We walk back into the room where the scent of breakfast engulfs me once again. Taking our seats, I look at my plate and try to steady my breathing. In the time it took us to walk from one room to the next, I’ve become extremely nervous. If I think about it, I should be one big ball of raw nerves by this point.
Every day we’re faced with choices in our lives. Do we go this way or that? Drive down one street or the other? Do we take a leap and jump into the unknown? Or do we stay on the steady and safe course? Every day you make choices that have the ability to alter your life. You have the choice to trust your head or follow your heart. They don’t always align, but when they do, you need to follow them, because it’s rare.
“Do you have an answer for me, Princess?” the king asks.
I lift my head to look at him. Luke is watching me intently, however showing no emotion. “I do have an answer, but it comes with a question that must be answered first and a few conditions. If you don’t agree to this, then we’re only left with one option.” I’m silently hoping he agrees, because everything is depending on this. I know how badly he wants the key and the peace treaty. He can’t have both, though. At least not right now.
“What’s the question?”
“No bullshit. No games. I want a straight answer.” The king’s mouth lifts ever so slightly into a smile, which surprises me. “Why do you want the key?”
His mouth settles back into his version of showing no emotion. I’m getting zero read off of it. “I want it to find my love.”
“Your love?” I inquire.
“Yes, the only woman I’ve ever loved. She’s in your world. Every moment without her my soul aches.” His fist tightens and he brings it to his chest to punctuate what he’s saying.
Luke’s head whips around to face his father. “What? What about Mom? I know she’s gone, but did you love her? Doesn’t her memory garner more respect than this? I can’t believe you had someone else.”
King Azure lets out a long breath. “Lucas, I would never disrespect your mother. The truth is, she didn’t die. She fled our realm, and she did it with Eliza Wescot.” The room starts to spin, and I place my hands onto the arms of my chair to steady myself.
“She’s…she’s alive? Mother’s alive?” Luke questions, barely above a whisper.
“Yes, my son, she is. At least as far as I know. Alison’s mother and yours were very close friends, even though King Pine and myself forbade it. They found ways to stay in touch with one another and spend time together. They trusted each other. We knew, of course we knew, but they were our wives. How do you say no to the person you love most in the universe? Especially when you see how happy having a friend who understands all they are going through, makes them.”
My mind reels with the information. It also starts to put things together. I remember my mom having a best friend, someone who she only saw once a year, but who she spoke of fondly. “Rya,” I whisper.
“What?” It’s Luke who asks. The surprise evident in his voice.
“My mom had a friend who she saw only every once in while, but they spoke often. Her name was Rya.”
“That’s my mother’s name.”
“Alison, is Rya alive?” the king asks.
“Yes.” I nod. “Last I knew, anyway. I saw her at my mom’s funeral a year ago. We didn’t speak much during the service. She seemed as upset as I was. She came to town for it, but I don’t know from where. My mom never told me where she lived.”
The king’s eyes start to well with tears, but he’s able to hold them back. I look to Luke and he doesn’t appear to be holding it together much better. He believed his mother was dead, only to find out that she’s alive. I can’t imagine what that must feel like: shock, relief, anger at his father.
He stands abruptly, forcing the chair to fall back onto the floor. He points to his father, “You lied to me! You lied to all of us! We believed our mother was dead. Why? Why would you do that? We’re your children!”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “I didn’t have a choice.” In this moment he isn’t a king; he’s a heartbroken man who lost his wife. No, she might not be dead, but she hasn’t been with him in many years. “King Pine and I were at war. Eliza was pregnant and scared. Rya didn’t like the war that was going on. When Eliza said she was leaving, Rya went with her. I tried to stop her, but your mother was very headstrong. King or not, she never listened to me. The key you have, Alison, it could bring me to my wife who I haven’t seen in almost twenty-four years.”
“Wait,” Luke interrupts. “I don’t understand why she would leave her four children here.” He leans down with his hands braced on the table.
“The war wasn’t her only reason for leaving. She was pregnant. Your mother was carrying twins.” Luke feels around for his chair, only to discover it’s still lying on the floor. He rights it and takes a seat.
“Twins?”
The King nods. “She started bleeding and our healer didn’t know what was happening. Our medicine isn’t as advanced as it is in Alison’s world. Eliza stressed that the doctors in Colorado could help her. She even drew a map for me of where her home was and where the hospital was in relation to it. That’s why I asked Alison about the Rocky Mountains. They were near where Eliza lived. But you see, I didn’t have the skeleton key, so I couldn’t go there. I also couldn’t leave you and your siblings here without both parents. You were all so young. The war ended and life went on without her. I didn’t want to give all of you hope she’d come back, when after some time she didn’t. So I told you she passed away.
My mom was born in the U.S. I know that for a fact having seen her birth certificate. She must have gotten the key at some point, crossed into this realm, and stayed here for years. She got married and became queen. Had Reid and gotten pregnant with me. There’s so much about her life I’ll never know.
“I’ve waited every day for her to return. Wished, hoped, and visited the cottage often. Why do you think that old building still stands on the outskirts of the woods? I’m waiting for her to come back. It’s the only way she can come here. What I never understood is why she hasn’t. Now I know Eliza kept the key, but I’m sure she would have given it to Rya to return. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Luke turns to me. “Do you recall my mother having children?”
I shake my head. “My mom never offered much information about Rya. What I was told was minimal, at best. Like there was a great secret I couldn’t be told and now I know why. She never told me about this realm until she was gone.”
“We don’t know if the twins survived,” Luke mutters.
“Could my father have killed Leo, because Rya and my mom left? As revenge in some messed up way?”
Luke’s face drops, but then changes into anger. “I don’t care his reasoning. The fact remains that he did it knowing full well what he meant to me.” I can’t help but think that’s part of the reason he did it. I could be way off base and he’s just that ruthless. I don’t know if I’ll ever know for sure.
I can’t believe all that’s being said. My mom was best friends with Luke’s mom. They were both pregnant and they fled together.