The Gifted Heart (Marks of Inheritance: The Orkeia Cycle #1)

27. Truth Unveiled

I saiah returned about a week before the founding celebration, leaving Gideon behind with his clan and the rest of the Gifted he had gathered on Hairan. My father was overjoyed to meet his granddaughter, spending every spare moment he could with her. It raised my spirits to see the two of them together, particularly given how nervous I was about the upcoming celebrations.

Kiernan continued to be convinced that the founding was the perfect time to reveal the truth to all of Orkeia. Reading over his speech, I had to admit that it was well crafted. He highlighted the legends of the Mother of the Sea and the Father of Storms, pointing out the clear magical influence those stories contained, and went on to reveal that forgotten and lost records from the founding of Orkeia had been discovered within the castle’s library. While he didn’t mention Hanson by name, he emphatically stated that a sorcerer lifted these islands from the sea, and he and his people collaborated with those who held no magic to establish a kingdom upon the land. While it wasn’t the most accurate or descriptive history, it was certainly effective at getting the point across.

But the eloquence of his planned speech wasn’t enough to completely ease my concerns. After all, as part of this speech, my identity as a magic holder—and that of my daughter—was about to be revealed to the people. It was a reveal that I’d prayed and hoped would happen eventually, but now that it was approaching, I didn’t feel ready for it.

How would the people react? Would they revolt? Would the lords and ladies who had come to trust me distance themselves out of fear?

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, there was only one way to find out.

***

“Kenna, get in here!”

“Just a minute, Abi,” I called, smiling at my two-month-old daughter. Bella smiled back, cooing as I made a funny face.

“We only have an hour to get you ready for the banquet!”

I sighed, kissing Bella’s forehead before straightening in front of her crib. I didn’t want to leave my daughter’s side, not tonight. Kiernan had grown more and more confident as the days went on that his speech would be received favorably, but I couldn’t help the gurgling feeling in my stomach.

Abi barged into the room, her hands on her hips. “This might just be the biggest moment of your life, and I am not going to let you experience it with your hair looking like that!”

Despite my nerves, I laughed, turning around and smiling warmly at her. Reluctantly, I left my daughter in the care of another maid, a young girl named Diana. My father had recommended her, explaining that he was close friends with her father and trusted her to keep the secret about Bella’s gift until it was officially revealed. Diana hadn’t seemed fazed at all to discover that the queen was, in fact, a magic holder, and that at least brought some hope that others would react positively as well.

Abi had already decided what I was to wear, and in record time I was dressed and having my hair done. She smiled at me in the mirror.

“You’re going to do great,” she whispered excitedly, giving me a tight hug from behind.

“What matters is that everything goes smoothly.” I sighed.

“It will,” she reassured. “As long as you’re there on time. ”

I chuckled before relapsing into silence. Once my hair was finished, circlet included, she removed the emerald necklace Kiernan gave me so long ago from my drawer and latched it around my neck.

“There,” she said. “Now you look like a queen.”

I laughed at her, standing and giving her a tight hug. As always, Abi’s excitement was infectious. And beneath all the nerves and uncertainty, I started to allow myself to feel some excitement as well.

We’re actually going to do it. We’re going to officially end the Slaughters.

When I stepped out of the door, Kiernan was waiting in the sitting room. He grinned when he saw me, sweeping me into his arms and kissing me swiftly. “You look beautiful as always, My Heart.”

“And you look handsome,” I said, fixing a loose strand of hair that was in his face. Kissing his cheek, I leaned in close and whispered, “Why don’t we skip the party altogether?”

He smirked, but ignored my comment, leading me into the hall. I tried to hold on to Abi’s infectious excitement, but with each step I held on to Kiernan’s hand a little bit tighter. He rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand encouragingly.

“It’s going to go well,” he whispered, kissing my cheek. “You’ll see.”

My smile was shaky, but I still managed it. When we arrived, the dining room was already crowded with guests. They all bowed or curtsied as we entered. I saw many friendly faces that I had come to know over the past year—Sir Hamon and Sophronia, Lady Rosalyn, and Captain Stole were all particularly warm and welcoming presences. As I met each of their gazes in turn, I told myself that they, at least, would accept the truth, and by extension, accept me. Like my husband, they knew my character, after all.

