“I apologize, Bridget,” Castor said through a locked jaw. “I know you must be very overwhelmed right now, but you need to explain what exactly you discovered.”
Bridget took a deep breath.
“Vega is my sister.”
Silence penetrated the room, thick and suffocating. Bridget didn’t even think anyone was breathing. Even Cade, who usually took everything in stride, was speechless. His mouth fell open, then closed, then opened again as he stared at her. Bridget glanced at Stellan, curious if he’d been withholding that information, but he was clearly stunned. Sothatwasn’t the source of his dread.
“How?” Stellan asked. “She’s a Druid.”
“And technically, the rightful heir to what was the human throne in Astraeus,” Bridget added, causing another sharp intake of breath from everyone. “Her mother was averypowerful Druid from Suza, happily married to our father in hopes of bringing prosperity to both Kingdoms. At the time, the land in Suza was slowly dying and no one knew why. Eventually, we figured out it was the Sanguis drawing too much power without thinking of the consequences. But I can tell on your faces that part doesn’t really matter right now… Okay, long story short, our father had an affair with my mother. Both of them were entirely human. I didn’t meet Vega until we were six, when both our mothers died in an accident. After that, I lived here but…”
But she’d lived like an outsider. A sister and daughter, but excluded from being a true member of the family. For the most part. Bridget gazed aroundat the room. The part of the palace they were in hadn’t been built when she’d last considered Astraeus her home. She had a sudden urge to visit her old room.
“That’s how Quinn knew how to get past the protection spell through the tunnels. It was built by our father. Vega must have told her,” Bridget said, pinching the bridge of her nose. They had been at a complete disadvantage. Vega knew the palace like the back of her hand.
Silence enveloped the room as everyone processed their shock.
“You’re aprincess?”
With her nose wrinkled in dismay, Bridget wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Cassia look so revolted.
“No, not really…”
“But your father was the king?” Castor asked. His gaze cut to Stellan’s. “Does that mean she’s that missing princess from Andarre? That would be her bloodline, correct?”
What. The. Fuck.
On top of everything else, the present-day complications with her family wasn’t something she could deal with at the moment.
Archer let out a low whistle. “Alexia’s going tolovethat news…”
Bridget sent him a droll look.
“She can’t be your sister,” Cade said, beginning to pace. “Every story I’ve been told about Vega says she killed the human girl—you…”He ran a distressed hand through his wild hair, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying, “because I wouldn’t marry her.”
“There was a verbal agreement between our parents that you were going to marry her long before we met…” Bridget cringed at the sudden disgust on his face. “It obviously didn’t happen. I was the homewrecker in that situation. And we were married for at least a year before she executed me. I don’t know where in history it suddenly got mixed up.”
“It was the story Bronwyn told me when I finally woke up,” Stellan finally said, his voice a bit rough. “She must have been trying to protect you.”
Bronwyn. Her mother’s best friend—Tuathanbest friend, who’d been with her since she was born. Where was she now?
“What about the crown?” Castor asked. “Do you know where it is?”
Bridget took a deep breath. She kept her eyes on Cade. Out of everyone, he would be the one to understand why she cursed the crown. “Yes. We had a feeling Vega had it, so I snuck into the palace in Cavamyne to find it… she’d taken it over six months prior. But I got caught. Vega held me there for weeks until she finally showed me the crown and told me what she wanted to do with it.”
Cade seemed to be holding his breath. “Which was?” he asked.
“She was going to use it to bring me back after she killed me,” Bridget said. “Then use the curse she killed me for to wipe memories so I didn’t remember you or what she’d done. She’d have me all to herself.”
“A perfect happy family,” Archer muttered under his breath.
“So you hid the crown,” Delphine interjected. “To keep her from using you like that.”
“In a way…” Bridget mumbled. “This is where it gets complicated. While I was there, I found a spell in Vega’s things that would send something or someone through time.” She couldn’t look at their faces. “From what I read, it was designed to be an endless cycle, where whatever it was would never be allowed to stay in one spot for long. She wanted to use it on Cade once she found the Tuathan stone. That was a key element of her spell. A key element she didn’t know I had… I thought it was the best way to get rid of the crown without her finding it again. And even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to break the curse on it. I would already be dead…”
“Taking the blood she would need with you,” Cade finished grimly.
A wave of anxiety lashed up Bridget’s spine as she waited for their reactions. Cade squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile. It didn’t reach his eyes, but it was enough to calm the squeezing in her chest.
