by Noah Harris
“I assume there’s a reason,” Jaeger said, having rallied himself from his initial shock.
Minerva nodded. “What do you know of my family? The most recent history that is.”
Jaeger raised a brow. “Only…not very much actually.”
“Your mother and father ruled together for several years, until your mother’s death a few years after you were born. Your father ruled alone for many years, until you were about oh, ten years old or so, I believe. After that, the regents who had acted as advisors to your family took over the ruling of your country until you were of age and married,” Philip said.
Minerva nodded. “Yes, my father ruled on his own, never taking another wife in his lifetime. It’s said he was afraid to attempt to love again, and refused to take another partner. I, of course, knew that wasn’t totally true. My father was a private man, but not so private he was able to keep all of his doings and secrets from me.”
“A person, with all that stress and demand upon him is going to get lonely,” Philip said slowly.
“Yes, and my father had lovers, though I only knew of a few. They were private and quiet affairs, and no one said anything about them, at least not openly. The regents knew of course, as did Orrin,” Minerva said.
Jaeger squinted. “Orrin? What’s he got to do with this?”
“He came from the north, just as you did Jaeger. Hell, if I remember correctly, he showed up shortly after you did,” Philip said.
Minerva nodded. “When I was younger, my father had a lover, well, there were a few but one in particular whom he cherished above all others. He grew sick as I got older, and it was during this time, he sent this lover away. Rumor was, he couldn’t bear to be around her any longer while he was beginning to waste away. They said it even when he clung to life for half a decade more. Either way, no one ever saw the woman at court again, and I’m to understand her name was Drusilla.”
Jaeger shook his head. “The name doesn’t sound familiar.”
“It wouldn’t, anymore than I suspect you would remember her face. She was a good woman, quiet but strong, the sort of woman my father would have needed during his time of need. Since then, I occasionally wondered about the ebon haired beauty who was my father’s comfort and confidant, and I had a few suspicions as well. On my latest trip back home, I went through my father’s belongings. After he passed, the regents shoved everything away in a storeroom in the depths of our castle and left it there for the dust and rats. I had a little more luck however,” Minerva said, holding up an envelope.
Philip eyed the envelope, smudged and dirty from years in storage. “A letter for…?”
Minerva held the envelope out toward them. “A letter, from Drusilla, to my father. Jaeger?”
Jaeger eyed the envelope with a glimmer of fear, shaking his head. “I…I don’t want to read that.”
Philip took the letter from her, holding it carefully in his hand as he watched Jaeger. “Would you like me to read it?”
Jaeger’s eyes were wide, and he nodded. “If…if you want.”
Philip pulled the letter out of the envelope and skimmed over the text. The handwriting was small and neat, and Philip was struck by the idea that the author was a proper, and very practical individual. It was easily read, with no real flourish or messiness, whoever had written it had excellent penmanship.
Clearing his throat, he read from the top. “Dearest, I have done all that you have asked of me. With your letter in hand, and your trusted men at my side, I have crossed the length and breadth of the continent and arrived. The King and Queen have been most gracious, attending to my every need, and keeping my presence here a secret as you asked. They are curious, and no doubt, a little suspicious as well, but they have been wonderful.”
“Our child quickens, and I know the time to give birth comes soon. I’m attended to in every way possible, and their healers are wonderful. Though you have sent us away for our own wellbeing, I feel you should know about us all the same. The child is a boy, and I will name him after your noble grandfather. It will be a strong name, and I hope I can raise him to live up to its reputation.”
“My love, I pray that you are safe, and you will soon have matters in hand. I understand the reasons for sending me away. Should you fail to find the conspirators in your midst, this child may be the only hope you have to continue your family. Your daughter, poor Minerva, is already caught in the net, by virtue of existing too close and bearing your blood. I do not want that for our son anymore than you do. It breaks my heart to be away from you all the same.”