There was one face that was the opposite of friendly, however. Lewin stood towards the head of the table, not directly next to our seats but closer than I would have liked. He had returned just a few days previously from his assignment with King Simeon and seemed even more hardened and angry than he had been before. I tore my eyes from him, pushing aside my fears. After tonight, even if he was the one who had left the note almost a year ago, it wouldn’t matter. Everyone would know the truth .

Kiernan and I took our seats next to each other at the head of the table. Instead of staring at my plate as I had two years before, I met the lords’ and ladies’ gazes, nodding and smiling at each of them in turn. Somehow, I’d become the queen, not just a girl the king dragged out of a cell. It was strange how natural certain actions had become, but none of that really mattered. What mattered was the man sitting to my right and the child in the rooms above.

Once everyone had been served, Kiernan stood. He beamed at me before speaking, placing his free hand on my shoulder.

“I would like to begin with a toast,” he said, and I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. This was not the opening line that he had been rehearsing, but he just winked at me upon seeing my surprise and continued.

“You all first met my wife one year ago on this very day, the celebration of our kingdom’s founding. You didn’t know what to think of her then, and rightly. She was kind, beautiful, and refined, but she didn’t necessarily follow all the customs of our society.”

Chuckles were heard around the table as everyone recalled the shock they’d felt when I refused to avoid Kiernan’s eyes. I smiled to myself, remembering that the entire reason I’d done that in the first place was to disrespect him. Now it was a sign of mutual respect between us.

“But now you see her before you,” he continued. “Loving wife, devoted queen of her people, and mother of our perfect Princess Arabella. Her companionship and wisdom has been invaluable to me as I have worked over the past year to bring peace and prosperity to our people. Tonight, in addition to celebrating Orkeia’s founding, I would like to celebrate her beauty, bravery, and leadership.”

He raised his glass of wine to me. “So here’s to you, My Heart. I will love you forever.”

As he drank, the rest of the guests took up their glasses and toasted to me as well. My cheeks were burning profusely, but I beamed at him. As he lowered his glass, I let out a slow breath, keeping my eyes fixed on him as he officially began his rehearsed speech .

“You are all familiar with the history and tales of our people,” he said, taking a moment to clear his throat. “When I was young, my mother told me stories—stories of—”

He coughed, a hand going to the edge of the table to steady himself. At first I assumed he had just taken in too much wine at once, but as his coughing continued, my amused smile faded. Suddenly, he dropped his glass and it shattered on the floor as he fell to the ground.

“Kiernan!” I cried out, falling to my knees beside him.

His hands grasped desperately at his throat, and foam started coming out of his mouth. In a panic, I pulled him into my arms. Before I could even cry out for help, the life and love in his eyes vanished. He lay still in my embrace, no sound coming out of his open mouth.

“ No ,” I whispered, my mind spinning. I pulled him tighter to me. Tears clouded my vision as I realized he wasn’t going to meet my gaze, that his eyes were going to remain empty forever. I shut my eyes tightly, the sounds of shock and fear from everyone else in the room barely reaching my ears. My entire body shook and I buried my head against his chest.

“NO!”

The magic within me erupted. Through my tightly shut eyelids, I perceived a bright flash of light—light that I knew was coming from me. With all of my might, I directed the magical energy into my husband, desperate to keep him with me, to bring his spirit back to his lifeless body.

I collapsed on top of him sobbing as the light disappeared. Desperately, I waited for his chest to rise, to feel his arm wrap around me.

It didn’t.

My sobs turned into wails and I clutched his body even tighter. There was no sound in the room other than that of my grief echoing off the walls. If I had been able to focus on anything else, I’m sure I would have been able to feel the shock and fear present in our guests. As I gasped for air, I heard the first terrified whisper.

“ She’s a witch! ”

The whisper began a murmur, one that I was hardly coherent enough to combat, still sobbing and holding on to my husband’s lifeless form. I thought I heard my father trying to speak up in my defense, but anything he was about to say was quickly drowned out by Lewin’s booming voice.

“She murdered the king!” he growled. “It was all an act! She’s been planning on taking Orkeia as her own since the beginning! GUARDS!”

