“Why do I get the feeling we’re not going to like this?” Jaylyn wondered.
“You probably won’t but that was never up to you to do. You just wanted to know.”
“Well, just spit it out so we don’t spend all night down here.” Adele said. “I never planned to take action.”
“Maybe because you never planned on me telling you that Bianca may not be as dead as you think.”
Adele sucked in a breath of air with the rest of us and her eyes flickered at the hooded woman next to Trever. “What?”
“I knew it.” Zayden muttered. It appeared we were right. The reason we saw Trever in Lecca was because he was there for her.
Trever looked next to him and the woman brought up her hands, removing her hood. It really was Bianca, looking as alive as any of us.
“Oh, shit.” Darius muttered.
“Yup. I knew it. You did bring her back.” Zayden said.
“No.” Jaylyn cut in. “She’s really alive.”
“How is that possible?” Adele asked.
“And this is where the explaining takes place.” Trever said. “Everything that happened the day you returned to Seni was supposed to happen because obviously you—”
“Can’t marry someone who’s already married.” Ruby muttered.
“Exactly but we had to get it to look like it would actually happen so Adele would get mad enough to kill her.”
“So, this was just some big game for you where you just played around with our lives however you wished?”
“Oh, no.” Bianca said, making Adele’s attention turn to her. “It was never like that. I never wanted to do it. I never wanted to cause the trouble with your relationship with Zayden but I didn’t have a choice. I had to spell him so he would forget about you and get you to hate me even more.”
“Wait a minute.” Zayden said. “You put a spell on me?”
“Yes and I’m sorry that I did but you never forgot completely. Your love was too strong and I only did those things to get Adele to do what she does best. We knew she would.”
“But why?” Adele asked. “Why did you need the world to think you were dead so badly?”
“Not the world; Sedrik.”
This was an unexpected turn and I was ready to hear more.
“What about him?” Jaylyn wondered.
Bianca looked over to Trever and he gave her a single nod to continue. “Well, this problem starts back to when we were born. You see, Sedrik and I are twins. I was born first and born naturally but he wasn’t. Our mother had to die in order for him to live and she willingly did it because she knew my father needed a son but things with Sedrik were never normal after that. The older he got, the more we were able to see it and even my father came to fear his own son.
“Sedrik has always been mentally unstable but only at times did he really show it. We feared for our lives every day until I met Trever. I was only fifteen at the time but we fell in love. It wasn’t until I turned sixteen just months later that we secretly married and he promised to do anything in his power he could to help me get out of Sedrik’s shadow but to do that Sedrik had to think I was dead.”
“So, why not just fake you’re own death?” Zayden asked.
“That wouldn’t have worked. We’re twins. We have a certain connection to each other that no one could understand and Sedrik would have been too smart for that. He would have wanted to confirm it by seeing my body. In order for this to work I had to die. Trever took me to see Madam Carla and she gave me a potion to drink beforehand so that I may come back to life up to a year after my death.”
“Why did you wait so long?” Jaylyn asked. “If you met all those years ago, why didn’t you just do it then?”
“We needed the right opportunity.” Trever answered. “Already knowing about the prophecy, I knew that had to be it but we would have to wait.”
“And we did.” Bianca said. “When the time came, that’s when I was sent to Seni to marry Zayden but we had our own plan. Trever knew Adele would be there and I had to do whatever it took to get her to hate me, enough to want to kill me. I’m sorry that I used you and I’m sorry for whatever I may have caused between you two that night but I had to do it. I didn’t have a choice but not everything went exactly as planned. I had to get back to Lecca so Sedrik could see me but instead I was buried and left there.”
“Well, we couldn’t have actually exposed that.” Adele said. “That would have caused a lot more trouble.”
“Yes, I understand that but I still had to get back.”
“I’m the one that sent the letter to Izin saying I was her father.” Trever said. “I was already there but she wasn’t and she needed to be. I knew you would have told Izin that you sent her home so you could marry Adele so I used that in the letter and Izin did exactly what I wanted, getting you to look for her and bring her home. Since you already knew where she was it would have been easy. All I had to do was wait.”
“So, going there was also your fault?” Adele asked. “Zayden was almost killed because of you.”
“Now that’s actually your fault. I never expected you to stay there. I had to wait even longer because you did but we really are sorry any of it had to happen.”
“So, what happened then? What happened after we left?” Jaylyn asked.
Bianca and Trever shared a smiling look. “Well, that went quite smoothly thanks to Darius getting that hit on Sedrik that made him lose his memory.”
“Glad I could help.” Darius muttered, unimpressed that he did.
“We easily used another body to be burned because Sedrik didn’t even recognize his own sister. After that, the moment was perfect and she came back to me.”
“But not everything was happy.” Bianca added. “Only after I reformed my own life did I realize I was too late for my father. Sending me to Seni to marry Zayden meant that only one more thing stood in the way for Sedrik to get the throne and that was him. He fell to what he feared most and I had to flee the country before he found out and I fell to the same fate. Trever has kept me secret and safe since and now, you need to do the same. This can never get to Sedrik or he’ll find me. Please.”
