Jupiter Rising

Chapter Thirty Nine - Bound

Demelza, Anwen, Emerald, Sorcha and Mirren worked collectively to push back the dark army to Murgloom. The Changelings were mostly wiped out from that one battle alone. The Gloam had used them for cannon fodder, and whether he promised them revenge or made them feel like they could stand and survive against us, either way he had sacrificed them for his own selfish need to destroy us.

I still didn't know exactly what it was that made that man so violently hateful of us, but after we had taken back the Island and Valendoor I would make it my personal mission to find out. Sorcha was clearly the key. Perhaps even my Mother could provide the answer. It had become obvious that my Mother and the Gloam had once known one another, and this story involved her somehow too. Cereus was theirs. It made me sick to consider it, how my Mother had a child all this time and yet not a soul in Olamoore knew of her. I needed to know what happened, and how she could have abandoned her?! Abandoned me?! Did she?! What happened?! And how on Fae earth did my Mother get mixed up with a human?! All questions that made my head spin. I wanted to knock Cassiopeia's door down and force her to tell me what she knew, but Questions on my Mothers survival and existence in the human world would have to wait. Our goal was to stop Cereus and retrieve Hazel.

Cereus.

I threw down the book of Olamoore on the table, sending dust flying into the air.

"Cereus is not in the book" I told Reed "how is that possible? How is she this much of a shock?!"

Arden came forward and flicked carefully to the page with my Mothers family tree, and he cast his finger over her heirs. My four brothers and I were clearly there, our lines running right between our parents. There was nothing else, not even a flicker of a line existed for Cereus.

"Did you know?!" I asked them both, knowing they were members of my Fathers council.

"Not at all my Queen" Arden replied.

Reed shook his head "I hate to be the one to say it Queen Rowan, but if the council had known... Queen Hazel would have been removed from the line of succession all together. Princess Willow would have been Queen in her place. Queen Hazel would have been tried for crimes against her crown and her people and most probably executed"

"Executed?!" Jupiter gasped beside me, horrified.

"That's a little harsh" Leda argued "It is not in anyone's power to who they fall in love with. If that is what happened. Why should anyone be punished for something as pure as love?!"

"Fae and human cannot mix" Reed said sternly.

Swan gestured to the book, she was one of the younger of our council "I don't agree with our history of extreme punishment, that is for certain. I hope under Queen Rowan we will change things. However, I agree Princess Leda, despite how harsh it sounds, that Human and Fae can never merge in this way"

The council all nodded in agreement.

Leda looked agitated "So, a Fae will never be accepted with a human... ever?!"

I placed my hand on Leda's "It is to protect our very existence Leda. It is not something we take lightly"

Jupiter and Leda shared a look.

"I believe" Crocus spoke up, shuffling to a standing position, her old age evident "that Cereus isn't in the book for the one reason she also isn't claimed by the Royal household. She is half blood. The book of Fae, is just that, Fae! This Cereus has no claim in Olamoore. Her blood is muddied by that human. Pure blood are the Regents"

"Muddied?!" Leda practically growled "you talk of them like they are parasites. My experience in close contact tells me different. They are merely existing in their own world, causing us no harm. Why do we hate them so much?!"