“She met my father after he was already married to Esther’s mother,” Abigail said. “My mother didn’t know that he was married, so she thought she was the only woman in his life. He was attempting to live a double life. As I’ve heard it, he liked the power it gave him, to have two different families.”
The Taurus brothers loved toying with people’s lives, apparently.
“The secret came out after I was born. My father couldn’t hide the affair any longer, and he was found out,” Abigail explained. “Once the affair was revealed, my uncle— Doctor Taurus, as you know him— discovered my mother was an Elf, and considered it proof that the Elves were still alive. He tortured her, looking for information on Forevermore. But my mother didn’t know anything, because she believed herself to be the last Elf alive. She died under his questioning.”
Although I didn’t want to, I felt a small stab of pity for Abigail. No one was exempt from the Warden’s cruelty. He’dharmed everyone I knew, whether they were a stranger or my closest friend.
“I was given to Esther’s family,” Abigail went on. “I was never told of my true heritage, and I was raised by Esther’s mother. She treated me with kindness, but was distant and cold. I thought she didn’t like me because Esther was her favorite. I did my best to earn her love, but she never showed any affection toward me. My father wasn’t particularly warm, either. I don’t think he truly loved my mother, just loved the attention she gave him. He didn’t want a child to come out of the affair, but he was stuck with me.”
Abigail sipped at her tea. “Despite feeling like an outcast in my own family, Esther and I were very close. I loved my sister, and I knew she felt the same way about me. We did everything together. There was a time in my life I would’ve died for her, had she asked.”
Abigail’s tone became flat as she said, “Then… Esther came of age and got her powers. My uncle discovered she was a demigod. Doctor Taurus told us the truth about everything, thinking I might’ve inherited some sort of spectacular magic as well from my Elven heritage. But I didn’t show any signs of talent, so he lost interest pretty quickly. Esther, though…”
Abigail gave a sigh, one that was a combination of bitterness and hurt. “She couldn’t handle the fact that our father had cheated. She wanted that reality to go away, and I was a reminder that he’d been unfaithful to her mother. Any love she had for me was lost. She used her demigod abilities to conquer me in a fight, when I was just trying to get away from her, and she ripped out all my feathers.”
“That sounds awful,” I said honestly. I couldn’t believe Esther had done something so gruesome to someone she supposedly loved. She was worse than I’d ever dreamed.
“Angels are weak without their feathers, and they can’t survive if both of their wings are taken. It’s their connection to the divine and the source of their magic,” Abigail explained.
“So you can’t do magic anymore?” I asked.
Abigail shook her head slowly. “I havesomeElven abilities. But they’re not very strong, and I’m unable to harness angel magic at all.”
Abigail stirred her tea with a slight frown. “Esther left me for dead. I probablywould’vedied, had the Demigod Guardians not found me. They’d been looking to convince Esther to join them, but after spying on her and seeing it was a lost cause, they rescued me instead, and took me to Ilamanthe.”
“When did you come here?” I asked.
“Around the same time Esther arrived at the Institute. So… nearly five months ago?” Abigail set down her teacup. “I’ve been studying to become an Elvish lady since my arrival. My mother had been a high-born Elf, and it would have been my station, had I been raised among the Elves in Forevermore. As I understand it, Elves are born into their roles, and study to become them their entire lives. I don’t fit in anywhere else in Elvish society, and I depend on the monarchy to care for my needs, so I’ve vowed to serve them. As your primary lady-in-waiting, I’ll be here to guide you in your new role as princess. I’ve been working very hard to learn the customs here. I can teach you everything you need to know about Elvish culture, and I can keep you company. I can even spy for you amongst the court, if you so wish.”
“It’s safe here in Ilamanthe. The Elves practically worship the monarchy,” I rebutted.
“The Elves are a loyal people, but there are always one or two in any royal court who are only looking out for themselves,” Abigail replied. “And it goes without saying that you have married into a mob family, princess. If you want to governproperly, and keep your head, you need allies who can slip in and out of places undetected.”
“How can I trust that you’ll be loyal to me only?” I crossed my arms. I wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t sell me out.
“My station here, as well as my reputation and my long-term stability, relies on me being a valuable member of the royal court. I have to be useful to my princess; otherwise, I can’t stay, and I have nowhere else to go. I don’t have much magic, and without magic in this supernatural world, I’ll be at risk without the protection of the court,” Abigail replied. “I can understand if you don’t want to trust me, and I know I have to earn your respect. But you can believe me when I say that I am loyal to the Elven monarchy, and to you. Esther and my uncle think that I’m dead, but if they knew I was alive, they’d certainly kill me. If I want to stay alive, I must be of use.”
I liked that she wasn’t trying to bullshit me with noble proclamations of loyalty she didn’t mean. She was intent on staying here in Ilamanthe, and I was a means to that end.
That was fine. Her goals aligned with my own, and people who were working for themselves were easier to control than people who served you because they loved you. I could predict what a selfish person could do; I couldn’t predict what one of my friends might do if I or someone else they cared for was in danger. Abigail needed me to favor her for her own benefit, which meant I could use her as my pawn. But I wasn’t convinced it was the right move.
“I need some time to think about this privately,” I said.
“We shall give you a moment,” Elrye replied. She and Abigail, along with all the other Elves but my guard Eldin, left the room.
I leaned in toward Kallie and Opal. “Did you buy any of that crap? That sob story she was spewing was such bullshit.”
“I think she was telling the truth,” Opal said, and Marina slid off her lap to go play with the flower petals scattered on the floor. “She seemed very serious.”
“She’s a very good actress.” Whatever Abigail said, I didn’t trust that she had completely lost her affection for Esther. There was a dark shadow in her eyes when she said her sister’s name that told me she wasn’t ready to let go of her yet.
Kallie tapped her chin. “I think we need to hire her.”
“Youtrusther?” I asked in disbelief.
“It’s not that,” Kallie said. “But choosing Abigail is a clever move. She was close to our enemies. If we get to know her, we can pry her for information on Esther and the Warden. Then we can use that information against them.”
A wise decision,Oberi agreed.Keeping the enemy close, and learning about them in the meantime.