“Be assured however, the King and Queen have promised to care for us both. They will keep me healthy and safe, and your son will be fostered here as is befitting of his blood and future rank. We are safe, you have succeeded.”
“I pray to see you again in the future my love. With our son in hand, I want to walk with you on the battlements once more, and listen as you tell our son the stories you so loved to tell me. May you walk graced with the protection of the heavens above. We are forever yours, love Drusilla, and your son…”
Philip stopped, a chill going through him so violently that the pages held in his hand shivered. He looked up, staring at Minerva who smiled benignly. She had known the truth for some time, but had held onto this tidbit until she had actual proof. Jaeger was looking at him with apprehension.
“What’s it say?” Jaeger asked quietly.
Philip took a deep breath and finished. “Love, Drusilla, and your son, Jaeger.”
The name hung heavy in the air, lingering around them as they sat in silence. Jaeger was staring at Philip’s face, his eyes wide and his fingers shaking in his lap. Minerva was watching them both, her eyes alight with excitement, but her mouth remained still. Philip waited, unsure how Jaeger would react to the news.
Philip had known it the moment the soldiers had given a full northern salute. Each and every eye in the group had been riveted on Jaeger as they’d knelt. It was a salute done only for the royal family, special to signify their respect and fidelity. The letter was the proof the Princess had needed, and Philip wasn’t sure if she’d brought them a gift, or a curse. It would all depend on how Jaeger took the news.
Jaeger reached out with unsteady fingers. “May I…. read that please?”
Wordlessly, Philip handed the page to him. Jaeger took it, pulling the letter to rest on his lap. His dark eyes darted over the page, line by line, shifting until he reached the bottom. When he saw his own name, Jaeger paused, his gaze intense as he soaked in the words. He didn’t stop there though, his eyes shifted back to the top, reading the letter again. Those in the tent waited quietly, patiently, as Jaeger read the letter several times over.
Jaeger picked his head up, his face unreadable as he looked to Minerva. “So…I’m your brother?”
Minerva nodded. “My half-brother, but a male child of the King, our father, bloodline of royalty to the north. Meaning, you, like myself, are a member of the northern royal family.”
Jaeger frowned. “I don’t…I don’t remember anything.”
Philip winced. “You weren’t born when your mother came to the castle.”
Jaeger shook his head. “No, I mean, I don’t remember her at all. Do you?”
“No,” Philip admitted.
Jaeger looked at Minerva. “My mother, what happened to her?”
The excitement in Minerva’s face dimmed. “I don’t know, I can only guess.”
“So guess,” Jaeger said, his voice rough.
Minerva sighed. “Since the King kept his word and protected you through the years, I imagine he and the Queen weren’t the reason your mother disappeared. If anything, I suspect the timely arrival of Orrin after your birth. The King and Queen had cause to believe, due to the content of whatever letter Drusilla brought with her, the north was filled with traitors and usurpers, or something equally dangerous. Otherwise, they may never have agreed to protect her in the first place. They apparently didn’t associate the danger with their own l
ands, or with the arrival of the mysterious sorcerer from the north who offered them aid.”
“And my father and mother welcomed him into our kingdom, our home, without thinking what a viper they were housing,” Philip said bitterly.
“Communication between our countries was…tense at the time. We’ve been at war with one another off and on for generations. The fact that your father was willing to house the potential heir of a man who could have very well been an enemy in the future says a lot about his honor,” Minerva said gently.
Jaeger was staring down at the page. “He…Orrin, he killed my mother?”
Minerva’s mouth tightened. “I don’t know, I really don’t. There was no other communication I could find. The only proof I could find with the limited time I had is in your hands.”
Jaeger folded the letter up gently. “May I keep it?”
“We’ll need it to add legitimacy to the claim that you are a direct descendent of my father, and that you’re my brother. I’ll only need it long enough to make my point, and then we can perform the other tests. However, that is all a formality in my mind,” Minerva said.
