The world itself fell silent as we stared at thehumanfemale who, for five hundred years, had held our people captive.
Chapter Seventy-One
Castor Aegaeon
It only took seconds, yet the flashes felt like years.
One by one, all our memories returned.
Five centuries ago, Minaeve stole ourmother’smemory stones and utilized them with the amplifying magic of the Heart of Valdor to conceal her identity and plant false memories.
The bitch would die for this.
All my forgotten thoughts clicked into place, connecting the missing pieces of the puzzle, with my mind becoming whole once more. Minaeve washuman. A mage sent to infiltrate and exterminate our kind.
And all for what, power? Control?
“Fuck!” I cursed. I remembered everything.
During the initial bouts of the Great War, humans learned of the Heart of Valdor’s existence and stole it from the shifter guardians residing in the Inner Kingdom. The shifters informed the High Fae of the travesty, desperate to stop the humans from leaving with the stone in their possession. Utilizing the magic of the three High Fae rulers and the shifter’s alpha, they createdthe veil to keep the Heart safe and prevent humans from bringing it back to their territory and abusing its magic.
However, the origin of the wilt and Minaeve’s rise to power were still unknown to me.
I shook my head to try and regain my senses. Pushing up and rising to my feet, my limbs convulsed as I fought to contain my wrath at the truth finally rising to the surface.
“You… Y-you,” Seamus stuttered, unable to find the foul language worthy enough to spew at the false queen.
Gods above, Seamus.
His face paled as he clenched his fists, oblivious to the steady stream of blood staining his armor from the wound inflicted by my brother’s sword.
Minaeve smiled, tilting her head back and releasing a piercing laugh. “You were such an entertaining toy to play with, Seamus,” Minaeve said, examining her nails, appearing indifferent to his outrage. “Long before you welcomed us into your lands, we plotted the demise of your kind. We were simply biding our time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike at the heart of your world and conquer it for ourselves.”
It was before I was born, but I recalled learning about Seamus’s ascension to the throne. His father passed from an unknown illness during a visit to the human kingdom, granting Seamus reign over the largest population of High Fae at far too young an age.
“You bitch!” Seamus roared as he pounded his fist against the earth in disgust.
Memories of my youth sprang forth.I fondly remembered Daxton and Seamus sparring together in the training fields when he would visit our mother, who cared for and helped train Seamus as a child. On my tenth birthday, just before the humans attacked, Seamus gifted me the very weapons I used to this day.
I looked down at my twin blades, the intricate carvings along the hilt mimicking the tattoos I had inked onto my skin.
“You twisted my mind!” Seamus screamed, his voice raw, eyes wide in a vacant horror. “Planted false, spiteful memories and manipulated me.” A wave of nausea overtook Seamus, leaving him convulsing as he vomited onto the grass. Gasping for breath, he struggled to steady himself, battling the suffocating guilt of the tormenting acts Minaeve had forced him to commit.
Before his corruption, Seamus had used his mind-reading ability to foresee his people’s needs and seek the truth. He was young and firm in his rule, but in his heart, he was fair.
Seamus was our ally, our friend.
“Your magic was entertaining to twist and bend to my will, Seamus. Just like your father’s.” Minaeve straightened, pure enjoyment rolling over her features. “Admittedly, I siphoned too much too quickly during his visit to the human kingdom across the sea. A mistake that ultimately led to his demise. But I learned how to gainaccess to your desires through his gifts and, in return, planted a false memory that kept you faithful, kept you ever soloyal.”
“You soulless witch!” Seamus snarled. “How dare you manipulate me like that!”
I had no idea what memory Minaeve was referring to, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“You personally invited me into your court,” Minaeve said with a wicked laugh. “You allowed me to enter your world, High Prince Seamus. Don’t you remember sending the invitation?”
Seamus swallowed, unable to form a rebuttal, screaming in disgust and frustration at his actions.
Minaeve’s lips parted, her wicked smile growing. “And from then on, control over the Inner Kingdom was finally withinourgrasp.”
