Page 98 of When the Moon Met the Sun

Byn nodded, then motioned for her to carry on. I realized that must be how shedisappearedthat day at the market, too.

“As I was saying. You know what I found in Hollis?” she asked, looking in my direction.

I shook my head, still slightly skeptical.

“There was a small tavern on the outskirts—Tammy’s Tavern—that had portraits of all the Northern royal couples. And the most recent one depicted the cold-hearted King Horace with his arm around my mother. There was no denying it—I had studied her portraits in Ashford House for my entire life. Her face is burned into my mind.

“It was at that point I knew she was alive. Or at least she hadn’t died that day on the battlefield. I wondered what that meant for my father, but I’m still unsure, seeing as Elore obviously somehow became involved withyourfather, and I couldn’t imagine she did so willingly,” she said, and I could tell she must feel a certain way about that topic.

“So… if all of this is true, why are you telling me this now? That was years ago,” I asked, unwilling to present my and Laurence’s findings without her confirming her own theories first.

“I think they’re still alive. I heard about that member of your Valwain—Ezra.” She nodded to Byn, who went stiff upon hearing the name. “I believe he’s still alive, too. And if my research is correct, there are more out there somewhere.Alive.”

My heart pounded as I slowly set the book in my lap onto the table before us, opening to the page I had showed to Laurence.

“I believe you. And your theories,” I said after a moment.

Matea’s eyes snapped to meet mine, as if searching for any signs I might be lying or pulling a cruel prank on her. But I simply held hergaze, letting her see how genuine I was being. Slowly, she nodded and looked down to the book between us.

In that moment, I decided to take a leap of faith and trust this female—my half-sister.

“Earlier, I found these records. And if they’re accurate, then over the years, we’ve lost thousands of our soldiers and trokavs—ones who didn’t make it home, deadoralive,” I stated.

Byn scanned the pages, taking in each report and statistic, while Teagan rounded the couch and came to lean over Byn’s shoulder to inspect it as well.

“Why hasn’t this been brought to my attention before now?” Byn asked, and I could feel a new weight settling on his shoulders.

“We didn’t know, Your Majesty. Think about it—if a Northerner freezes a soldier in place, then shatters them, there isn’t a bodytorecover. It’s all just been brushed under the rug—until now,” Matea answered without missing a beat. It was obvious she had given this a lot of thought.

I looked up to Billie and Geoff—my grandparents. “What do you two think about all of this?” I asked them.

The two looked at each other, then Geoff nodded slightly. Billie took a step forward.

“We agree with Matea’s theories, though maybe not how she gathered her evidence.” She sent a scowl towards Matea, who smiled cheekily in response. “Matea might be stubborn, brash, and sneaky, but she’s not a liar. Plus, the records speak for themselves.” She motioned towards the book on the table.

I nodded, and I found myself agreeing with them. I didn’t know if Mother and Ethan were alive still, but I did know Quinn believed Ezra was, and the records go back years, all showing the same results.

“So the North is taking our people. Not just our soldiers and trokavs, but even members of nobility and the Valwain now,” Teagan stated, and I looked to Byn to gauge his thoughts. I could tellby the light in his eyes that this revelation, while adding a burden to his already heavy shoulders, had also brought him a sliver of hope. Our friend, his brother, might still be out there somewhere.

Matea nodded. “That’s the theory here, Princess.”

There was a moment of silence, where everybody simply processed the heavy revelation that had just been laid out before us.

Not only did my father hurt everybody he came in contact with, try to conquer the world as we knew it, forced me to hide who I truly was, and more—he also kidnapped Southerners for what I could only assume were his own selfish purposes.

A small portion of me began to feel less guilty about taking his life.

After all, sometimes you had to sacrifice those you love for the greater good.

A heartbeat later, I locked eyes with Matea—my sister—before finally responding.

“Let’s go get our people back.”

Epilogue

The snow battered the high, arched windows as the male paced up and down the stone corridors. His shoes sounded as he walked,click, click, click, with each step he took.

His thoughts were overflowing, attacking him from the inside. The North had lost the battle he was so sure they’d win, and the king was dead. Never again would he have to face the king, and he couldn’t decide if he was happy about that fact or not.

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