Emerson eyed Palladia for a moment before whispering to Callahan, “Wait, seriously? She was engaged to the elf Hels is married to? Um, ew.”
Hellebore was more focused on her aunt’s story than Emerson’s commentary. “What did you do to break the engagement without sending us to war?”
“I made it clear to him that I was not some little human he could toy with. He did not respond well. Thankfully, I was much cleverer than him, and the leverage I secured was what I bargained with in order to break the engagement. I escaped Auror and while your father was displeased, I refused to let him sell me off to that monster. By that point, there was nothing your father could do about it. The elf king had no interest in a wife that wouldn’t let him run roughshod over her. I did what I had to in order to protect myself, but I thought that was the end of it. I never imagined he’d try again with you. Or that he would succeed.”
Hellebore took a deep breath. She couldn’t cry again in front of her aunt. Once was already unacceptable. Twice?
“You… You make him sound like some kind of evil, scheming mastermind,” Hellebore whispered.
“I trusted her. I shouldn’t have.”
“She looked at us the way you look at your plants.”
“You have proof before you twice over that he is. Hels, he is very good at putting on an act. I’m grateful I never once fell for it, but I don’t hold it against you for letting him get to you.”
Who did she believe? Taiyo, who’d been lying to her for months and preventing her brother from reaching her, or her aunt, who had been diligently trying to rescue her since the second Taiyo had slung her over his shoulder?
It should be an easy choice. There was clearly a right answer.
But…
“Aunt, twenty-five years ago, he was basically sixteen and you were thirty.”
Callahan’s side of the story had been completely honest. She had no doubt about its veracity. Her aunt, however… wasn’t telling her everything.
Callahan’s eyes widened and Emerson muttered, “Oh, that’s worse.”
Palladia raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t change his nature.”
Her aunt couldn’t even at least be a little remorseful at taking advantage of his trust?
Hellebore had been so blind.
“Oh, yes, I’m sure he was thrilled to be engaged to a woman who was twice his age in development and maturity and that he had orchestrated all of it to get revenge for something that happened centuries ago rather than facilitate peace!” Hellebore ripped herself out of Callahan’s grip. “Oh yes, I’m quite certain he was manipulating you when he showed you the secret entrance to a sacred garden of Sunrise Irises, trusting you with that only for you to curse it and his kingdom with a rot that has lasted twenty-five years!”
Hellebore should have seen it sooner. She should have figured out ages ago who had been behind it. It’d been painfully obvious, if only she had been willing to even consider it. She’d assumed it was the Moon Elves, and he’d never corrected her.
If he had, would she have taken Palladia’s side?
“You’re just repeating the lies he told you to win your sympathy. I know you’re confused—”
“He didn’t tell me anything about this. He never told me what you did, probably because he feared I wouldn’t believe him. But it’s the only thing that makes sense. You were the one manipulating him.” Hellebore pushed herself to her feet, and the three around her quickly rose as well, blocking her in. She glared at her aunt. “You’re trying to make me believe he’s the villain when it’s been you all along.”
Callahan grabbed her shoulder. “Hels, you didn’t see him when he came to the capital, trying to do again exactly what Aunt Palladia describes he did twenty-five years ago. Did you already forget what I just told you? If he was innocent, why wouldn’t he tell you the truth? Why would he run out after discovering you weren’t at the academy and kidnap you and force you to marry him? Why would he refuse to let me even enter the city the day of the wedding? Why would he stop all of my letters from reaching you?”
“But how can I be certain I can believeyou?”
Callahan shifted back, heartbreak filling his eyes. “Why would I lie? Do you really think I would ever abandon my little sister to a monster? Do you really think I would have chosen Emerson to be my alchemist over you?”
Everything Callahan was saying was what she wanted to believe, and why would he lie? Why would Taiyo do that to her?
He claimed to love her…
Had he just been manipulating her? Trying to get her to fall in love with him by pretending to be in love with her?
She looked over at her aunt. “Did you poison the irises or not?”
Palladia lifted her chin. “I did what I had to in order to protect myself. The elf is the one who brought it on himself.”