Philip couldn’t blame her, the proof was sitting both across from him and next to him. When he’d first laid eyes on Minerva, he’d been dumbstruck by the similarities between her and Jaeger. The two weren’t exactly twins, but they had an uncanny resemblance to one another. Philip hadn’t given any weight to the realization at the time, but with the letter held in Jaeger’s hand, Philip finally understood.
He could see Minerva’s barely contained excitement and he was grateful for her restraint. She’d dropped a heavy secret into Jaeger’s lap without warning. Jaeger had learned not only who his parents really were, but learned they were gone before he’d even gotten to know them. Philip had known his parents, and while he’d lost one and had been losing another over the years, he had at least had time with them before the loss. Jaeger had only known Philip’s family, treated as one of the family, but Philip didn’t think it was the same thing.
“What do you know of…of my mother?” Jaeger asked.
“Not much I’m afraid. The only thing I can remember is that my father was very fond of her, and no one was sure where she’d come from. She was a mystery, which incited a lot of gossip and rumor. However, it was said she hadn’t come from any court anyone knew of, and she kept to herself. My father apparently came across her during one of his tours across the kingdom, and brought her back with him,” Minerva explained.
Makepeace cleared his throat softly. “More than likely she was either a member of this pack, or someone who lived on the outskirts of human civilization.”
Philip had forgotten the man was there. “And the name doesn’t ring a bell with you?”
Makepeace shook his head. “There are those who live on the outer edge of the forest, near to the humans, who don’t have much to do with us here in the center. There are always going to be those who prefer the company of humanity over other werewolves, and we respect that. They keep to the edge, sometimes mingling with the communities that are brave enough to crop up there.”
“And have dark reputations for it. Which is probably why the court was so curious about her. Anyone who got so close to the King was going to garner attention, but if she were discovered to be a member of one of these communities? The scandal would have been disastrous,” Minerva said.
“Her status as a werewolf would have probably been of great interest to King Chrysomon. Northerners aren’t known for being accepting of werewolves, at least not until recently. Southerners have always respected our kind, if this Drusilla were to mention upon her arrival at the castle for sanctuary that she was originally a wolf of these woods,” Makepeace began.
“Then my father would have felt obligated to show her proper respect and try to protect her,” Philip continued.
Minerva nodded. “And she would have probably been considered either a threat or a loose end by Orrin’s standards. He’s been working intimately with my regents for years now and I’m sure this plan started long before they escalated it. With the regents already situated in my father’s court and primed to take over for him when he passed, Orrin could be elsewhere.”
“In my home, with my family, trying to take my throne while he makes my father dance to his tune like some puppet,” Philip said angrily.
“It’s a plan they’ve kept in play for many years and I suspect they have a lot more up their sleeves as well. I can’t prove it, but they are probably responsible for my mother’s death and then my father’s,” Minerva said, nostrils flaring as she finished.
Philip had heard her, but his eyes were locked on Jaeger’s face. There was a strange absence there, as if the bone beneath his flesh were disappearing. The strange caving of his expression worried Philip and he stopped listening as Makepeace continued the conversation. Jaeger was busy staring at the envelope in his hand, his face drained of color and his body slumped.
Philip sat up straighter. “Would you all be willing to give us a moment to speak?”
Minerva looked at Philip, then at Jaeger. Makepeace had apparently already done his appraisal and was rising from his cushion without a word. For the second time since the conversation had begun, Philip found himself reminded of someone else in the room as Verity rose from behind him. The quiet omega followed after Makepeace, his eyes kept forward, respectfully avoiding looking at either Philip or Jaeger. After a moment, Minerva nodded, saying nothing further and excusing herself from the tent with her handmaidens in tow.
After the flap closed, and the last sounds of the group departed, Philip turned. “Jaeger?”
Jaeger looked up, his face drawn and his gaze distant. “He killed her, didn’t he?”
