Playing With Fire

by Adrienne Woods et al.

  “Thanks, Danielle,” Eric said.

  “Why?” Marick asked.

  “I don’t know and neither does Eric. They were here to kill Eli but after the queen, they lay low, infiltrated the court further, going deeper undercover.”

  “Does he know what happened to you?” Marick asked.

  I shook my head. “He only knows that I never got back from Russia. It was one of them pretending to be me. So, I must have seen something in Russia that gave them away or her away.”

  “Or she saw your ability.”

  “She didn’t see my ability. If she had, she probably would’ve killed me.”

  “The coronation?” Marick asked.

  “Again, Eric saw Shania putting something in my goblet before they brought it to me. Francine was occupied. She tried to calm him down. She stopped to answer a call from Luke to find out if Eric was okay, and that was when he saw Shania. Francine didn’t see a thing but when he tried to make it known, she just slipped into the darkness. We thought it was the castle making him restless.”

  Francine pinched the bridge of her nose. “I should’ve paid more attention.”

  “No, Franci, she would’ve killed you,” Eric said. “I’ve seen them. They don’t care. It would’ve been something I had to live with, me alone.”

  I told her what he said, and she nodded.

  She came over and kissed him softly on the head.

  The evidence in their house was planted by Shania during a short visit to see Katia.

  She looked sad and angry. Her jaw muscle clenched. It carried blood, and it was one of the things the house took and spewed out when it was demanded. Eric saw that, too but he couldn’t do anything, couldn’t get anyone’s attention—when he had, it was too late.”

  “I thought she was an ally.”

  “An ally for what?” Marick asked.

  “I didn’t feel the way you all felt about Danielle, Marick. I was still heartbroken. I’m sorry, Shania brought me hope, probably all lies to make a friend at our house, and I know it’s my fault that I let her in to plant the evidence.” Tears rolled down her cheek. “I learn the hard way to accept things and move on.” She got up and left.

  I looked at Marick and shook my head. It was in the past, and he needed to let it go. We got them both.

  When the night was over, everyone retreated to their rooms.

  I stayed with Marick and gave him an elixir Katia made for him as well as Mila, her husband, and Eli. They need to get over this before questioning the two shifters.

  I really wanted to know why she gave me that potion. What happened? Who was she really if she pretended to be the queen all this time? The only thing that Eric told me was that I left happy with her, and then I allegedly died in that fire.

  He said it was one of his hardest days, knowing that she took me but couldn’t do anything about it. He thought that Shania was going to pretend to be me, but instead, the castle caught on fire and they told everyone I was inside. When the queen had come back that night, she told everybody that I was tired and couldn’t come with her to the final stop and that she sent me home the day before.

  Eric showed me how beyond himself Marick was that day when he thought that I was in that house, that it was too late as the library was in flames. Magdel only had the strength to keep Marick at bay. Losing me was the hardest thing to have happened in Marick’s life. The funeral and everything that followed up to their trial was difficult. They saw Marick only a few times.

  Shania raised my sons—they called her mother. Why did she lie to them all this time? Why? Knowing that she was part of my disappearance, why not tell Marick the truth when she saw he couldn’t cope?

  I didn’t want to go and speak to her or the shifter who pretended to be the queen. They were going to lie to me anyway. To think, this queen taught me everything she knew about being a queen. To pretend that I liked her, that I trusted her, after Eric and I spoke was the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

  I tried to find the crack in the shifter’s mask, but not knowing Marick’s real mom, it was hard to find any kind of flaw.

  The next morning, everyone was still out of it. It was a hard reality to face, but Marick was at least in the anger phase now.

  Eli didn’t come out of his room, and Marick only came down around twelve. We had a quiet lunch together with Sebastian.

  “What do you want to do?” Sebastian asked.

  “I don’t know. I probably need to speak to her. How is Minaut?” Marick asked me.

  “Upset is not the word, but she has agreed to wait. She wants answers too, Marick.”

  He nodded. “How could you stand to be in her presence knowing it was her who tried to kill you, Danny?”

  “She only tried to kill me when I was discovering things, Marick. Plus, she wouldn’t have done it in the open, not with Minaut close by.”

  Tears filled his eyes again. I grabbed his hand and held it. “Do you understand why I couldn’t tell you?”

  He nodded.

  “I’m sorry about your mother.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He sniffled again as a tear rushed down his cheek. I leaned over and hugged him.

  All the pain he was feeling right now. There wasn’t an elixir in this world to help him with that, to take it away. Well there was—the Forgotten potion—but I would never give that to him—never. I was dealing with the aftereffects for the past ten years. No, some emotions and pain you just need to work through like the rest of the world, one step at a time.

  For the rest of the day, I stayed close to Marick. He slept for most of the afternoon. Around two when he finally awoke, a press conference had to be arranged, but first, he had to go and see Joshua, Emile, and Eva.

  Marick asked the principal if he could have a word with the children. I went with him—I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for Marick to break the news.

