Denial (Goblin's Kiss Series Book One) (43 page)

“It is yours. Or it became yours
when your father took it.”

“So if they lived down here, how
did two kings come about in such a small area? I mean, I get that
there are other realms, but why two here?”

“Greed. One
became the true king at his father
’
s death. The other grew up in his
shadows. When my father became of age, he challenged his brother
and won his own lands as part of the truce. You will see that with
all of our people, time has a way of making a
man
’
s greed control everything he does.” His eyes lingered on a
pile of clumpy gold.

Ahh—hence the irony of the
gold.

“Anyway, a treaty was made that
each would stay on their own land (mountain) and several other
small details were added that I know very little about.”

When his eyes came back to me,
they were sad.

“Have you seen the
treaty?”

“No.”

“So other realms
are formed, but the rulers are not necessarily all related?” And it
didn
’
t sound like his father was a good guy after
all.

He knew my
reason for asking so he rolled his eyes at me and just shook his
head. Half turning to tell him off and demand faster answers, I
didn
’
t expect to see what he had in his hands.

A painting.

“Who is that?”

“Who do you think?” he asked
holding it up then resting it against a corner of the table beside
me to analyze.

I looked closer
eyeing Ames first to see if he was watching, though I knew he was.
The paint was smooth on the canvas eaten with time or maybe even
insects. Centered was a couple dressed in fancy Arthurian clothes
with a baby nestled in the woman
’
s lap. They were young, maybe in
their twenties. Their glow made them look inhuman, but it looked
like it was just painted that way and not their real coloring. The
baby had bright blue eyes. The mother had the same. Long brown hair
with a touch of something lighter streaked through it. It was my
hair on another girl just years older than me. The man beside her
was young, good looking. He had long hair like even some human guys
today wear it, but brushed and kept even across his
brow.

Ames was
patient, but started to move his feet back and forth. I
didn
’
t want to ask him what he wanted to ask, just knew he did.
Instead, he reached over and pointed to the tiny bracelet around
the baby
’
s wrist. His finger rubbed back and forth clearing the tiny
letters that were starting to fade.

JEM

The name the people of both realms
called me. The baby was me.

“Say
something,”
I
begged.

“Why do the realms not use a
camera?”

“I show you
you
’
re not who you thought you were and you stay calm as though
I
’
d
just told you the sky is blue. Aren
’
t you the least bit afraid or
upset?”

“Oh, trust me.
I
’
m
so freaked out right now,” she bit her bottom lip. “But I trust
you.”

She could not have said anything
more perfect that those words.

“I
don’
t know her name,” she barely
said.

She
didn
’
t. I haven
’
t thought to tell her. I hate
that she went so long without knowing her parents. We both lost
them, but I at least knew their legacies. Good or bad as they may
be.

“Alyssa. Warren and Alyssa Loggin.
” Emma sat simmering in the moment. “I have something else to
show you.”

Reluctant to not leave the
painting behind, she rocked on her heels in indecision. Emma had
just confirmed what all of us had been saying with a single
artifact. A very important one at that. She is the lost princess.
And one other artifact that I, for the first time, wanted to share
with someone.

“Wait here. I will bring it to
you.”

I left her there to revel in
shock. She had another one coming.

I brought in the second painting
and leaned it beside the other.

She had the same starry look in
her eyes that said she was making serious connections that scared
her to death.

“It
’
s you with your parents.”
“Yes. You knew because of the ceiling, right?”

She nodded and
smoothed her hand across for the left tip of the frame to the other
side. “You have your father
’
s eyes and
mouth.”

“I was only five in this
picture.”

Emma smoothed her fingers over the
boy in the painting.

It
’
s the part she hadn
’
t noticed yet that made me
anxious. “My father, King Ares, was the king when he died. My
mother, Queen Layla was already dead when the warring king invaded.
King Warren wanted our gold and to get it, he killed my father. I
was young, so I didn
’
t know enough to protest and
neither did Joshlin. My people surfaced and saw that my father
hadn
’
t died. I looked back as his scream alerted me just to see
him run through by King Warren right through his heart. Joshlin
pulled me away as I screamed back at his dying face. I will never
forget that day.”

She covered her
face. I hurried the next line so it would be over because as much
as I knew she
’
d figured a lot of this out, it
hadn
’
t been said aloud. “King Warren Loggin was your
father.”

Her body fell out from under her
making dust fly everywhere as she landed square in the middle of
the room. She sobbed and rubbed her face in her sleeve. “You must
hate me for who I am.”

