the tile.
There was only one question replaying in my mind over and over again.
Would Liam ever forgive me?
Chapter 5
I woke the next morning with red-rimmed eyes and a stiff neck but with more determination than I’d ever had in my life. The cold hard fact was that, yes, Liam dealt a fatal blow that ended my mother’s life, but if he hadn’t, he would be dead. Cain too. He did what anyone would have done, and his father, the Winter King, was the one to strike my mother first. The Winter King was the enemy, along with Indra, who taught my mother that the Sons of Darkness were evil.
Indra who cuffed Mara for following her heart and loving a halfling. We should have been working with the halflings as a team a long time ago.
“Trissa, will you bring me Indra please?” I tipped my chin up as I entered the kitchen where Trissa was sitting with her tea and a book.
She froze, tea to her lips, eyes wide. “Like, just tell her that you want to speak with her or… ‘Bring me Indra.’” She said the last part with a firm tone.
I nodded. “The latter. She’s wanted for questioning.”
Trissa set the mug down and bowed her head. “Right away then.” I could see a slight nervousness dance behind her eyes. Indra was powerful, no doubt, but she’d been allowed to run freely without checks and balances for too long.
Trissa slipped into her room, grabbed her sword, and then left.
Next, I knocked on Elle’s door.
“Go away,” she yelled.
That was fair… I’d been heartless in my treatment of the boys yesterday, and I could see she had a thing for Cam, so it would hit her extra hard.
Without waiting, I opened the door.
She was sitting at the window seat, flipping through an old book. Rules of Royal Reign shown in gold filigree at the spine.
Before she could speak, I opened my mouth. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I was blinded by my grief and the betrayal by Liam.”
Her mouth, which had been open to speak, snapped shut. She breathed in and then out. “After everything we went through with them, you just… left them to die yesterday. You questioned my loyalty to you!” Her voice shook.
My throat pinched with emotion as I stepped closer. “I should never have done that. I’m so sorry, but Elle, what would you do if I died, and then next month Trissa admitted it was her who killed me?”
Her nostrils flared. “I’d take off her head,” she agreed.
I nodded. “So, I acted… before I knew the truth…”
Elle set the book down and faced me. “The truth?”
I sat on the edge of Elle’s bed. “Liam left me a piece of hair to do a memory spell. He killed my mom… sort of. But it was self-defense.”
I quickly recounted the whole memory as Elle sat there, lips turned into a frown. “I’m sorry, Lil. It’s awful, but I knew Liam was someone we could trust.”
Yeah. Me too.
Deep down, I should have known… but still, he did kill my mother, and I wasn’t sure how to get that out of my head. Maybe I needed to stop making my mother perfect. She was amazing, and I loved her. But what she did, threatening to let Cain die and trying to shoot Liam… it wasn’t right.
My mother was wrong.
“I’m sorry too.”
I stood, and we embraced before I pulled away quickly. “Now, help me. I just summoned Indra here to question her about Mara’s cuffs and the memory stuff.”
Elle’s eyes widened. “An official summons?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t send it in writing, but I sent Trissa to get her… armed with her sword.”
Elle’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Okay, if she lies to you in front of witnesses, it’s treason. Are you ready to kill her?”
My throat went dry. “Over lying?” I gulped.
Elle tapped the book in her hands. “Lying to the Queen is punishable by death.”
Whoa.
That was a little harsh… but now I wondered if I should question her about the sleeping potion too. That was punishable by death in my book.
“How will I know she’s lying?” Maybe there was a spell or something.
Elle shrugged. “You won’t unless you catch her.”
I relaxed a little. “Okay, so we’ll take an… official statement today, and if she’s found later to be lying…”
Elle dragged her finger across her throat. “Off with her head.”
Well, that was dramatic… but accurate. I needed to remember that it was her who changed my mother’s memories, and mine, to hide my true