Chapter 23

Tom and Paul were glad that Jim and Nala had turned up as they were due to meet the next wagon train in the morning.

They guessed that Trae had a lot to do with their timely arrival and they were relieved that the Cutters would not be alone. While Trae had made more crystals available, transporters were still expensive, wagons and lankys were still the norm for most of the population.

They and their brothers had determined that the Rangers wouldn’t be out of jobs for some time to come. If anything, also having to deal with transporters on the roads would make things even more interesting for them.

The girls had wanted to go with them but the boys had been adamant that they were safer in the valley for now, especially if Trae was stirring people up. The boys were also ready for a break. The girls had been stirring them up even more of late and they were trying to be good.

Vera’s little smiles and her odd little hugs, calling them ‘son’ and telling them that she liked them too, weren’t encouraging them to be good either. They hoped a couple of weeks away from the girls would let them get their minds into perspective as to whether or not they wished to marry them, or if they were just affected by their proximity.

They planned to have a few heart to heart chats while they were away. However, both had the feeling that Trae had already decided for them and neither were fighting too hard to stop what they considered inevitable.

They both knew the girls had wrapped them around their little fingers and they had been dreaming of being with them since they had turned up. The fact that the girls were both smart and beautiful, and seemed to enjoy their company as much as they loved being with them, was not lost on the lads.

It was going to be a long couple of weeks for two horny, lovesick lads.

Trae and Kat turned up at Edward’s apartment.

Deirdre let them in, and they found Francine curled up in Edwards’ arms weeping. Trae guessed that she didn’t have good news for him. Francine haltingly told them that her Aunt had refused and that she wasn’t welcome at the Palace anymore.

“Aunt Martha was with Carl de Ullina when I saw her. He had the audacity to smirk at me when she had the guards evict me. I’m worried that he is responsible for Granma’s ill health. I hadn’t realised that he was involved with Aunt Martha and now I suspect that he has used those coercion spells on her.”

Deirdre said, “What does he gain by getting rid of the Queen?”

“Good question Deirdre,” Trae replied. “Deirdre, did Collin try to get close to you when you were here before?”

Deirdre frowned. “Well, he did try to chat-me-up once but Pauline hated him. She had already met Tristin and at the time, I wasn’t that interested in having a boyfriend. It was close to the end of the school year and I was more interested in my studies, so it wasn’t hard to ignore him.”

“I was supposed to come back last year, but I decided to take the year off. That was why mother let Collin move in with Edward after Carl pleaded with her to let him stay here. He said that he would be away a lot and didn’t like Collin alone in the house.”

Edward frowned, “Actually, Collin was pissed when he found out that Deirdre wasn’t coming back. He was supposed to move into the small room, but he took De’s room. When I complained, he gave me this really odd stare that creeped me out.”

“Are you aware that nearly all of the girls they raped in the last three years were related to Queen de Vaal in some way?” Trae asked them.

Francine gasped and sat up, “Why didn’t I see that? Oh! Those bastards! Over the years, I have heard rumours that Carl was seeing certain Ladies. They were all de Vaals too. They have been trying to corrupt the de Vaal line of inheritance. But why? What do they gain?”

“His daughter,” Trae said. “Is she not a de Vaal?”

“Oh, my! But Jasmine is only sixteen. My Aunt’s death, fifteen years ago was also strange. My mother still says it was foul play and she didn’t understand why her older sister married him either,” Deirdre said.

Francine added, “I remember that Lady Sara told me, at a party over the winter season, that Carl’s first wife dying in childbirth wasn’t true. She didn’t die until several weeks after the birth. He started courting my Aunt Teanna only a couple of months later.”

“She said that Carl had tried to flirt with her several years ago, but she had been a close friend of Teanna. She reminded me that he had killed her, so she hated him. She wouldn’t have anything to do with him and was deeply offended that he had even tried.”

“She also told me that I was well shot of Collin, as he was as bad as his father was and he would never have been faithful to me. Actually, I think she did a lot to help me come to realise that I didn’t really like Collin or his father either.”

“It’s so sad that all of his planning was for nought,” Trae said.

“Why do you say that Trae? Surely Jasmine becomes the prime candidate for the crown with most of the rest of us discredited?” Francine replied.

“She would, but the heir had already been chosen before her birth, and I can assure you that I have no intention of fucking or marrying, Carl or Collin,” Trae said and shuddered at the thought.

Kat chuckled at the stunned faces. She then shocked them by saying, “Your Aunt Teanna was his mother, Francine.”

“But you’re a male,” Francine said.

