have this knowledge and do nothing about it?”

“If you leave Staghorn Forest, Selena will find you. She has spies everywhere.” Desperation seeps through my mother’s words.

“Don’t you miss your home? Your people?” I ask, realizing they must be from the Westlands.

“Staghorn is our home now. We made the choice to leave the Autumn Kingdom, knowing that we most likely would never return. It’s a sacrifice we would make again.” My father looks at me, and I understand what he’s telling me without him actually speaking the words:You were worth it,he’s saying.

“How can I stand by, hidden away, knowing that the people of the Autumn Kingdom are suffering under Selena’s rule?” I ask, the need for justice burning hot in my veins.“If she’s as cruel as you say she is, they have to be miserable.”

“It’s not your responsibility, Aurelia.” Fear coats my mother’s words.

“Isn’t it?” I stand and start pacing, unable to keep still.“She killed my mother,her own sister.She doesn’t deserve to be queen.” My words seem to shock my family, and I’d be lying if I said they didn’t shock me a bit too.

“Be that as it may, Selena is far too dangerous. Even if you could get through the mountains, she would have you killed.” My father’s warning sends a chill down my spine.

Bits and pieces of my conversation with the seer come back to me.“Sibyl told me I have more power than I know. What did she mean by that?”

My father sighs in resignation, knowing I’ll keep pushing if I don’t get answers.“Your mother was a witch, as is your aunt. Twinsare very rare and very powerful. They can feed off of each other's power, which makes them dangerous. Your mother was a very powerful healer, while Selena chose to use her power to harm instead of help. My guess is that Selena thought that killing your mother would allow her to absorb Solana’s power, making her twice as strong.”

“But that didn’t happen?” I surmise, my own hatred for my aunt growing with each new tale I hear of her.

“Correct. Technically, Selena should have gained your mother’s power, but she didn’t. No one knows why.”

“That’s why you fled…” I nod, putting the pieces together.

“Solana knew her sister was plotting something, and she did what she could to protect you, knowing she might be killed. You were a threat to Selena’s power since your mother’s blood runs through your veins. You still are.” My mother pleads with me to understand the choices they’ve made to keep me hidden.

While I understand that my mother and my godparents wanted to keep me safe, I still feel betrayed having been kept in the dark all this time.

“I need some air.” I grab my bow and quiver from where they’re sitting by the back door and head outside to take out my frustration on the well-loved target that Killian and I have practiced on for a decade now. No one follows me, a small blessing.

I spend the next hour shooting arrows at the straw and burlap target that I hand-painted myself, thinking through everything. The more I process, the more I’m filled with resolve; my aunt killed her own sister and was still made queen. Somethingabout that feels very wrong, and I know I won’t be able to rest until Selena is brought to justice, whatever that looks like.

My stomach growls loudly, reminding me I never got a chance to eat breakfast. As if he could sense my inherent need for sustenance, Killian comes outside with a plate that’s piled high with steaming eggs, sausage, and bread. I grunt in thanks, taking the plate from him and sitting down cross-legged in the yellowing grass.

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