“But you met father at a ball…” Holly says quizzically. She has clearly already decided this is all some kind of shared delusion. Mother stares off as if entranced by memories, walking toward the window, the steps of a waltz echo on her heels.
“In a place called London, my sisters and I were so excited to spend the social season among the affluent. We were well-off, but Mother raised us in an estate in the countryside, among flowers and trees. She always said the city was no place for a child—but women in need of a suitor? Well, that was when things changed. I was terrified but excited all the same. I loved the simplicity of the life I lived, but had little desire to climb the social ladder. All the same, I wanted to find love—real love. Meanwhile, your father craved amusement while visiting the mortal realm. He was bored of bars and brothels, and his beauty was enough for him to gain entrance to high society. Our eyes met, and he decided that I would be his queen.”
A mortal…
This is a part of the story I hadn’t anticipated. Perhaps this is why she took Heather under her costumed-wings.
Mother turns to both of us before I can begin to process this new information.
“Each day, he visited with a flower—a promise. As he saw it, I had no choice but to love him, to need him. But I was not a Cinderella looking for an escape from the life I had before. I was loved by friends, family, and my sisters. Affection for your father did not happen overnight.” She blows out a sigh, tracing her fingers over the ornate floral carvings of the portal.
“I do not understand,” Holly says. “You two always made it sound like something from a storybook.”
Mother blinks in response, nodding sharply and sucking in her breath before regaining the posture of a queen. How long has she been forced to push down her feelings to serve her people? She does not answer Holly—instead her eyes lock on mine.
“You are familiar with the gifts you share with your father?” Mother asks, and though it is a question, it feels more like an accusation.
“Yes.” A dark feeling echoes through my chest as I wonder how this will relate to Mother’s tragedy. There is knowing in her eyes that once her secrets are told they cannot be unlearned and with that comes hesitation. Her thin hand grips Holly’s before she speaks again.
“The first time I tried to flee, I was mended by him using those powers.” Her voice is hollow and further away with every passing moment. “I awoke in darkness, reborn as one of the Moth Court, just like our dear Heather.”
“First attempt?” Holly pales. “You tried to escape more than once?” My sister studies Mother, who only nods in response.
“You had wings?” she asks, though it sounds more like an accusation than a question. Mother gives another stiff nod inresponse. “You mean to tell us Father gave you the power of flight and then—”
Mother clears her throat.
“He said the wings were damaged beyond repair. I imagine they were in a state similar to yours, my son, when Heather cured your wounds the mortal way.” Mother stares at me and there is a deep knowing, that if someone like my flame had been there to tend to her, things may have turned out differently.
“So, they could have—he could have—” Holly stares at Mother, her crystal blue eyes glassy.
“What was given was taken.” She clasps her hands together. “We can assume they could have been patched the mortal way—but there is no way to know. There is a reason you never see meflutteraround the gardens. If it helps, I had them for so little, I do not miss the feeling.”
The scars on her back have not healed well, as if the focus had been on removing them quickly rather than care. I have no doubt this act was done in anger. From what I can remember of the man it seems, to borrow a term from my flame, “very on brand for him.” If Mother had not killed my father, I would do it myself. I can bear the pain he caused me—but to do this to his wife…
“And you have not used the aid of magic?” I ask. It is a surprise considering she is the one who provided the glamour I now use in the mortal realm.
“Ah.” She moves across her chambers, picking up a necklace. When she puts it on, it gives the same effect as her costume, but her fingers pass through the wings, breaking the illusion with a sparkle. “It is not effective by itself. At a large function, I wear both.”
“This is not what you told Heather,” I say, reeling with these new pieces of information. Heather only learned that Mother was kidnapped…
“Heatherknows of this?” Holly whirls, more hurt than angry. Mother only nods, letting silence fill the room for a moment. To my surprise, my sister does not press the issue.
“She learned more than most, my love. When you are queen, you must take time to determine who you can trust. After Atlas’s betrayal, I have been more careful.” She runs the pad of her thumb across Holly’s cheek.
I grit my teeth at the memories that have resurfaced about Uncle Atlas. There are days I fear I conspired with him. I was too young to rule and needed a way out. Perhaps I asked him to send me to the mortal realm—perhaps my memories were taken to ease my guilt. The facts remain; I was cast out by my uncle, and as a result he took the throne until his disappearance.
“You two really were friends with Uncle Atlas,” Holly says, drawing in a deep breath.
“The best of friends.” She smiles bitterly. “He was my confidant. While I dealt with your father’s tantrums, Atlas would be a shoulder to lean on, always keen to distract me or listen to my stories. He was fascinated with the mortal realm—”
“He was the one who gave you the portal then?” Holly concludes. “I always wondered.”
“Yes.” Mother’s smile is bitter. “We found it poetic to put it in the tower, a gateway to freedom in the place that was my cell.”
“Why not just go back?” I ask. Given she had access to a portal, the most logical solution would be to return to the mortal realm.
“Ah, by the time he gifted me the portal, my family was long gone. And I had you—nothing to return to and every reason to stay.” She smiles brightly, holding both mine and Holly’s hands, losing the formality in her tone and her tactical smile—her words are true.