  Joshua immediately jumped up. “I knew you were going to do this now that she’s back!” He pointed an accusatory finger at me.

  “Joshua, she betrayed all of us. She’s not your mother. She’s a shifter.”

  “I don’t believe it, Dad.”

  “It’s the truth. You can ask your grandfather.”

  He shook his head. “You took everything from me.” He glared at me.

  “Your mother discovered a dark secret that has haunted us the past thirty years, Joshua.”

  “Don’t.” I gently grabbed Marick’s arm.

  “No, Danielle, she brainwashed him against you. He needs to know the truth.”

  “Truth, Dad? How about how you’re too chicken shit to deal with us? How’s that for the truth?” He stormed off.

  Emile and Eva sat rooted in their chairs and let their brother go.

  “If they both were shifters, where’s our grandmother, Dad?”

  “She was killed a long time ago, Emile.”

  “So, I called a shifter ‘Grandma’?”

  “We all called a shifter someone we loved, Emile. Grandpa is really struggling to deal with this.”

  He shook his head. “Why, Dad? Why?”

  “That we still need to find out. I need to hold a press conference in an hour. I wanted to tell you first so that you knew what happened.”

  Emile nodded.

  “Emile, do you know what’s going on with your brother?”

  He slumped in his chair as he wiped away a tear. “I don’t know Dad. It feels like he’s a shifter.”

  “He’s not, okay?” Marick pulled his son closer and pressed his forehead against Emile’s. “I have failed you badly. I’m so sorry.”

  “None of us knew, Dad,” said Emile. “She was there when you weren’t. So, I dunno, maybe she got through to Josh with a lie. I’ll try to get through to him.”

  “Emile, no. It’s not your job,” I said.

  He turned to me. “But, Mom, what if he hates you forever?”

  “He doesn’t hate me. He only thinks he does. It’ll pass. I’m patient, Emile.”

  He got up and h
ugged me. “I’m sorry she did that to you. She’s the reason we didn’t have a mom.”

  “She didn’t do this alone.”

  He hugged me tighter. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  I kissed him on the cheek. “I’m going to be okay. You all are okay. That’s all that matters.”

  He broke the hug, and Eva ran into her father’s arms.

  “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.”

  “Is this the reason why I never dreamt about her?”

  “It could be baby,” Marick said.

  One of the teachers came in when we were finished and took Emile and Eva back to their rooms. He gave the principal elixirs to give to the kids and told him to call him if things were not going well, especially with the crown prince. As we navigated our way out, we talked.

  “He’s always going to blame me.”

  “He’s just hurt, Danielle.”

  “I know he’s hurt, Marick. And the truth is I did do all of this to them, put them through hell. She raised them. She gave them love when I couldn’t. She sat with them when they were sick.”

  Marick looked at me tenderly. “She took their mother away from them, Danielle. It was her fault, not yours.”

  Outside the academy’s magic, he pulled me closer to him, and we traveled through the ring again to the castle’s library.

  “Do you have any idea what those two shifters did to this family? They killed my mother—made me believe that my best friend killed the love of my life. She’s not my mother, Danielle, and neither is Shania our children’s mother. Joshua will be okay. He will understand it with time.”

  I nodded. I would never force Joshua. I wish I could remember him though.

  We had a small dinner when my mother arrived with Philip.

  My mother couldn’t hear his thoughts, but she had a funny way of communicating with him.

  “Minaut is in my room. She needs your comfort,” I said to Philip, and he disappeared.

  There were five wisps now, and I knew he would do anything to protect my mother at her cottage. He would comfort his sister too.

  “How is Marick, sweetheart?”

  “I don’t know. Angry? Sad? Only time will tell, Mom.”

  “Have they interrogated them yet?”

  I shook my head. “They’re still dealing with it, Mom. And Minaut is demanding their heads.”

  “Philip will help her through this.”

  “You can hear his thoughts?”

  “No but he has this funny way of showing me things. It’s hard to explain, but our communication is getting stronger by the day too.”

  “Minaut is worried about him.”

  “She doesn’t need to be. He’s happy to be reunited with his sister.”

  “I’m glad.”

  One of the servants came by and took my mother’s bags. We followed him up to a guest room.

  “How is Eva doing?”

  “Still not able to call me ‘Mom’ but she fits right in with this world.”

  She laughed. “I’m glad to hear that. How are things with you and Marick?”

  “We’re getting there. It’s hard to fall in love when everything is so messed up and broken.”

  “You two will get there. I heard they had to remake the potion.”

  “They did,” I said somberly.

  “Something tells me that things should go smoothly now.” She sighed. “You know why she did this?”

  “No, but I’ve decided to just wait for my cure.”

  She gave me a kiss on my forehead. “It’s amazing how you could communicate with Eric, sweetheart. I’m proud of you.”

  “Yes, he is quite the talker too. He looks better, more relaxed, now. He can’t wait to be free.”

  “He will be. It will take time though, but he will be okay.”