Deirdre shook her head, “No, he is a Shifter and I bet Kat is too. Prince Daryl Quinton was a Shifter, and I know Teanna did have more Shifter blood than the Queen liked. I remember discussing the family tree with my mother and Pauline when I was home last year. She has it documented back many generations.”

Deirdre then frowned. “Trae, are you sure Teanna was your mother?”

“She must be, as I know that I’m the heir. It fits with what Robin told us,” Trae replied.

Deirdre shook her head, “Not necessarily. I just realised that you use your father’s name. Shifters, particularly those who are Nobles, often give their last name to their offspring. It is not unusual for siblings of Shifters to have different last names as the child belongs to the person who gave birth.”

“I’m sure that my mother said that Teanna had been injured and her son had been killed when the pirates attacked. The boy was nearly four months old and he had been identified, but your father’s body wasn’t recovered, it was reported that he went overboard. What if Daryl had been pregnant at the time? He would have been in female form. They could have mistaken him for her maid or the wet nurse.”

“He was a Prince, and a child born from him would also be eligible to inherit Wolf Island. They do inheritance a bit differently than us so he would have needed to have a child himself. Teanna being your biological father wouldn’t make any difference with our laws, since she could shift and Daryl was her consort. It will be the same for your children.”

Trae frowned. “If he had magical abilities, with our gestation period he could have been very pregnant if he came into season not long after my brother was born. If my mother was using a wet nurse, then it is plausible that she changed for him.”

“I don’t have any memories of before my time in the Children’s Home. I was under the impression that I had been a baby born there. I have always had the name I use. It’s not a common name for an orphan in Pixville, and I have often wondered why I was given it.”

Francine offered, “If Daryl named you, they may not have even associated it with Teanna because they would have assumed that her husband took her name since she was a Royal. They hadn’t been married that long, as Teanna was pregnant when they did marry. I wondered what happened to Daryl for you to be placed there. Surely he would have tried to take you back to Wolf Island.”

“As a lone pregnant woman in a foreign country and a long way from home, it wouldn’t have been easy for him. If he had been severely injured and couldn’t get the help he needed, his last act may have been to give birth. I had seen several women come to the Home to give birth. Some left with their babies but many didn’t. Some even died from giving birth,” Trae replied sadly.”

Kat said, “I wonder if Teanna’s rampage was because she thought that she had lost two children and her mate. I know I would want vengeance on anyone who tried to take Trae from me. It would rip my heart out.”

Trae hugged her, “Mine too, my love if it were you.”

Trae sat up suddenly.

“Rowena is calling me,” he said. “Everyone, stand and touch each other in a circle. Francine, envision a large enough open space inside the Palace to take us to.”

The friends blinked and found they were in fact in Francine’s sitting room. They all sighed in relief at arriving safely. “I thought it would be safer to come here,” she said. “Grandma is down the hallway, but they barricaded the entrance to the stairs. I think they still have two guards outside her doors as well as the ones they now have at the bottom of the stairs.”

“The guards are not a problem. I had hoped to do this the polite way but I have been left little choice. She is deeply distressed, and I must go to her now,” Trae replied grimly before he marched to Francine’s door and tried to open it.

He swore, “Bastards,” and shook his hand. He told his wand to appear and then tapped the door handle with it. They all heard a crack, and the door flew backwards into the room. Trae kept his wand out and strode out of the room.

He saw the guards who were running towards Francine’s room and flicked his wand in a tight arc. Both guards started screaming as electricity arced around their bodies, and they fell to the floor shaking violently. As Trae approached them, six more guards raced up the stairs to meet him.

He heard Kat mumble behind him and a shimmering wall appeared between the two groups. The guards hacked at the wall to no avail. They stopped when a harsh male voice said, “Stand back, I shall see these trespasses off.”

They stepped back so that three stood on each side of the wide landing. The first two shakily got to their feet and fell in behind Carl and Martha as they sauntered between the others. “I told you not to come back, Francine. It was very silly of you to bring friends, as you will all have to die now. Touch us,” Carl instructed the guards.

Kat and Trae guessed that he planned to use their combined energy to break Kat’s shield. Kat placed her hands on Trae’s waist. Trae felt that the three friends were touching her to give them, whatever help they could, even though they didn’t have magical items. Kat and Trae quickly formed a second shield behind the first one.

They were surprised when the first blew apart, and a dozen icicles shaped as knives smacked into the second shield. Trae felt the second shield spell falter but it held. He guessed that Carl had more power at his disposal than he had originally thought.