Chapter 21

I don’t believe there had ever been a time in my life when I’d feared another creature for what they were or what they’d done. Perhaps that came from my own unique heritage; I knew what it was like to be judged simply for what others assumed about me.

Knowing this, I couldn’t say that I distrusted Hailia simply because she’d once been banished to the Farther Shores. However, I do admit that I wanted to know why she had been.

Since there was no way that I could satisfy that curiosity until I learned the truth, I insisted to Rayne that I wished for us to speak to his father about Hailia. My strategy to get him to agree was simple; I used the fact that we still didn’t know who was against me.

Hailia very well could’ve had important information that she would only share with me because she didn’t trust many others. Yes, that might’ve seemed odd to some, but again, my heritage may help us here.

She might open up easier to me about what she knew if I sympathized with her using it. While Rayne didn’t like it, he eventually relented after the first day.

He sent word through Emelio that he wished for us to speak with Jekia privately. It wasn’t long before we received word back, only about a day, and Jekia wholeheartedly agreed to our request.

The meeting was set up for two days later. I confess that I did feel slightly nervous as Rayne and I arrived at the palace gate that evening.

It had been a beautiful day with much milder temperatures since the heat wave had broken. The sunlight was streaming through the trees in golden rays as the twilight began setting in.

A gentle breeze was blowing, billowing through my hair and carrying the sweet scent of the flowers and greenery around us. Rayne tapped on the webs that covered the gateway as he called Vishu.

“We’ve come to visit Father, Vishu. Can you let us in?”

“Yes, of course! Welcome home, Lord Rayne and Lady Luna,” Vishu responded as the webs were withdrawn.

“It is nice to return here at times,” Rayne allowed as he took my hand and we stepped into the courtyard.

Vishu was sitting in her webs near the gate as we came in, a pleasant smile on her face. I must say that she was a rather stunning spider.

I had never seen an albino one before, and she was as sweet as she was lovely.

“You should return more often. We do miss you and Lord Rin. It is not the same without you both here,” she commented.

“I understand your feelings, but you do realize that all grow and leave the nest eventually,” Rayne reminded her.

“True,” Vishu allowed with a gentle nod. “But it makes no difference that you will always be Lord Jekia and Lady Lana’s children.”

I felt a slight longing within me as she said that. I’d never known what it was like to have parents or a family, although I did feel like I’d gained the latter with Rayne.

I considered telling him later how lucky he was to have grown up as he had. The two of us continued farther into the courtyard, and I took in our beautiful surroundings.

It was so serene here. The flowers were all in full bloom and the leaves of the plants were deep and bright green.

It was like stepping into one of the fine paintings I’d seen in the houses I’d served before. “What a wonderful place to grow up. It’s so beautiful and peaceful,” I commented.

“I can’t complain about it. Growing up here gave Rin and me a wonderful childhood, and has done so for Selenia as well,” Rayne responded.

“Although I do admit that the two of us always did favor the idea of striking out on our own when it was possible. I suppose it was simply in our blood to prove that we were capable of doing so.”

“Could it have been the bravado that comes with being a male alpha?” I guessed with a smile.

Rayne returned it. “I won’t deny the possibility.”

“You wouldn’t be incorrect in saying that. I’ve never known an alpha who has been content in staying put in their early life,” we heard Jekia say.

We stopped as he stepped out of a gazebo about three feet ahead of us. I must say that it was striking how much Jekia and Rayne looked alike.

One could certainly tell at just a glance that they were father and son. They were about the same height and build, and both had the same white hair, ears, and tail along with striking golden eyes.

Yet looking at Jekia, one could easily sense the wisdom he’d gained throughout the centuries. He may have looked on the younger side like his son, but his eyes belied much experience in life.

When he spoke, you could definitely tell that wisdom and experience. He was anything but a fool and approached all with both caution and strength of heart and mind.

“Good evening, Father. I apologize for calling on you so suddenly,” Rayne greeted him. “There is no need for that. I will always make time for my family as they request it, and it has been a while since I have had time to sit with just you and now your beautiful beta,” Jekia told him.

I felt a bit guilty hearing that. We had called on him because we wanted to ask him about Hailia, not really to spend time with him.

