“I don’t care,” she said. “I won’t let him hurt Poppy.”
“But the rules,” Driscoll said.
“Fuck the rules,” Leoni burst out. Driscoll’s mouth dropped open. “They’re not worth following if they mean losing a friend.” She nodded at me, and my heart warmed at the gesture.
“How did you find us?” I asked my father.
“It’s not exactly hard to track a carriage. One that I assume you stole. Saestra convinced me we needed to come find you. Claims that you didn’t murder my wife and I needed to hear you out.”
“I didn’t,” I said. “I would never!”
“She’s your daughter,” Loch said in a low voice that spelled danger, “your heir.”
“She’s an imposter,” my father spit out. “I’m only here because I care enough about Saestra to do this for her.”
I broke out of Loch’s hold and held out my hand to Leoni, signaling for her to stand down. Her sword of water disappeared, though her legs remained braced as if ready for a fight.
“How could you?” I asked, thinking of Gran’s story, my anger swelling. “How could you kill an innocent baby?”
Saestra’s brows furrowed, and she glanced at my father in confusion. “What is she talking about?”
He raised his chin in the air. “I have no idea.”
“Silla Taramoud. Queen of the shadow court. She came to your lands with her husband and newborn daughter. She came to ask for help, to warn you of a grave danger, and you didn’t even give her a chance to explain. You killed her husband and her daughter right in front of her. Tried to kill her too.”
His face went ashen, which was all the confirmation I needed that Gran’s story had been true. “Tried to kill her?”
“She survived. She was my gran,” I said. “The one who raised me.”
He stepped back, shock flashing in his eyes.
“Shekidnapped me to get back at you,” I continued. “She planned on killing me, but she... well she didn’t, in the end. Instead she raised me in this tower.” I gestured to it. “You know the rest. How she was taken by shadows to Sorrengard, how those shadows were hunting me. That day in the courtyard, they came for me, and your wife, my mother, she died defending me. How dare you take that from her.” My voice shook. “How dare you think so little of me. You don’t have to trust me. You don’t have to like me. You don’t have to claim me. But I won’t stop fighting for the truth to be known. Queen Bronwen and Queen Silla both deserve that much.”
“Is this true?” Saestra looked at my father in horror.
Loch, Leoni, and Driscoll all stepped up next to me.
My father’s hands came to his stomach, and for a moment, I thought he might be sick. Then his face crumpled, and he fell to his knees, a sob escaping him. “So, in the end, it’s my fault my wife is dead. My actions all those years ago as a young, insecure king came full circle.” He met my gaze. “I never told anyone what happened the day I brought that guard to kill them. I was angry. My parents had died in the Shadow War, and I blamed the king and queen of Sorrengard. I didn’t see the baby until it was too late and the king was falling with her into the water.” He stayed silent for a moment, jaw locked, hands balled into fists. “I believe you,” he finally said in a quiet voice. “It’s going to take some time to accept this, but I believe you, and I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through.”
I wouldn’t tell him the entire truth about Queen Bronwen and how she’d gotten the crown. Hopefully Saestra didn’t either. It didn’t matter now that both she and Gran were dead. She’d been a good queen, and I wouldn’t tarnish that legacy.
Saestra dipped into a bow. “Your Majesty,” she said.
My father wiped at a tear and pushed to a stand. “Come back with us to Winded. We will work through this. Together.”
“I can’t,” I said. “At least, not right this second. There’s something I have to do first.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
POPPY
Icouldn’t wait any longer, needed to find out if the bolt was where I thought it was.
Without explaining any further, I lifted into the air, driving upward toward the stone until I hung in front of it. A jagged black mark scorched its surface, something most probably wouldn’t notice.
I reached out and pulled on it. It wouldn’t budge. I yanked harder, wings pumping behind me. Still, it wouldn’t move. Disappointment welled in me. This had to be it. Gran’s last words had to mean something.
I pulled with all my might, and finally the stone came loose, flying out with force. It tumbled to the ground and crashed into the dirt, but my gaze was stuck on the space inside.
