Starlight's Heir - ✔️

Chapter 39 - Don't Lie

Exhaling a noisy breath, I tuned back into Nydea's idle chatter as we walked along the marble corridor. In the last week since we had begun arranging the details of my ceremony to officiate my place as heir, I had spent most of my time in meetings with other nobles and prominent people. And these last eight hours of debating the details of my ceremony had left me aching to barricade myself in my room and curl into a ball with nothing but silence to keep me company.

But in truth, I didn't mind her talking, even if I didn't hear most of what she said. It reminded me of the hours I used to spend with Chelsea, listening to her rambling -- or rather me chasing my own thoughts in circles around my mind while she chattered to deaf ears. It was an arrangement that had suited us both.

"Are you okay?"

Her concern warmed me, but a frown twisted my lips, nonetheless. "I'm okay, I just miss my friend Chelsea."

Her taupe wings fluttered as she skipped along beside me and smiled. "Well visit her then. If you can't get through the Shadow Gate yourself, someone can always escort you. I'm sure Chelsea would love for you to visit."

"I know, but she'd ask me questions and I'd end up lying to her." I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "She's been my best friend for years, she deserves more than lies."

What I didn't say was how I hated myself for the lies I had already told her. Hated that I had never trusted her enough to be truthful even though she had never been anything but trustworthy and loyal. After everything I had been through, I missed my friend. I'd give anything to have her back -- even the truth. I wasn't even afraid she'd be mad that I'd lied to her, I knew now she'd be as compassionate as she'd always been. And now that I was finally ready to drop my facade, to come clean, I couldn't.

"Don't lie then." She shrugged as if it were the simplest suggestion.

"I can't." Or could I? Stopping so suddenly I nearly tripped, I grabbed Nydea's arm as the thought hit me. "Dea, is my mother busy today?"

Her arched eyebrows leveled and drew together. "I don't believe she's terribly busy, no."

"Can you find her and ask her to meet me in the gardens out back when she has a moment? I need to talk to her."

"Of course, right away, Evelyn." She curtsied with a smile and scurried toward the east wing.

The white roses gleamed golden under the fading light of the setting sun. A hummingbird hovered around the daylilies clustered beside the rock I laid on. The soft echo of footsteps reached my ears, and I sat up. My mother walked the cobblestone path toward me, trailed by Elelas and two guards who had become her permanent shadows since the incident with the demon two weeks ago.

"Evelyn, darling, where are your guards?"

Hopping off the rock, I dusted my hands on my jeans. "I dismissed them a while ago."

"Evelyn," she tsked. "They're there to keep you safe. You know that."

"I know, Mom, but I don't like being followed everywhere. I've spent my entire life being watched. I'm tired of it." And it was true. For as long as I could remember, there had always been a shadow lurking over my shoulder, sending a chill down my spine. Glowing eyes staring me down in a darkened room, and later, doctors monitoring my behavior. Social Services and foster families watching me like any moment I might go crazy on them. I was sick of being watched, and being under constant guard didn't make me feel any safer, it only reminded me I'd never be safe anywhere.

But worse, having a Demon Hunter at my side made me think of Zev. Made me think of the hours we spent together while he tried to train me to defend myself. How little progress I had made in the brief time we'd had, and I wondered if we would ever get more time.

In truth, I missed Zev, and my guards only reminded me of that bitter fact. That was why I had dismissed them even though I knew I shouldn't.

"Ever the stubborn girl. Ah, much the same as I at your age. Very well." She shook her head with a smile as she embraced me. "Now, Nydea told me you have something very important to discuss with me?"

I nodded. "Is there a rule or some law that forbids Humans from knowing about Faeries?"

"Traditionally we've kept ourselves hidden and not revealed our existence. Why?"

"But there's no law or anything that could keep a faerie from telling a human about all... this?" I gestured with my hands, trying to encompass everything with the word.

"No, but, Evelyn," confusion colored her voice as she pinched her eyebrows together, "where are you going with this?"

"I'm okay with being your heir, even if it means I can't live in the human realm -- I am -- but I have to tell Chelsea. I can't abandon her without any explanation, it's not fair to her, and it's not fair to me. My ceremony is less than a week away, I need to tell her the truth -- all of it."

My mother drew back with a sharp intake of air. "Are you sure? I won't stop you, but have you considered how she may react? It's not an easy tale to swallow."

Throwing my arms around her, I squeezed her. "Thanks for your concern, but I know Chelsea, she can handle it. I'll leave first thing in the morning if that's all right?"

She smiled. "Of course, darling." Summoning Elelas to her side, she turned to him. "Elelas, you're to escort Evelyn to the human realm in the morning. Watch over her and see her back home safely."

He nodded and stepped back.

"Thank you, Mom. I won't be long, and when I get back I'll be ready."

Hugging me tight, she cupped my cheek in her palm and smiled. "Good luck, Evelyn. I love you."

"I love you too." As I stepped back, apprehension filled my heart. This wasn't a goodbye; I would be back home soon with my mother. So why did it feel so much like one?

So Evelyn is finally going to tell Chelsea the truth... Do you think she actually will or will she chicken out? How do you think Chelsea might react?

I'm super excited to say that Starlight's Heir has reached 1.5k reads and almost 200 votes! Thank you guys so much for all your support! ❤️ -Kaelin