Perhaps we could stay a bit longer after speaking of her and simply enjoy a family visit. I did wish to get to know Jekia better.

Rayne appeared to feel the same way. “That is true, and while we did request this to speak about Hailia, we’d like to stay afterward and have that time with you as well, if that is all right.”

“As I said, it is fine. I have no pressing matters that I must deal with, so we’ll have plenty of time,” Jekia assured him. He glanced at the gazebo. “Come. We’ll sit out here and enjoy this pleasant weather while we talk.”

Rayne and I followed him up the two steps, sitting at the marble table with him. I had to admit that this feel really rather calming.

The pleasantly warm air coupled with the sweet smell of flowers on the slight breeze was quite nice. “I wanted to thank you for this too. Honestly, I’ve been very thankful that you and your family have accepted me so easily,” I confessed as I smoothed out my white skirt.

“We would do nothing less, and I trust Rayne’s choice. He is the only one who would know for certain that he has met the one who is meant for him,” Jekia reminded me.

“I have always felt sound in our relationship, though I will admit to my faults in it as well. I know that I have not done right for Luna, and I aim to fix that now,” Rayne responded.

“You do understand that I hold no blame against you for anything. I have told you that plenty of times,” I reminded him.

“There’s no reason to keep dwelling on your mistakes, Rayne. We all make them, and I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I made plenty when your mother and I first met,” Jekia informed him. “As I’ve told both you and Rin, pride and arrogance are factors that we must learn to control. None of us will perfect them, no matter how long we live. We simply learn to curb them as we need to.”

Rayne slowly nodded, looking a bit more content. “I understand, and I will work on all of it.”

“I know you will,” Jekia agreed. “But moving on to the subject you wished to speak to me about, I was a bit surprised that you’d be so intent on learning more about Hailia. Am I to take it that she wishes to speak more to Luna?”

“She does,” Rayne confirmed. He pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to his father.

“We received this message via sprite the other morning.” Jekia unfolded the letter and read it.

“Ah, I see. It sounds as though Hailia may know more about where these rumors originated.”

“True, though I question her motives in this. If she knew more before, then why has she waited to come forward?” Rayne inquired.

“I wondered that too, especially after Rayne mentioned to me about her being banished before,” I added. Jekia let out a long breath.

“Yes. ~That~ incident.”

I tilted my head, feeling slightly confused by this regretful action. It didn’t strike me as something Jekia would have done in front of anyone. Rayne noted it too.

“You know, Father, you never have told us the full story about the Farther Shores or why Hailia was banished there for a time. Was there a reason for that beyond just not wishing to discuss it?” he pressed.

“I suppose you could say that it has been a sore spot for me, especially when I continue to be unsure of the true intentions behind what occurred,” Jekia confessed.

“What do you mean? Are you saying that she was unjustly sentenced there and that is why she’s been allowed to return?” Rayne asked.

“While it remains up for debate, I believe so,” Jekia confirmed. “What happened to cause that, and why was she blamed if she was not the one responsible for whatever it was?” I had to know.

“It is a bit of a story, but if you two are willing, then I will tell it to you. It may also be better to disclose it now with all that has recently happened,” Jekia offered.

“You believe that it may be connected?” I guessed. “I believe the possibility is there, and have more and more since the thought entered my mind the other day while I was speaking with Selenia and Lana,” Jekia confirmed.

“But let me start the story from the beginning so that my suspicions will make more sense to you both.”

“Very well. We will listen and give our opinions afterward then,” Rayne agreed.

Jekia sat up a bit straighter. “The issue with Hailia began long before you or your brother came into this world. I’m certain you recall hearing the stories of when I met your mother, and of how Madame Lucille’s matchmaking house was exclusive in attempting to cater to me.

“I came to know that family rather well in those decades before Lana and I met. Their mother, Madame Kali, was the mistress who headed it during that time, and their father was the one who communicated with me and other males for potential brides.

“I believe it was around two decades before Lana came here that I ended up meeting their daughters, though I noticed that there appeared to be a rift within their family concerning them. The oldest, who is now known as Madame Lucille, was being groomed to be the next mistress, while the younger, Hailia, was practically ignored.

