My aunt gripped my hands. “Rose, dear, I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. We were honoring your father’s wishes, but I hate that it might have caused you any pain. Ragnar and I, we—we love you so much.” Silver lined her eyes, her hands trembling around mine. “I would never want you to think you can’t trust us.We just…didn’t know what else to do. Didn’t know how you would react even if wedidtell you, considering how difficult your father’s death has been for you.”
“I understand,” I whispered. “I still wished you’d told me.”
She dabbed at her eyes. “I know. We should have. Fates, I never expected to have to have this conversation without him.”
Beau and I glanced at each other. We both knew the “him” she was referring to. With a look of sympathy, Beau scooted his chair closer to his mother. “Hey—Ma, he’s going to be okay,” he said, throwing a gangly arm around her. “We’ll get him back.”
“Oh, I know, sweet boy.” Morgana sniffed and leaned on his shoulder, turning her gaze toward me. “We will, won’t we?”
I swallowed. I read past her words and into the question she was really asking. Had this revelation changed anything about my mission? Was I still committed to reversing the curse?
“Yes,” I said quietly. “Somehow.”
“And are you going to tellthemabout this?” she asked, straightening. Beau shot her a confused look.
I blinked. “Tell them about—about Gayl and my father?”
“Don’t make the same mistake we did, Rose,” she said. “We stayed silent out of respect for Hamilton, yes, but also out of fear. We didn’t want to make life more difficult for you, or for anything to change between us. But we should have beenhonest. And…things are so much bigger now. You have a responsibility to consider.”
Fates, I hated it when she pulled honor and logic into her arguments.
“This doesn’t have to change anything,” I said, although I wasn’t sure I believed my own words. “I can still be loyal to them. Just because he’s my uncle doesn’t mean he means anything to me.”
She gave me a look only a mother could give. It made my heart clench. “Even if that’s what you believe, dear, don’t they deserve to know? Trust me, openness and honesty is the only way you will be able to work effectively with them. We all want the same thing.Don’t let your pride and fear get in the way of that. You need to tell them the truth.”
The truth. Gayl’s words rang through my head. There were so many truths, more than even my aunt knew.
“What if the truth could hurt someone?” I murmured, no longer thinking about Gayl, but of Leo’s connection to the curse.
Her lips turned down into a frown. “Who could this information possibly hurt, Rose?” she asked, oblivious to the thoughts churning in my mind. “The only thing at stake here are those under the curse. You’re doing this tohelpthem. Like you said, this changes nothing except further strengthening the Sentinels’ trust in you.”
I closed my eyes. She was right—about telling them Gayl was my uncle, at least. Truthfully, it was selfish of me to want to keep that to myself. I didn’t want them to see me any differently. But they had a right to know all the facts.
Unless it might hurt them. They didn’t need to knoweverything. Not yet, anyway.
A heavy sigh left my lips. “Alright,” I said. “I’ll tell them.”
She smiled. “I’m proud of you, Rosie.”
“Okay,” Beau said with a huff, slapping a hand on the table. “Whatare you two talking about?”
I snorted, almost forgetting he’d been listening. “Oh, Beau Beau,” I teased, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
The Second Trial
35
Leo
“You want Westhaven or Ridgemore tonight?” Chaz asked, the high-pitched sound of his knife sliding against whetstone grating my ears as he sharpened his blade.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” I said with a grunt. He rolled his eyes at my tone. I’d been in a mood all afternoon. My sister and I had a heated discussion that morning over me disappearing to the palace again last night. Even the news about Rose securing a one-on-one meeting with Gayl didn’t deter her from her tirade for long. Once we both calmed down, I’d debriefed her on what Rose had told me, including confirmation that Gayl knew about the Sentinels. She’d been gone ever since then to track down a few of her contacts in the capital and get the word out about our compromised situation.
It was now mid-afternoon, and Chaz and I were at the cottage preparing for our nightly patrol. I scrubbed a hand over my face; the maps and notes on the table in front of me were beginning to bleed together.
“If you don’t care, you can have Ridgemore,” Chaz said. “I don’t want to deal with that tonight. Not since we found out those Emberfell fugitives are arriving in less than a week. Attacks are runningwildover there—people trying to get the port shut down.”
“Mhm,” I mumbled, eyes glazing at the words before me. I flipped over the page of notes, but instead of the cool, stiff parchment, I felt warm skin and soft hair. Instead of lines on a map, I saw green eyes staring back at me. I blinked and pinched the bridge of my nose, shaking myself out of memories from the previous night.