No one said anything but our stares had words of their own. We were completely speechless.
“Remember, I didn’t expect you to understand or accept this.” Trever said. “But it is what it is.”
“Well, all right.” Adele replied. “Everything’s out and I’m just a little pissed off. Why didn’t you just tell us everything from the beginning? We could have went along with it and I would have gladly killed her if it were necessary for it to look like murder.”
Bianca laughed. “And no one appreciates that more than me, Adele but it had to be this way. No one was supposed to know and even now, it’s a risk for us telling you.”
“Then it surprises me that you just didn’t keep it from us for the rest of our lives.” Jaylyn said. “Sounds like something you would do.”
Trever sighed and Bianca put her hand on his while answering for him. “He never wanted to keep any of it from you especially. It hurt every time he had to lie but he did it to protect me. You should know the measures one would go through for someone they love.”
Jaylyn looked at me and took my hand. “I guess you’re right. I don’t hold anything against this. We should just take it and move forward. What’s done is done and I see no point in looking back on it.”
“I for one really hope you mean that.” Trever said.
“I do. Now, let’s talk children.”
Bianca’s eyes opened a little wider and Trever laughed. “Jay, we’re not having this conversation.”
“Well, you’re not getting any younger. Think about that. I have one and I’m seven years younger than you.”
“Okay, I think we’re done here.” Trever rose to his feet and Bianca did after him. “Night’s over. We can all get to bed now.”
“Great. Bed.” Jaylyn smiled. “That’s a perfect start.”
“Jay, quit it
!”
She just laughed as we followed Trever and Bianca to the door and he knocked on it. It took an awkward quiet second before the locks came undone and the doors opened.
“Good. Everyone’s alive.” Aleksander sighed in relief.
“Of course, father.” Adele smiled as they kissed each other’s cheeks. “We can be quite civilized.”
“And for that I’m glad.”
We took the stairs up to our rooms to put this crazy night behind us. Accepting it was easier than I thought but I guess I just knew the whole time. We were just waiting for him to admit it.
Chapter 19
Ruby
I was devastated about this and seemed to be the only one. I didn’t know how everyone else could be fine. I wasn’t fine.
I reached my room with Darius but I stopped before going inside and looked down the hall. Bianca and Trever went into a corner room and I had my eyes on them until the door closed.
“Ruby?”
I snapped my head in his direction and Darius was already getting out of his shoes. “Hmm?”
“Coming to bed?”
“Um, in just a second. There’s something I want to do first.”
He sighed and stepped closer. “There’s nothing you have to say to them.”
“But I think there is. I feel bad, you know?”
“That wasn’t your fault. It was his. He never had to be with you.”
“I know but I kept up with it too.”
“You had no idea he was even married. None of this is your fault.”
“I’ll just be a second.”
He was just trying to stop me but it wouldn’t work. I was determined to see them and he sighed again and kissed my forehead. “Okay. I’ll be in bed waiting for you.”
I had my eyes down on the door I watched Trever go through and I was becoming shaky. I didn’t really know what I would say but kept approaching it anyway and knocked lightly.
There was light chatter behind the door and Trever is the one that came to it. “Red!”
He was surprised to see me and Bianca came to the door before I could say anything and gently pushed Trever aside. “What do you want?”
My voice was low and clouded. “I’m sorry. I’m not really sure what I’m doing here but I just—”
“We don’t care. How’s that? Easier for you?”
“Bee, come on.” Trever sighed. “Let me just talk to her for a second.”
Bianca returned the sigh while rolling her eyes and turned away from the door. “Why don’t you just sleep with her tonight?”
Trever laughed as he stepped out the door and closed it behind him. “Sorry about her. She’s still trying to get used to it. Let’s walk.”
I turned with him with my arms crossed close to my body and I was looking up at him while we started to walk down the hall. “I can’t believe you never told me.”
“I couldn’t—”
“Well, you should have!” I said, beginning to speak more loudly. “I mean, damn, Trever! Do you even know what such a horrible person this is making me feel like?”
“Look, I’m sorry—it’s just—”
“You should have told me! I can’t believe you even let it go on as long as you did and act like nothing was wrong!”
“That was just a cover.”
“If you hated it so much then why did you even do it?” I took my voice down a notch and was more upset. “That night at the banquet when we were young, why did you walk me home and have us stay at your house if you knew what it would have led to? You shouldn’t have wanted that.”
“I didn’t. I mean, I didn’t really know what I wanted. I just knew what you wanted. I knew you had a crush on me and I couldn’t—”
“You could have simply turned me down and we could have gotten on with our lives. I was still young, really young actually. I would have gotten over it.”
“But it would have only pushed you away. You wouldn’t have wanted to see me if I rejected you and I needed to be around you.”
I sighed smugly. “So, you did it because of your job?”