“I’ll be the first to say that I did find that a bit odd, but didn’t question it much. That was until I heard an interesting tale about them from Hamish, the chief of Jumal. According to him, Hailia was an unwanted child in that family, the result of an affair that her father had with one of the girls who was being groomed in their House.”

Both of us were very surprised to hear this.

“Hailia is only Madame Lucille’s half-sister?” Rayne said in disbelief.

“She is. I was curious, so I had Emelio look into it for me, and he confirmed it,” Jekia told him.

“It sounds like this played a large role in what ended up getting Hailia sent away,” I noted.

“It was,” Jekia acknowledged. “The story behind that event is still a bit murky though. The shortest version I can tell you is that their father was killed under extremely suspicious circumstances shortly after Lana and I met. It was an issue I had to look into because Madame Kali was demanding it, and she laid sole blame on Hailia, claiming that she had killed him and it was witnessed by one of the girls of the House.

“This girl did corroborate those statements, and due to the nature of what was done and Hailia’s heritage, it was decided that we would sentence her to the Farther Shores for banishment.”

This was already reeking of suspicion. It was too convenient that her father was killed and someone just happened to witness it and immediately speak out against her. My mind flashed back to the girl I’d seen when Hailia and I went to her home.

She’d acted afraid of something, and I’d assumed at the time it was Hailia. Could I have been wrong and there have been something else to it?

Rayne also smelled the rat. “That’s far too convenient. It sounds to me like she was set up to take the fall because of who she was,” he pointed out.

“Yes. It kept nagging at me as well. I wasn’t the only one either. Sage spoke to me about it quite a few times afterward, and he never believed that Hailia was the culprit. He even went digging into it himself in the years that followed, and he was the one who came across something important. The girl who testified to me that she’d seen Hailia kill her father was also a personal servant to Madame Kali and was quickly shipped out to another House in the Western Lands once everything was said and done,” Jekia explained.

“They were trying to keep her as quiet and far removed from them as possible without raising too much suspicion,” I surmised.

“It certainly sounds that way,” Rayne agreed.

“Very much so, and that bothered me even more. That was why I decided to look into everything again after we had settled here, and the more I did, the more I didn’t like what I was finding. Even though I couldn’t prove who the actual culprit was, I became convinced that it wasn’t Hailia, and decided to reverse the decision I had wrongfully made,” Jekia confirmed.

A lot of things were starting to make sense. It was no wonder that others were wary of Hailia, or that Jekia was reluctant to discuss her.

However, I also harbored suspicions about Madame Lucille. She had been quick to point a finger at her sister regarding the circulating rumors.

Could it be that she was the one fueling them while pretending to be a supporter? The idea seemed insane, but I didn’t dismiss it. I was well aware of how subtly vicious the women of the upper crust could be.

“I can see why you might have reservations about her,” Rayne admitted. “And if she truly is innocent, then we should hear what she has to say to Luna. I just don’t know about letting Luna meet with her alone.”

“I understand your concerns,” Jekia reassured him. “But I honestly can’t imagine Hailia causing Luna any harm. Besides, we can ensure that the meeting is monitored. Emelio is more than capable of doing so from a distance, given that Luna is your beta.”

“If that’s possible, then I’d like to do that,” I interjected.

“You’re sure about this?” Rayne asked for confirmation.

“I am,” I replied, nodding. “I might’ve been a little intimidated when we first met, but I’ve never believed that Hailia was out to hurt me. Besides, if Emelio can keep an eye on things, then what do we have to worry about? Hailia might know things that no one else will listen to her about.”

“She has a good point, Rayne,” Jekia chimed in. “And I would like to see and hear what comes from this as well. We can ensure Luna’s safety, and I am certain she is not a pushover either. Let’s proceed this way and see where it leads.”

Rayne found it difficult to argue against this and he knew it. So, he mostly conceded.

“Very well. I’ll agree as long as I know Luna will be safe and I can intervene if necessary. Will that suffice?”

Jekia nodded. “That will be fine and I do believe it’s reasonable.”

He was right. It was reasonable, and as I had stated, I felt no real fear of meeting with Hailia.

In fact, a part of me was eager to do this now. I wanted to talk to her about her experiences of being ostracized for a crime she likely didn’t commit.

But more than that, I felt like the answers to what was happening around me were within our reach, and Hailia might be the only one who could help us grasp them.