Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Marigold

I found myself in a dark place for the next couple of days after revealing my truth to Finn. He was great about the whole thing, being his charming and understanding self. He had Zoey bring food and drinks to our room and he was able to do most of his work from the sitting area. He only left me for an hour or two a day to make some phone calls. He was out in the hallway now on the phone, while I was picking at a bowl of fruit.

Finn sighed loudly as he entered the bedroom, dropping his phone in his back pocket.

“Baby, I have to go into the office to deal with something.” He said, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

“That’s okay.” I shrugged. I never asked him to stay here in the first place. In fact, I had repeatedly told him to go.

“I’m going to send Stone up to keep you company.”

“No, you’re not.” I snapped.

“Excuse me?” Finn turned around to face me quickly, looking concerned.

“I don’t need a babysitter, Finn.”

“I know that. I’m just worried about you, I don’t think you should be alone. I could send Ferra instead.” Finn’s eyebrows pulled together in question. He wasn’t getting it.

“No, I want to be left alone.” I recognized that I sounded like a grounded toddler, but Finn needed to recognize the fact that he was treating me like a grounded toddler.

“Marigold.” Finn sighed at me.

“I’m not going to jump out of the window if that’s what you’re worried about.” I glared at him, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Of course not.” Finn looked taken aback,

“I can stay. I should stay.”

“No, you should go and leave me alone.” I practically growled at him, jumping off the bed and escaping to the bathroom. I slammed the door shut in his face.

After about five minutes I heard Finn sigh and leave the room. I waited another couple of minutes to make sure that he was gone before I left the bathroom. I locked the bedroom door so none of Finn’s various family members could intrude.

I walked back through the bathroom and into the closet. Standing in front of the mirror, I took a deep breath and shook out my hands. I pressed the palm of my hand against the face of the mirror and watched as my hand glowed green. The entire mirror began to shake and glow, bubbling under my magic. The mirror changed into a portal with the Fae Kingdom on the other side.

I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket, it was folded into the shape of a bird. I whispered a message into the origami bird and lightly blew it from the palm of my hand. The bird turned green and flapped its paper wings through the realm. I stepped back from the window, leaving the portal open, and waited.

Eventually, the portal began to shake again and turned black before two figures appeared in my closet.

“Hello, sister.” Bayu grimaced at me, crossing his arms over his silver suit. Sol had a matching golden suit on, signifying his seniority.

“This is a surprise.” Sol said, looking around,

“Are we in a closet?” He asked.

“Yes. Come.” I waved my hand and led them out to the sitting area,

“Sit. I’ll secure the room.” As they sat in the large chairs, I walked towards the door. I touched the door knob and it turned green, spreading out across the door. Soon, the entire door was covered in green vines, sealing us in and everyone else out. It also made the room soundproof and magic proof.

I joined my brothers in the sitting area.

“I have to admit that I’m surprised you came.” I addressed my brothers.

“We were surprised and intrigued by your message. You’ve never reached out to us in all your years of exile. We knew that it must be important.” Bay said.

“Is this your Alpha mate’s packhouse?” Sol asked, looking around the room.

“Yes. I heard you two spoke to him.” I said.

“We did. We were surprised by his eagerness to earn your freedom.” Sol said.

“Is he the reason you called us here?” Bay asked. Solaris, as the crowned prince, was always more diplomatic while Bayu was more emotional and concerned.

“No, Finn is great.” I shook my head. Despite my argument with him earlier, I was still madly in love with my mate.

“Then, what?”

“Do you remember Alpha Julian from the pack in France?” I asked. Bay and Sol exchanged looks,

“You ran away from his pack and ended up in the hospital. We had to rescue you. That was the last time you were home.” Bay remembered.

“Yes, except that’s not what happened.” I told my brothers the truth of that day and what happened to me in France. Bay and Sol were gaping at me with wide eyes,

“Father knew?” Bay said with a lifeless voice.

