Page 95 of A Kingdom of Lies

“Elinor?” I said, stepping closer to the bars, drawn forward like a moth to an open flame. “Elinor Oakstorm?”

She blinked – fluttered those bright-sky eyes and said, “Yes, and who might you be?”

CHAPTER 33

I stared deeply into the eyes of Elinor Oakstorm, watching as my name sank into her psyche. Up until now, I’d believed her dead, but the woman before me couldn’t be more alive, nor anyone else but an Oakstorm. I saw Tarron in every feature, small and imposing. Then again, Elinor reacted to my name in the exact same way. Shock, horror, disbelief and… hope.

“It cannot be.” Elinor’s voice shook as she spoke; disbelief creased her features. It was as though she clawed the very words from my mind and spoke them aloud.

I stood there, unable to formulate a response that would make sense.

“It’s true, my lady. Robin, he told me himself. I believe him,” Jesi began, until the sharp retort of the woman cut her off entirely.

“I know who he is. I do not require a name to see the truth in his face.” Frail, bony hands reached out of the iron bars towards me. “And never did I think I would look upon the face of an Icethorn again. But here you are, and my, don’t you look like your mother. Like the reflection of a mirror – beautiful, cold and an Icethorn without question.”

I kept my hands at my sides, trying to hide the violent shaking as I gripped them into fists. It was impossible not to notice the hurt that pinched her brows into a frown. Slowly and with an air of regret, the woman pulled her offending hands back into her cell. Turning my back on the caged woman, I looked at Jesi with a plea in my eyes. “This is a mistake.”

Jesi ignored me, her body almost blocking the pathway back towards the main atrium of the cavern. I had to get away. I would rather have perished than be looked at by those same eyes for a moment longer.Tarron’s eyes.

“If I have said something to offend you, I apologise. But you must understand, I have not looked upon your family for many years. I am shocked, that is all.”

Looking back to the woman, I forced all guilt from my expression. Guilt for knowing what had become of her son. Her family. Guilt for knowing the very reason I was before her in the first place was because of my plot to side with the Hand to ensure her husband’s death.

“They are dead,” I said, matter-of-factly. “My family – because of–”

Do you know that they died because of you? Fuelled by Doran’s jealousy that you had not been given the freedom my mother had?Those were the questions I silently screamed as I studied the shell of the woman before me.

The woman didn’t so much as flinch, instead held my stare indefinitely. “I know why they perished, dearest Robin. And I am so, so sorry for what my husband did. But the Court lives on in you,” she added, breaking the prolonged moment of silence. “Word of the Icethorn heir came only weeks ago with the recent batch of captured Fey. We all believed it to be false. Fake. Made-up stories. Yet now, with you standing before me, I do not doubt your lineage for a moment.”

I held my chin high, searching for a reason to hate the woman from first impressions; thus far I was empty-handed. “Elinor,” I said. “You have been here, in the Below, all this time?”

“I have.”

“I was told that you were taken by Hunters alongside my mother. She made it home. You… you didn’t. Wychwood believes you died years ago.”

“In a sense, I did. Yet I was stolen by the enemy and still live. Julianna’s fate was no better than my own.”

My entire body trembled.

“Jesi,” Elinor said, turning to her. “Thank you for bringing him to me but the matters we have to discuss are not for your ears.”

“Noted.” Jesi bowed her head for a final time, midnight hair falling before part of her face. “Robin – my king – find me if you need.”

I couldn’t reply, not as her sparkling, tear-filled eyes regarded me. Then Jesi turned and left, leaving me alone with a ghost of flesh and bone.

“Robin,” Elinor said when Jesi’s footsteps quietened as she departed. “I remember when your mother told me that her next child would be named as such. Never did I believe it would have been the name given to the secret child of her human lover.”

“You must be sickened then,” I replied. “Your stomach turning sour as you look upon me.”

A heavy sadness passed behind her dull, tired eyes. “No matter what I think of the scum who dwell in the castle above us, your father was different to them. And your mother loved him. Even I could see that. I look upon you and see nothing but a memory of happiness for me. I see Julianna.”

I felt the heavy, burning truth of her words. Part of me wanted to lift a hand to my cheek, remembering the fleeting memory of my mother in my dreams, dark hair and melodic voice. Many had told me of our resemblance, but there was something about hearing it from Elinor that made it more believable.

I swallowed hard, trying to clear the guilt that had lumped within my throat. “I would have thought you hated her for leaving you.”

“Leaving me?” She looked confused, almost taken aback by my comment. “Julianna would never have left me if I hadn’t demanded she did so.”

“I don’t understand.”

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