There was an uproar of sound, some people screaming and rushing away from the table towards the door, others protesting to Lewin that he was jumping to conclusions. Two guards stepped in from their stations and hoisted me to my feet, wrenching me from my husband.

Lewin drew his sword. “Take her to the dungeons. You two! Get the child!”

The world turned upside down. “ LEAVE HER ALONE!” I screamed, struggling violently against the men who were holding me. “ DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!”

All of a sudden, I fell to the ground. Spinning on the spot, I saw my father dueling both of the men who’d been holding me at once. “Run, Kenna!” he exclaimed as I staggered to my feet.

I ran, but not nearly fast enough. Two more guards seized me on Lewin’s orders, dragging me toward the dungeons. I screamed, fighting to break free. Isaiah let out a yell of frustration, besting both of the guards he was fighting and trying to make his way towards me. I continued to struggle against my captors, my sleeve ripping in the process, and succeeded in releasing myself from one of them by elbowing him in the stomach. Only Lewin had come to the celebration with his armor on.

As I fought to free myself from the second man, Lewin approached my father from behind. He raised his sword, and a scream escaped my lips. Lewin’s sword protruded from Isaiah’s stomach, spilling blood on the spotless ground. The light left my father’s eyes.

“Bring the child to me,” he said once again. “These abominations must be destroyed.”

“ MONSTER! ” I screamed as four more men took a hold of me, dragging me away from the bodies of my father and husband. Lewin’s face split into a disturbing, uncharacteristic grin as he pulled his sword from my father’s body, letting the blood drip onto the floor. He met my eyes with fire and malice in his just as I was pulled around a corner and into darkness.

I continued to scream and sob until I couldn’t make any more noise. Even though my vocal chords refused to cooperate, the tears didn’t stop, and neither did the fighting. I’m sure the guards were relieved when they threw me in the dungeon, locking the bars behind them. All my energy spent, I fell in a heap on the floor, weeping.

Until Life leaves the Kingdom…

Why would I have been fated to become queen if this was how it was going to end? Why was I blessed with a caring father, a wonderful husband, and a beautiful daughter just to see them murdered?

The door at the top of the stairs slammed, and I heard heavy footfalls on the steps. I knew it was Lewin. He paused outside my cell before unlocking the door and entering, closing it behind him.

“Good evening, Your Majesty ,” he said, mocking laughter in his voice.

I screamed and threw myself at him, clawing at his face. He punched me in the jaw— hard —and I flew into the wall. I crumbled to the floor, and he cackled under his breath.

“You’re not an easy person to get rid of, Kenna Gale,” he spat. While the surname clearly meant something to him, it was foreign to me. But that was far from important right now.

“Where is my daughter?” I demanded, ignoring the pain in my jaw as I grit my teeth.

His lips curled into a grin. “Dead. I killed her myself.”

A horrible choking sound escaped my throat. He drew his blood-stained sword and stroked the blade, his squinty eyes dancing with pleasure as he advanced. Leaning over me, he grabbed a fistful of my hair to force me to look into his eyes.

“I thought I’d take the most pleasure in killing your father,” he hissed. “I’ve been hunting him for years. Did he ever tell you the truth? About who he really was? About why he changed his name? Or even how he met your foolish mother?”

“What do you know about my mother?” I spat through a sob .

His evil grin spread. “More than you’ll ever know. I’m sure she can tell you all about it herself when you join her in the Other Worlds.”

My eyes widened and he laughed horribly. “Oh, yes, I know of them. Intimately, in fact.”

The way his eyes glinted made my blood run cold. “It was you controlling the demon,” I breathed shakily.

“An old present from King Rafael,” he said mockingly, but his grin turned into a sneer. “And you had to go and banish it.”

I screamed and tried to throw his arm off of me, kicking wildly on the ground. His hold on my hair only tightened and he banged my head against the stone wall. The room spun, and when it came back into focus again, his murderous face was inches from mine.

“Clever, clever girl,” he growled, pushing the hair out of my face with the tip of his sword. “You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve imagined killing you, imagined what it would feel like. King Rafael gave me the order seventeen years ago. Your father saved you then, and he saved you on that beach. But he isn’t here to save you now.”