“Of course he knew. He always knew how the packs treated me. Hell, he encouraged it!” I cried,

“You know I’m telling the truth. You know that father’s been lying to you about me and about mother. I know you sense it.” I challenged my brothers. They were silent and I took that as a good sign. I continued my assault,

“Our father killed our mother because she birthed a daughter and a stillborn son. I attacked him and for that I was exiled. I was beaten, abused, and assaulted at each of the three packs he shipped me off to. He had me imprisoned with a bangle that made it so I couldn’t use my magic, I couldn’t heal, and I had to obey the Alpha.” I showed them the scar around my wrist,

“And now he’s ensured that I’ll never return home by threatening my mate’s life.”

“What reason would you have to come home? If everything you said is true, then why else would you want to come home then to take our throne!” Solaris yelled at me, jabbing a finger towards my chest.

“To give our mother a proper burial!” I shouted back,

“Father buried her in an unmarked pauper’s grave. I want to make sure that she finds peace by burying her correctly, somewhere I can visit; somewhere that we can all visit. I don’t give a damn about the throne, you can have it, Solaris! I never wanted it. All I wanted was my freedom.”

“Father told us that you stole mother’s body.” Bayu answered quietly, eyeing his elder brother.

“He told you what!?” I nearly screamed.

“He said you stole it from us and hid it where we couldn’t visit.”

“That pigheaded, slimy, sleaze ball, excuse of a…”

“Okay, Mari, we get it.” Solaris sighed, silencing my offensive language,

“I believe you.” Sol’s words hit me like a freight train,

“You do?” I breathed. Bay and Sol exchanged a glance before nodding,

“Yes.” They both answered.

“Why would you lie? You’ve never tried to make excuses before. You’ve never reached out to us for help or to make a deal. You never even confessed when we took you from the hospital. You had so many chances to beg and grovel, but you didn’t. Call it pride or stubbornness or whatever, but it tells me that you aren’t lying.” Sol frowned.

“I knew you weren’t ready to believe me then. You had to see our father’s actions for yourselves. I knew I couldn’t make you listen to me if you thought I was coming for the crown.” I said.

“Why did you call us now?” Bay asked.

“I kept everything hidden and buried so I could survive. I couldn’t think about it or try to deal with it until I knew I was safe. I’m beyond safe now, I’m overbearingly protected, actually. And, now I realize that I haven’t dealt with anything like I should have. What happened to me in Julian’s pack really messed me up. It’s affecting my relationship with Finn and I want it to stop.” I tried to explain something that I didn’t totally understand myself,

“I’m sure your Alpha mate will take care of him for you.” Bay smirked.

“For some reason, that just doesn’t seem like the right solution.” I sighed.

“You want us to take care of him?” Sol asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I want us to take care of him.” I corrected him, motioning towards the three of us.

“What?” They both asked.

“I understand now that the only way I can deal with what happened to me is to be honest with you. I hate our father, that will never change, but I still love my brothers. I want us to reconnect. I don’t care what you do with our father, I don’t care if you stay loyal to him, I don’t care that you want the throne, I don’t care about any of it. I just want my family back. I needed you to hear my truth and make the decision for yourself. If you choose to give me a chance, then taking out Alpha Julian can be our first act together.” I spoke strongly to my brothers.

They were watching me closely, looking for signs of disloyalty or dishonesty. Finding none, they stood from their chairs. I rose with them and we stood face to face. Sol reached out his hand and I took it,

“We believe in you sister and we want to be a family again, too.” I looked at Bayu who nodded in agreement. I grinned and wrapped both my brothers in a hug.

“We can’t tell father. He will exile us for conspiring with you, he will exile me from the throne.” Solaris said, releasing me,

“The throne is my birthright. It’s what I’ve worked for.”

“I understand, Sol, and I wouldn’t ask you to give that up. Father has been on the throne for more than 300 years, so, I ask you, when do you think he will surrender his power to you?” I stepped back from my brothers.

“I’ve been asking him the same thing recently.” Bay agreed.

“A problem for a different day. Today, we shall avenge you, sister.” Solaris declared.

“Today?” I asked in surprise.

“Why wait?” Bayu grinned. I looked between my brothers and frowned.

Oh, Finn was not going to like this.