  The next day, we all had breakfast. Even, Eli came down. I saw the strain from recent event taking its toll on all the Youngs.

  Do they blame me like Joshua does?

  “We will deal with Shania first,” Eli said out of the blue.

  “Dad,” Mila said.

  “She’s a shifter.”

  “We should at least hear what she has to say. We don’t know if Mom—”

  Eli slapped the table hard making us all winced.

  “She’s not your mother. She was an imposter. I can’t…” He started to cry again.

  My mother got up and went to him. She crouched down in front of his chair. “If you want, I can try to connect with your wife, find out what happened?”

  His looked in awe at my mom.

  “It’s just an option. I understand if you don’t want to,” my mom said hurriedly.

  “Thank you. That’s kind of you.”

  Breakfast carried on and then it was time to get the formalities of dealing with Shania along the way.

  Around noon, Mila went in first.

  She came out half an hour later with tears, angry tears, in her eyes and walked away.

  Then Eli went inside.

  I sat next to Marick. “How close were you?”

  He shook his head.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.” I sighed.

  He huffed. “I should’ve picked up on it.”

  “Marick, you couldn’t. Everyone lied to you.”

  He sat next to me for a moment before he asked quietly, “Your mother can really speak to my mom?”

  “I don’t know. She say she can. I never sat with her during a seance. It creeped me out.”

  He laughed. “Clairvoyance creeps me out too. Most witches who have it are dark. I doubt your mother would turn dark, Danielle.”

  “Thanks for telling me that now. Maybe she should be closer so I can keep an eye on her.”

  He chuckled but it died way too soon.

  “I’m sorry about all of this,” I said.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

  “I have. Your entire life changed because of me.”

  “True, but that is why I love you so much.”

  I laughed. It wasn’t what I meant.

  “They should be sorry, not you.”

  He kissed me on the top of my head. I couldn’t wait to remember him again.

  * * *

  MARICK

  * * *

  When my father came out, it was my turn.

  I won’t ever tell Danielle just how close the shifter and I were.

  She was in the corner with chains around her wrists. “You tie me up like I’m some dog, Marick.”

  “You’re worse than a dog to me, Shania.”

  “I raised Em and Josh for you. I loved you. That wasn’t part of the plan, but I did.”

  “You tried to kill Danielle. You made me believe that she was dead for ten years.”

  Her face was disfigured. They really weren’t the most beautiful of species either. She hid in the darkness of the corner again. “I didn’t want to, but she told me it was the only way.”

  “Why? What did she tell you happened with Danielle?”

  “She was short on potion in Russia. A witch there brewed her some, but it wasn’t ready yet. Danielle saw the change and questioned her about it until the truth came out. She had to give Danielle the potion, Marick. It was that or really kill her.”

  “Giving someone the Forgotten potion is like killing them, if not worse. Who brewed these potions?”

  “Necrocretors, okay. Leyla wasn’t stupid.”

  “Her name is Leyla? The woman who pretend to be my mother for the past thirty years?”

  She nodded.

  “Why? What have we ever done to you for you to do such a thing to us?”

  “She never said, just that you needed to pay for something you did a long time ago.”

  “A long time ago? When I was a child?”

  “I only did what she asked me to. If I didn’t, she would’ve not given me the magic to fooled Minaut, Marick.”

  They were really scared shitless of wisps.

  “Fool Minaut?” I chuckled
as bile crawled up the back of my throat. “She’s beyond furious, almost broken, Shania. She marked Leyla. Do you have any idea what it’s going to do to her when she has to kill her?”

  “No, Marick, not the wisp. Please”

  “It’s her duty to deal with shifters. That’s the law. You know that. I can’t bypass this one.”

  “I love you. That isn’t a lie.” She cried.

  “You lied to me, Shania. You betrayed me, tricked me every single day. That isn’t love.”

  “I made sure that Minaut knew about that shifter.”

  “You were the reason Danielle was gone.”

  “It was Leyla.”

  “Oh please, own up to your part, Shania. Stop blaming everything on Leyla. Take responsibility for your actions. You always have a choice.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “You could’ve told me—that she killed my real mom, that Danielle was still alive, that you had given her the Forgotten potion. Why did you do this? Why kill my mom?”

  “She was onto us. She caught us red-handed but wasn’t prepared. Leyla grabbed her—and then it was over. It was quick, Marick. We couldn’t take our chances. Leyla got this great plan to switch appearances with your mother with a potion. I didn’t like it as we were straying so far from the plan—but I had no choice!”

  “Wrong,” I said and stood.

  “Marick, please?”

  Tears filled my eyes. This betrayal was too hard to deal with. I didn’t want to hear anymore. “You lied. I can’t do this.”

  She yelled my name as I exited. Danielle still waiting for me by the door.

  Shania made me believe that Danielle was dead for ten years. There was no mercy for someone like her.

  She had a choice in all of this. You always have a choice.

  Early the next morning, I took Danielle out.