“No, Red.” Trever stopped us from walking any farther and turned me. “That wasn’t the entire case. I knew you since you were born. I watched you grow and every year that went by, you were becoming more and more beautiful like your mother.” He started walking again and I followed with curious ears. “I soon found it difficult to stay away and it scared me. I honestly don’t know why I tried to get you alone that night. I may not have been thinking like I should have been but the more it happened, the more you kept coming back, the harder it was to stop no matter how much regret I felt for doing that to Bianca but I told her everything. I used the excuse of having to watch over you as the reason and she went with it. I was just adding to my lie every time I was with you. I never wanted to do that to her. I love her but the truth would have hurt her and I couldn’t do that either.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything. I was still wrong but I hope to change everything now. I have her back where she can stay with me and we won’t have to be apart anymore.”
I laughed quietly like what he said was sweet. “I guess Bianca meant more to you than you said.”
“Don’t be like that. I couldn’t tell you then. I knew what was going to happen. I couldn’t make it seem like I cared.”
“Well, everything turned out the way it was supposed to. You have the Princess you need with you now and I—well—”
“You have your very distinctive son and his father who loves you very much. You deserve every bit of it. I just hope that what I’ve told you doesn’t come between our friendship.”
I remembered what I said about us still being friends but laughed anyway. “Are we even allowed to be friends?”
He laughed too. “Bianca was just in the moment of seeing you. I’m sure she never fully understood our situation but she knows that it’s over; it’s been over. She’ll come around to behaving more appropriately like she should with time. I know she will.”
We stopped just outside my door and I looked at it for a moment. “Well, I’ll just have to take your word for it but I better get in to Darius. I know he’s waiting for me.”
“Sure thing. I’ll see you periodically throughout your stay here, I hope.”
“I hope so too.”
We leaned into each other and kissed on the cheeks.
“Goodnight.”
“Yeah, same for you. Go ahead and start that baby-making for Jaylyn before she drives us all crazy about it.”
“All right.” Trever laughed as he started to back himself down the hall. “Let’s not go there, please. Goodnight, Red.”
“Goodnight.”
Trever turned from me completely and started to walk back towards his room while I watched him. I lost the smile from my laugh the farther away he got and went inside my room.
Darius was sitting up on the edge of the bed like he’s been waiting for me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Everything’s fine. Bianca hates me but I’m sure that’s no surprise.”
“Well, she doesn’t have to like you.” He said, pulling me close to him by putting his hands on the back of my thighs. “I imagine trying to please her would be a pointless effort for you.”
“Oh, I wasn’t about to try, believe me but I think I’m about ready for bed.”
“It’s all ready for you.”
I kissed him and started walking around to the other side while he got in it. I took off my shoes and most of my clothing before following after him and moving close in his arms. Darius held me tightly to keep me warm and safe but all I could seem to think about was everything Trever said.
Apart of me still couldn’t believe any of it was real. Looking back on the time we shared was like a dream. I never once remembered Trever slipping up on revealing anything. I couldn’t see how he could have done it; it was mind boggling.
It was even consuming me all the next morning
. I didn’t get much sleep. I was tired all through breakfast then we just sat around in the lounge with Aleksander to catch up but that wasn’t helping either. I wasn’t doing anything. I just felt like sleeping.
While the boys were climbing all over him, he heard all of the happenings coming out of Seni from those who’ve recently spent most of their time there.
I mainly sat quiet through it all. My eyes would close in long blinks every few seconds and I didn’t know how much longer I could be awake.
“Hey, why don’t you go upstairs and get some more rest.” Darius said with a whisper. “Dirk’s all right down here with us.”
“Are you sure? He can be quite a handful if he knows I’m gone, I hear.”
Darius smiled and looked over Dirk trying to climb up onto Aleksander’s shoulders. “I think he’s doing a pretty good job being distracted. You go. I want you to be well rested while we’re here.”
I slowly nodded and started to get up. “All right but just for a little bit. I don’t like being away from him that long.”
“I know. Go ahead. I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble.”
I leaned down to him and we kissed before I looked at Dirk having fun one more time and quietly walked out of there without him noticing. My slow steps took me all the way upstairs towards my room and all I really wanted to do was get there so I could rest. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything around me until I rounded a corner and nearly knocked heads with Bianca.
“Oh, shit!” I put my hand on my chest from the unexpected sight of someone else in these quiet halls. “I’m sorry. That was probably my fault.”
“Yes, as I hear everything always is.” Bianca replied with a bit of resentment on her voice. “It’s best to walk with one’s eyes open.”
I didn’t really feel like I was in the arguing mood right now and just nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry, Bianca. Um—where’s Trever this morning?”
“Awe. Upset that you haven’t seen him yet?”
I laughed very lowly with just a small hint of a smile. “What? No. It was just a question. Why do you have to be like that? None of it was my fault. If I knew he was married I never would have been with him.”
Rising Sun (Fate's Intent Book 9) Page 9
