Page 132 of A War of Three Kings

“You can’t get attached to a human woman, Elrond!” Frode’s face flashes before me, concern etched across his features.

A growl peels from my lips. “I am well aware of the sacrifices I will make for Fionola.”

I hold the precious weight of my infant son in my arms. I teach him to fight with a sword as he is suddenly an adolescent. Tears run down my face without end as I place my hand on the cold surface of Fionola’s gravestone.

I drag in a shuddering breath and pull my shaking hand away from the flashes of Elrond’s memories. I witnessed them countless times in the Spring Court. Our ancestor made two copies of this Living Memory Scroll, and both were stored in royal libraries that this family could not access.

I stare into my grandmother’s eyes. “You understand the truth now.”

“I do.” She wipes her tears away with a handkerchief she pulls from a pocket. “And I think the time of secrets and lies is over. No more hiding the past. No more lies about the magical pregnancies.”

Caitlin stands up abruptly, her chair clattering to the ground behind her. “Revealing the true parentage of those born by the magic will cause chaos. Many people will be hurt by the truth, and we don’t know how those conceived of magical pregnancies will be targeted.” Her hand shakes as it rests on her protruding, rounded belly.

“Gwyneth will make her own choices, and it will reveal the depth of her character.” My grandmother stands and holds Caitlin by the shoulders. “Some battles are worth fighting. Many of the nobles are either born to the magic or have a parent who was. It is the best way to force their hand, in self-protection. I wouldn’t urge you to agree to this, Caitlin, if the house of Appleshield wasn’t fighting for its survival. Weneedall the allies we can muster.”

My eyes dart between them as horror crashes through me. “Shouldn’t it be her choice? Revealing that information about her child? Caitlin should have a say!”

“It is the right thing to do, Caitlin.” Lynna stands and takes her hands. “I say this as a mother of a child also conceived by the magic.”

Caitlin’s lips turn downward, but when she speaks, her voice is steady. “Our grandmother is right. I cannot hold back this vital piece of information that could unite our people because I am worried about rejection by my life partner. If Gwyneth cannot see past her prejudice and love all aspects of our unborn daughter, then she doesn’t deserve to raise her at my side.”

My heart breaks, even as Caitlin’s back stiffens and chin raises, as though she is preparing herself for war. My father looks devastated for her.

“It is decided, then,” my grandmother says. “I will release all Mothers of Magic from their oath to never speak of the details of their pilgrimage to the Otherworld.”

The day disappears within a heartbeat, and we continue working into the night, recruiting Aldrin’s inner circle and Mothers of Magic to comb through the texts. I spend another day hard at work, until a headache creeps in and digs its claws into my temples. There is a purple dint in my finger from the quill I have been using to write notes.

Aldrin places his hands on my shoulders and leans in from behind, his breath tickling my ear. “You need to rest. I have an idea of how to get you to unwind.” His voice is so low my stomach drops with anticipation.

I allow him to pry me from my chair and drag me into the nearest empty room, where we tear off each other’s clothes and make love like it is the first and the last time. War does that to a person.

Afterward, as I take a walk alone, I hear raised voices drifting down a staircase that leads to the battlements. I recognize Caitlin’s furious growl and it makes me stop abruptly. She rarely loses her grip on her emotions.

Something propels me up those steps and into the fresh air. I charge into the guardhouse, scanning the wall for her. Caitlin and Gwyneth are in the next guardhouse along, but their argument carries easily. I take a step out toward them, needing to know what is upsetting my sister, when a soldier I didn’t notice pulls me back by the wrist.

I whirl on him, ready to explode because he dared to stop me. Then I realize it is Liam. I have fought beside this Appleshield Guard too many times during the fae hunts for there to be many formalities left between us.

“Let them fight it out,” he says, holding up his hands, his blue eyes trained on me and the breeze ruffling his golden hair.“No good will come from you interfering.”

I let out a long breath.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier? You know what the fae did to my family!” Gwyneth’s roar floats to us on the wind, and we both cringe. “To my baby sister! And now you are saying my daughter was sired by them!”

“It’s not true. The fae don’t take human children and leave changelings.” Caitlin’s tone is hard and every line of her body is rigid. Gods, this is a difficult conversation to watch. “I’m sorry for the trauma your family has gone through and the pain you still carry, but it’s not true.”

Gwyneth’s tall form towers over my sister and she gets right in her face. I draw all of my magic to the ready, because if she dares to strike Caitlin, I will toss her off the battlements. A gust swirls around me and my hair rises from my shoulders.

“Easy.” Liam puts a hand on my arm, then whips it back quickly as though burned. “By the Soul Ripper, you are terrifying when you do that, Keira.”

Gwyneth doesn’t raise a hand, but I don’t like the way she snarls at Caitlin. “Are you telling me that the fae didn’t take my sister and leave a changeling in her place? That when we left that babe out in the elements overnight as an offering, with the hope that they would swap the babies back, we instead left my sister to die next to the portal?” Her voice breaks.

Tears spring to my eyes and my chest aches for her family, but it doesn’t excuse Gwyneth’s aggressive behavior toward my sister.

Caitlin doesn’t back down. “Yes. That is what I am telling you. I know it’s hard to hear, but it is the truth. If we are going to raise this child together, you need to get past this trauma. Past your hatred of the fae. I will do everything in my power to help you, but you need to want it first.”

Gwyneth rears back multiple steps. She shakes her head and her long braids fly around her shoulders. “No. No, it’s not the truth. It’s bad enough that you let these fae monsters into our realm to fight this war, but to open the portals and allow hordes of them in as they wish? To havetheirbaby? No. This isn’t something I can support.”

“She is nottheirbaby,” Caitlin snarls. “She is ours.”

---