He forced my head back, placing his sword at my throat. I whimpered from a sting of pain as the sharp edge drew blood. His eyes were full of fire. I stared straight into them, unable to look away. My breath came in short spurts as I waited for him to end it.

Cackling, he withdrew his sword and threw me to the ground. He exited my cell and sheathed his sword. The lock clicked behind him.

“You will be executed at sunrise,” he said before disappearing back up the stairs into the darkness.

I sobbed on the cold, stone floor. My entire body was numb with grief. Of all the horrible things I’d imagined might happen, this—this was so much worse than any of my nightmares. I felt broken beyond repair, too overcome with despair to move from where Lewin had thrown me on the ground.

It couldn’t have been more than an hour when I heard the door to the dungeon creak open again. The sound was so quiet that I almost thought I imagined it. But then, hurried footsteps echoed through the stone walls, and I lifted my head just as Abi rounded the corner. I scrambled to my feet.

“Abi,” I croaked, finding what little of my voice remained. “Lewin—he killed them—Bella, Kiernan, Isaiah—”

“Bella’s safe,” she said, fumbling with a ring of keys. I didn’t know how she had gotten a hold of them or how she even knew where to find me, but I wasn’t going to question any of that at the moment. With a sob, I rushed to the bars, holding on to them desperately as she placed key after key in the lock.

“How?” I breathed.

I thought I saw a flash of anger in her eyes, but before she spoke, another voice interrupted.

“Later,” a man said.

Looking over Abi’s shoulder, I saw a tall, cloaked figure coming down the stairs after her. He moved quickly, but almost silently. In the cracks of moonlight coming from the barred windows, I caught a glimpse of a dagger in his right hand. It was dripping with blood.

I squirmed and almost took a step away from the bars, but Abi reached through briefly to take my hand and squeeze it. “It’s alright, Kenna—this is Alex. You can trust him.”

My lips quivered, but I met her gaze and nodded.

“Hurry,” Alex said.

Abi tried the last key and finally, the cell door opened. I pushed it out of the way and threw my arms around her, holding her with all the strength I had left. She returned the hug with her own shaky breath, and I realized that she, too, had been crying. But at least for the moment, she was holding herself together enough to keep a level head.

“Come on,” she whispered urgently as a glow of light appeared in the stairway. Seizing my hand, she pulled me around a corner and into the shadows. Alex followed, moving almost as if he were invisible.

Panicked voices came from my cell as she pressed on a stone in the wall, opening up a small doorway. She pushed me in first, sliding in herself as light began to fill the hall. Alex joined us and the door closed just as the knights were about to turn the corner. Abi held on to me, panting.

Alex moved past us and motioned for us to follow and keep quiet. Abi kept hold of my hand, which I was thankful for in the darkness. Eventually, the passageway opened wider and sloped downward until it was large enough for five people to fit across at once. After we’d been running for about ten minutes, I saw a light and dark figures in the distance, and I tried to pull back.

“Don’t worry,” Abi said, continuing to pull me after Alex. “They’re with us.”

For the moment, I didn’t ask any questions. Finally there was enough light to recognize the figure of my little Arabella in Diana’s arms, and I ran ahead of my friend and our mysterious protector as fast as my feet could carry me. I scooped her up and held her tightly, letting tears that should have already been shed fall. She cried as well, confused and frightened by the panicked energy around her.

“We have to hurry,” said another man to my right. “Before they discover the boats.”

Through my tears, I saw with some shock and gratitude that it was Captain Stole. But there wasn’t enough time to slow down and thank him. I held my daughter tightly as the group moved forward. Eventually, the passageway opened like a cave, and we filed one by one onto a cliff ledge. I didn’t count how many people there were or even wonder where they came from—all that mattered was that my daughter was alive.

The ledges weren’t extremely thin, but I was still nervous with each step I took of falling to my death and bringing little Bella with me. Four small boats waited for us on the beach, and we filed in without any words. As we pushed off into the ocean, a war horn sounded above. I shut my eyes tightly, focusing instead on the sound of the waves crashing against the wood of the boat, clutching Bella to my chest. I did my best to shush her and calm her cries, whispering to her that everything was going to be alright, even though I couldn’t see how.

Until Life leaves the Kingdom…