It probably wasn’t the first of Orrin’s crimes, and if the man had his way, it wouldn’t be the worst either. Philip could see the thoughts drifting across Jaeger’s face, heavy black clouds of confusion and unrealized fury. Jaeger hadn’t had the chance to know his parents, he’d had his future stolen from him before he’d even had the possibility of realizing it. Orrin had seen to the destruction of Jaeger’s family before Jaeger was old enough to know what was happening.
Philip reached out, gently taking Jaeger’s hand. “I’m so sorry Jaeger.”
Jaeger’s eyes were swimming with unshed tears as he looked up. “I wasn’t some…abandoned orphan that your parents took in. I was the heir, or possible heir, to the northern throne.”
“My parents, they loved you all the same,” Philip told him.
Jaeger sniffled roughly. “I know that, no one could have treated me as well as your parents did without caring, no one can fake that. But…I’ve spent my whole life, wondering why my birth parents would just get rid of me like that. Was there something wrong with me? Was I broken or just unwanted? But no, my father sent me away with my mother to be safe, far away from the regents and their plots.”
“And we failed to keep your mother safe,” Philip said.
Jaeger shook his head. “No, that’s not your fault, and it’s not the King or Queen’s fault either. Maybe they should have looked at Orrin a little more closely, but he’s always been good at making himself seem good, even if he smelled foul. He killed her, I know it in my heart. My parents loved me before I was even in the world, and they did what they could to protect me, and Orrin and the regents killed them.”
“It means Orrin knew who you were, and what you could mean,” Philip continued.
“And he did what he could to preserve his precious plan,” Jaeger sneered.
Philip ran a hand over Jaeger’s face. “And we’re going to make sure he pays for everything he did.”
“You’re damn right he’s going to pay. Look at everything he’s done, and everything he’s willing to do to get what he wants. Him and the regents are finished, and I hope it’s me who gets to drive a blade into his black heart,” Jaeger snarled.
Philip knelt before Jaeger, worried by the guttural sound to Jaeger’s voice. “And we’re going
to do all this together, with our friends, remember?”
When werewolves were young, and the change came upon them for the first time, it was usually in times of great stress or emotion. It was rare for a full-grown werewolf to unexpectedly change, but a sufficiently strong passion could give the inner wolf power and bring it forward. Philip’s skin pricked as he watched Jaeger, seeing the shadows of the wolf in his soul stirring behind his eyes.
Jaeger’s dark eyes gazed down at him, fierce and craving blood. Philip smiled gently, running his fingers through the thick, black hair on his head. It was unnerving to see his friend, who was normally a paragon of self-control, losing himself so readily.
“Stay with me,” Philip whispered.
Jaeger grabbed Philip’s shoulders, eyes widening. “Do you understand what this means?”
Philip blinked, noticing some of the human come back into Jaeger’s eyes. “I can’t read your mind Jaeger, so you’re going to have to break down your thoughts for me.”
Jaeger grinned. “I’m royalty.”
Philip felt his face slacken with shock as he realized what Jaeger was trying to say. He had been so caught up in Jaeger’s shock, and his own surprise at the secret which had been kept from both of them for so long, he hadn’t thought of the implications of the reveal.
Philip’s hand cupped the back of Jaeger’s neck. “You’re royalty.”
“I fulfill the prophecy, so even if that bastard wasn’t lying, we’re still safe, the kingdom is still safe!” Jaeger crowed.
A relief from a fear he hadn’t even known he was feeling washed over him. By choosing to be with Jaeger before, he had been willingly throwing away the chance his kingdom might be saved. While he’d believed Orrin to be a liar, there was a still the bulwark of possibility laying before him, taunting him as he tried to ignore it. Without knowing the truth of the prophecy’s existence, Philip had essentially been rolling the dice.
“He kept me away from you, despite you fulfilling the rules of the prophecy, because he could use you,” Philip said with sudden understanding.
