Page 50 of When Day Breaks

"You've been visiting her for however long, brother," Rivian starts as he looks up to Travois. "I need to know; did she say anything to you about Viktrum or the Rogue or…" Rivian swallows. "Anything at all?"

I watch as Trav chews over the question. It looks like he's trying to find a way to say something that he might not want to say. Does he know something?

"We have to figure out what Viktrum is up to," Troian says, wiping her eyes and turning to face us once more.

"Ameliana never said anything to me," Trav responds before sighing what sounds like a sigh of inconvenience. "Because she doesn’t say anything to me at all."

Everyone hangs on to his words. A confession? But what does it mean?

"Travois . . . what are you saying?" Troian seems confused by his admission while I'm just here trying to follow along.

"I found her years ago. I never told anyone because I wanted to protect her. I spoke to her one time, that was it. She asked about you,” he looks to Troy. “But we didn’t discuss much else other than the normal distant pleasantries. She gave me access to come back and I did, but I never knew what to say. So I never said anything at all. I knew there was a reason she ran so I didn't expose her. But we've…" Something shifts in Travois. I can't tell what it is but he doesn't seem so self assured in this moment."I never spoke to her again. I just watched. She probably thinks I abandoned her or something, but I couldn’t force myself to pretend that I cared about her absence any longer,” he finishes and I don't know what it’s supposed to mean, but I see his siblings carry disbelief and disappointment on their faces.

"Well, I can't say this changes anything one way or the other." Rivian paces near me, obviously trying to decide how to approach things now.

"Do you really think she would know anything about this Rogue to begin with? I mean, what has you thinking as much?" I turn to ask him, trying to get things finished up here so I can give my brain a break.

Troy and Trav just stare at each other as if they're having some kind of twin fight or something.

"Shehasto know." Troy breaks her silence and opts to place herself back in the plan. "Didn't you say she was married to someone in Valor Cove now?"

"Dominek. Viktrum's brother," Rivian answers.

I do my best to listen to their conversation and take as much information in as possible.

They talk about how Dominek was declared dead by Viktrum as one of the Royals in the accusation of treason. Troy offers to have a one on one with him but Trav decides getting him to talk would be impossible. My head bounces back and forth between the three of them as they talk out a plan.

I hear Troian offering that Zharus might be able to get them into the castle—she mentions the fact that she caught him sneaking in already so it shouldn't be that hard. But Rivian comes to his defense slightly by stating that him having some kind of secret tryst with a Valor Nocturne doesn't make him an easy ally for what they need to do. But Troian offers that he might be sleeping with someone who knows something and maybe they should be questioning him first.

The conversation jumps to how Travois might need to keep a low profile for a while until they figure things out, Rivina offering him to keep an eye on Zharus in the meantime.

"Your scrawny little Factotum?" Travois responds which causes me to chuckle under my breath a little.

I turn my head back to Troy who reminds her brother of the accusations against him and how someone might know what he did and is using that to their advantage.

Rivian reminds us that Zharus is hiding something from him, but he just doesn't know what.

Back and forth the possibilities and ideas keep bouncing between them and I'm finding it fairly simple to keep up until…

"I don't care how you guys get into Valor Cove, but you have to find out what she knows. If Dominek is really alive like Ameliana claims, then we know that Viktrum is behind this somehow. Maybe she'll be willing to talk to the both of you." I look over to Rivian whose eyes bounce between me and my sister while he speaks, obviously giving us a direct order that I might have only heard half of.

"Wait, are you talking to me?" I hook my thumb in my direction, my eyes wide when I realize he really was giving me direction.

"You and Troy," he confirms, and I spin theresponsibilityin my head.

Go to Valor.

Talk to my mother.

The one I tried to kill the other night.

Interrogate her.

Again.

Talk to her.

"Lucynda? You good?" I look up to see Troian studying me, and I give her a curt nod knowing that I need to do what needsto be done. I can do it. I can face my mother. This time, I know she's my mom.

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