Page 40 of MidKnight
“What are the odds that Queen Gela had two girls?”
I waved a hand. “Everyone knows she had magical assistance. She was older. That’s the only way she could have possibly conceived—”
Declan shook his head. “No. Something feels off. I don’t know what. But something feels off about all of this.”
“About all of what?” I asked.
“Why would someone kidnap the second daughter?” Declan’s blue eyes flicked from me to Connor and back to me. “She doesn’t have magic. She isn’t the heir. Even when you left, your mother never made her the heir. So, why do they want her?”
I sucked in a breath. “What are you saying?”
“I think we need to find out more about Avia and the circumstances surrounding her birth.”
* * *
Connor had a trail of servants trickle discreetly through my sitting room, so that Isla and the other court gossips wouldn’t catch on that we were fishing for information. I couldn’t imagine the uproar if people heard what Declan had said. Or the fallout for Avia when she returned home. But we needed to know. In order to find Avia, we had to pursue every avenue.
And so, the servants came in and Connor questioned them, while Declan and I pretended to go over ledgers.
In reality, we were checking old war documents stuffed into the ledgers for tactics on fighting dragons in between the interviews. It looked like many countries used to use wizards. But, as my search of the countryside had shown, most of the wizards had killed one another or disappeared. I hadn’t been able to find one to help me with my powers. We’d have to find another way.
I glanced over as Connor worked, smoothly asking workers about their jobs as if they were up for promotion. He slid in questions about Avia with ease. I admired his silver tongue. Declan or I would probably have just outright asked the question or two we needed and raised a shite-ton of suspicion and gossip. But all these workers would leave here thinking about was the chance at a better job.
At least eight servants confirmed they’d seen my mother pregnant. But their testimony didn’t seem to sway Declan. Whenever one would leave, he insisted, “Disguise spells work for the royal family. She could have used a spell that kept her face and gave her a different body.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
He blushed but waved me off. “I research everything, Bloss. Who was in the room when Avia was born? Who was actually there? That’s who we need, Connor.”
I nearly told Connor to call off this search, because it seemed like Declan was a little ridiculous. Maybe even a little obsessive. But something about what he’d said tugged at my gut.
I’d always thought Avia had been more suited to be queen than I was. I’d always thought Mother should give her the crown. We’d had massive arguments about it when I was fourteen. And Declan was right, it was insanely unusual for a monarch to have two daughters. No other queen had two. Even Sultan Raj, who’d sat on his throne for nearly a thousand years, hadn’t had more than one daughter in the past thirty years. She’d passed away young and he hadn’t had another girl. Only his five sons.
A stone sat in the pit of my stomach, weighing me down as more servants came and proclaimed they’d seen the princess the day she’d been born.
“She was a cute, squirmy thing. A mite big for a girl, I’d say. But she had a good set of lungs on her. Screamed like a banshee!” said one old parlor maid.
We were through most of the castle servants who’d been working in the palace at the time of Avia’s birth when Connor ushered in an older woman, a midwife who said she’d been in the room. She had white hair and her lower eyelids drooped, giving her a pink rim around darting green eyes.
“Yes, I helped deliver Avia,” she said, after Connor helped her into a chair by the fire and asked the same questions he’d asked countless others.
“She was … an easy baby,” the woman stated. “Quick.”
She opened her mouth to talk more, but Connor tilted his head and studied her. “What do you mean, quick?”
I watched Connor. He’d been quiet, reading emotions throughout the afternoon. But for some reason, this woman’s slow answer had perked him up.
“Queen Gela was hardly in labor at all that night,” the midwife shook her head, “I had ordered things brought up, hot water and the like, and then … there she was. Little Princess Avia.”
Connor stood. “Thank you. Would you mind waiting here a moment? There’s someone else I’d like to bring in to speak with you.”
“Of course, My Lord,” the woman nodded and rested her head on the chair.
Connor strode out of the room without another word. Declan and I exchanged a glance.
A few minutes later, Connor was back with Cerena and my animals. The bluebird rode on Connor’s shoulder and the rabbit followed at his heels. He grabbed the bird and thrust it at me. “Here. This sarding thing shite on me when I tried to leave without him. And your damn bunny bites.”
“Blue, you naughty boy,” I took Blue as I noticed a white streak down the back of Connor’s vest.