“If it were that
simple Emma, I
’
m sure I could. But you
didn
’
t cause my parents death. You were a baby. I
didn
’
t even know what happen to you after they took you away. I
learned that you were not dead when I was ten and
Wicker
’
s father saved you.” She didn
’
t react except with her emotions.
“That the girl I saw young and checked on regularly was King
Warren
’
s daughter. One of our elders, Elder Wicker, thought to hide
you from even our own people before they could destroy you. And
your people thought you were dead. I am more thankful to that
person than any other deed ever done in our history. If he
hadn
’
t, it wouldn
’
t have led me to you.” I lifted
her tear-stained chin. “I may be out of line and you may still
think me young and unwise, but I can
’
t live without you, Emma. I
can
’
t explain it. I can
’
t deny it. That day you walked up
to me in the hall of your human school, I was searching for an evil
look-a-like twin to Joshlin. But what I found was a treasure better
than any gold you see. You were nothing like him or the others who
have kept watch over you.”

She half laughed and focused on
the historical moment of our meeting, not my goof up in telling her
about Caydon and his destiny tied fascination that had nothing to
do with love, “How did you know all that in a single
moment?”

“Because your
energy has no malice. I can sense it like you can mine. Just like
you sense Joshlin
’
s lack thereof. I watched you try
to read him. He was not of my bloodline and therefore his magic is
nothing like what we have. I never once wanted you when I knew what
you could do, but when I saw what you wouldn
’
t do. You are a good,
kind beautiful person.”

She asked who
the elder was and if he was alive. He isn
’
t, but I told her who his
son was. Elder Wicker was a great man.

“So is it safe
to say that you won
’
t hold my history against me and
you wish for me to see all this because I will feel guilty the rest
of my life?”

“Emma, you know
I wouldn
’
t do that. I just don
’
t want to lie to you. You had to
know. Throwing royalty into the mix doesn
’
t change what we are to each
other.” Did she not believe me?

“I know. It hurts nonetheless. I
am not glad to know, but will get over it and move on. What about
all this gold? What happens to it? Is there more?”

“It is what we
live on and yes, there is more down here than even you can imagine.
I will tell more about it soon. You
’
ve already hit the TMI level and
most likely need some time off.”

He pulled me up
to standing and held me against him, dirt and all. Blood rose to my
cheeks the second his body leaned into mine, my nose landing solid
against the shaven underside of his chin. “I want to share
everything with you, Emma,” he whispered softly, his breath
tickling my ear. “
I
don’
t want to lose you.” His hand glided
up my arm holding it there long enough for me to know it was
intentional. I couldn
’
t see straight, my mind was
dizzying up.

I smiled to let
him know I was better,
though I
wasn
’
t.
His eyes lingered longer than
they should have and I was the first to break the hold. Two
feet...four...five feet away now, I was breathing on my own again.
I needed air to think clearly.

He winked with a dimple rising
up.

I
’
d had enough sharing. I kind of wanted to put the brakes on
the heat in the room, as well as the overload in information but
first I wanted to know why he kept the secret from his
own.

“And no one
knows where this is because they wouldn
’
t know how to handle all
this.”

He nodded.

“What is a trace?”

Ames gestured
all around him, “The gold all around you is forged into gold
medallions and placed in the hands of those the king feels
compelled to keep an eye on whether for safety, or weary of
one
’
s intentions. And many other reasons. It is only seen by the
eyes of the true king and queen and cannot be told lightly to
others. I have told only one other.”

My face gave all
kinds of “
tell
me
” signs.

“Wicker is my most loyal companion
despite your opinion of him. I would do anything for him and he for
me. You are the second. However careful we are, it makes it into
the hands of others. I see the traces all over the human world.
There are others like us. Others who use it unwisely.”

“Other kings?” I asked.

Ames nodded and chortled, “We are
not the only mountain.”

“What about Joshlin?”

“Very clever
girl. No, he isn
’
t the heir, so he can have a
trace.”

Ahhh! How he will find him. “And
you are the only one who can find him?”

“For now. You will be able to once
I show you what to look for.”

My sheepish look
gave away what I think I
’
d just connected to my past. “I
think I know. I wondered for years what I was doing to the funky
“Chucky Cheese” coins my stepfather kept in his study. I would take
them and show my friends. When they touched them, their hands
stained with their color and so I hid them. I just never told
anyone and I assumed I ‘magiced
’
my friends with whatever the
freaky power I was born with.”

“I am surprised you never figured
out more.”

“If the hot prince in charge would
have wandered in earlier in my life, maybe I would
have.”

His back arched with my
compliment.

“So following Joshlin is like a
Hansel and Gretel bread crumb search? You just let him lead the
way.”

“He already has.”

I wanted to know
absolutely everything and now argued with myself at what I wanted
to do next. It felt like I was opening my heart only to break it in
pieces if it wasn
’
t the answers I wanted. Not
embarrassed, I reached into my shirt, under my bra and retrieved
the thinning scrap with the memorized lines on it. As he watched me
carefully unfold and hold it out for him to see, I let my body numb
over with what I didn
’
t want the words to
mean.