A Card Falls

*Hezzlie*

I’m still shocked that Rowan replied to me through the mind-link. I fully expected him to tell me to go fuck myself, but we had a nice discussion–as nice as could be expected under the circumstances. Now, I need to figure out what the hell to do about my family.
At breakfast, when everyone had toasted to the queen’s death, I hadn’t lifted my glass. Everyone had drank, and then the king asked me what was wrong, and I said I didn’t think it was appropriate. He’d dismissed me from the table, and I’d gone back to my room. Thankfully, by now, I know how to get there.
Then, I’d contacted Rowan.
Now, I’m trying to figure out what to do.
There’s a knock on my door, and I fully expect it to be someone here to take me to Alistar or Abby, but when I open it, my brother is standing there. “Hi,” he says.
“Hi.” I step aside, and he walks in. I can tell he’s still agitated, so I’m not even sure what to do. He walks in, rips a hand through his hair, and then turns to me. “Can we talk?”
“Of course.” I gesture for the chairs, and he strolls over.
He sits; so do I. He sighs and shifts his weight in his chair. Finally, he says, “Father wanted to know why I wasn’t at breakfast. I lied and told him I wasn’t feeling well, but he doesn’t buy it.”
I nod, not sure if I should say something or wait. He doesn’t continue, so I ask, “Is he mad?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know for sure that Mara is my mate, but there are a lot of rumors circulating throughout the castle about us. We spent a lot of time together. Father didn’t mind that. He thought it would come in handy. He figured if Alistar’s mind tricks didn’t work, maybe Mara would kill her family for me. I didn’t want that, of course. I hate to think of the guilt she’s going to be living with for the rest of her life, even though none of this is her fault.”
“She was supposed to kill Rowan, too.” I know this–at least on some level. “Did the king want her to become the queen?”
“The king wants us to steamroll right over Moonstryker. He’s certain there are a ton of moonstones beneath that mansion. There used to be tunnels that lead down there, and they were mined, but now, it’s all closed up, and it seems that the current king doesn’t even know they’re there. His parents did, but his mother lost her mind when his father died. If Rowan knew it was there, he could sell them for a ton of money. Or he could use their powers.”
“Their powers?” I repeat. All of this information is overwhelming, but I can’t stop to think about what it all means right now. “What are moonstones?”
“They’re exactly what they sound like,” he tells me. “They’re stones from the moon–like pieces of moonbeam that solidify and keep powers from the Moon Goddess locked inside of them. A witch with the right powers could unlock them. Father has always been afraid the Moonstrykers will use that power against him. Back when they used to mine them, they just sold them to other lands. In small quantities, they aren’t that powerful, but the king thinks there are enough down there to blow up an entire kingdom.”
I take that all in, my brow furrowing. “Why did they stop mining them?”
“Because they’re difficult to mine, especially without magic. They used to have a witch who lived in the castle, but when she died, they didn’t replace her. I don’t know why. All of this information has come from Father as he was grooming me to become the next king of Darksky.”
I take a deep breath and shove the moonstone discussion to the back of my mind. The man sitting across from me is hurting, and he’s my big brother. I want to do whatever I can to help him.
Leaning forward, I put my hand on his arm. “Aiden,” I say, in a quiet voice, “what can I do for you? How can I help?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I just miss her so much.”
“I know you do.” I can honestly empathize with him, even though my situation is way different. He’s in love with Mara, and she loves him, too. Rowan and I can’t say that about one another. I can barely stand him most of the time, and up until our recent discussion, I would’ve said he hates me. Now, I’m not so sure, but he definitely doesn’t love me. “I know you said you want to kill the king, but that’s going to be hard to do. Maybe it would be better if we left here, went to Moonstryker, and helped them.”
He shakes his head. “Rowan Moonstryker is a right bastard. He’d kill me before he allowed me into his home. If he knew that Mara was my mate–”
“He knows.” His eyes widen. “Well, he at least suspects it. He found Mara’s mark and asked me about it. I didn’t tell him. I told him that I’d have to do some checking.”
“When did you speak to him?” Aiden asks, and I catch my breath.
He doesn’t know that Rowan is my mate and I can use the mind-link to speak to him. “Uh…”
“Did you call him today?” he asks.
I let out the breath and nod. “Yes, he called me this morning. I didn’t have his phone number in my phone, but he had mine, I guess.” I’m lying–that seems to be what I do most these days–but I can’t tell him the truth.
Aiden nods. “Did you tell him I said I wanted to kill the king?”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t tell him that. I did tell him that I’d heard that the king wants something under his house. He was shocked at that.”
Again, he nods, and I know he wants to say more, but he doesn’t.
So I do. “I need to get back there, Aiden. I don’t think it’s safe for me to stay here. Alistar is trying to weaponize me, too. Do you think it’s possible for me to sneak out?”
“No,” he says quickly, shaking his head. “They won’t let you out of here.”
“Not even if you help me?”
He strokes his chin, contemplative, before he says, “I don’t think so.”
I take a deep breath and decide to put one more card on the table. Extending my hand, I produce a small ball of golden light. Aiden’s eyes widen as he sees it. I don’t let it get very big because I don’t want him to know what I’m capable of. Hell, I don’t even know what I’m capable of. “What if I can do this?” I ask him.
Aiden takes a minute before he can reply, “Yeah. Maybe.”
“Good.” I extinguish the light. “I can’t stay here.”
“Okay. Fine. We’ll figure out a way to get you out,” he agrees. “And even though I’m pretty sure Rowan wants to kill me, I have a favor to ask of you, sister.”
“What’s that,” I ask, holding my breath again.
“Take me with you.”