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He looked back at me. “I’m sure you’re familiar with how our world spins by now. When your m—Jamima found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic, when we found out that we were having twins, we were even more pleased. Twins were rare in any case, but there had never been twins born into our world. When we found out that one of you was a girl, we kept it quiet, though we were shattered. We knew we couldn’t share it with anyone because the risk was too high. You were a Silver Swan; you were sure to die.” His hands dove into his pockets, and Jamima finished it off.
“We were close to Elizabeth and Joseph. They were cousins, so they agreed to take you and run. Run for the rest of your lives. But when your brother was born, Elizabeth didn’t bond with him, so she sent him to Katsia’s mother where he was raised on Perdita, speaking only Latin. They tried to teach him English as well, like they did with Katsia, but he refused.” She cleared her throat. “I understand that you have a lot of love around you, and we don’t deserve a nick of your time, but we wanted you to know.”
My eyes went to Scarlet. “What will happen now? Now that Katsia is dead? What happens to little girls now?”
Scarlet smiled at me. “Now they will be welcomed.” She pushed off the wall and came to me. “That’s why we stayed behind, to have a conference with The Circle. Your father pushed for it, as did I. Hector on the other hand.” She rolled her eyes, but her hand found mine. “He came around, though, and now? Because of you, sweet girl.” Scarlet’s hand came to my face. “No King needs to worry about having a little girl. Nothing else would change, only that the girls would be accepted into the family alliances now.”
“Jesus take the wheel,” Nate muttered from somewhere in the background.
I snorted, my hand coming up to cover my mouth. “Thank you, Scarlet. For being everything I ever wanted in a mom.”
She wrapped her arm around mine. “You can call me Mom.”
Scarlet’s eyes went to Jamima and Johan. “Are you done? We have a funeral to attend.”
They both nodded and exited the room.
“You don’t like them?” I asked, not looking at her.
“No. I never have. I don’t agree with what they did and how they went about it. You suffered greatly as a child and even as a young adult. They failed you as a daughter, and failed as humans.”
I swallowed. “I don’t care now. I can’t or it will consume me.”
She patted my hand just as Bishop entered my room. My mouth watered and my jaw almost hit the floor. He wore black slacks and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, displaying his tattoos. His hair was styled perfectly on the top of his head, and his skin had a light sheen over it, glistening against the light.
“Are you ok?” he asked, tilting his head. His eyes flew between his mom and I. “Do I need to be worried about this little bond you two have together? Like are you going to team up on me a lot?”
Scarlet and I both looked at each other, then back at him. “Every chance we get,” we both answered in unison, then laughed.
Once everyone left my room, and only Bishop and I remained, he leaned into me. “I know you don’t want to talk about this right now, but it’s your birthday next weekend.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to celebrate anything this year. Please. I really don’t. Maybe next year.”
He nodded. “Okay, baby. I respect that.” Then he leaned forward, his hand going under my bed and pulled out the book. “You need to finish this.”
I took it from him.
His eyes searched mine. “You’ve made history, baby. You’re a damn hero. Now because of you? This Katsia gets her final wish.”
I opened up to the final chapter.
16.
Legacy
Today is the final time I write in this diary. I can no longer live through this crippling pain Humphrey inflicted on me and my family on a daily basis. My thoughts had turned dark, like an infectious disease he implanted into my cranium, it slowly spread like cancer, consuming my thoughts with dark depression. Days were harder to come by, I could no longer live with the guilt of knowing what was happening amongst our world. I could no longer live with what my husband was doing to baby girls or their families. No one would ever confront him, this would continue for years to come and I could no longer live a second more in this hideous place we call life. The Lost Boys have turned evil.
No one stands with me.