When he touched his finger to her chin to lift her head up to his, Jude stared at him. Christ, he looked so much like his mom now that she knew who he was, it was uncanny. The urge to touch him, to see if he was real, had her lifting her hand to his cheek, and his scent hit her—hard.
“No.” His lordship nodded as she stood up to back away from him. Every part of her body was at war with the other. Flee or stay? Shift and go, or stand her ground? Whatever happened, she was sure it had to be a joke Mercy was pulling on her. “This can’t be right, sire. You’re my king. All of our king.”
“And you are my queen.” She backed up when he moved closer to her. “I’m sorry. I should have said something when I first saw you, but I was told to wait until today. Judith, I’ve waited for you to be mine all my life, it seems.”
“This is supposed to be a joke, right?” He shook his head as more of the conversations with Mercy came to her. “She knew. Mercy knew who you are. She never said a word. I didn’t even know that— What is—? You’re our king. I’m nothing more than a magical creature.”
“No. You’re so much more than that, Judith. All of my mother’s birds were so much more than just magical creatures. Without you and your sisters, we’d not have this day. The kingdom’s people would have perished when the new king arrived, if he was still set to marry my mother. So much—every living thing—is still here because of the six of you. And you are my mate, my other half. My queen.” She turned and jumped over the side of the turret. “Judith, come back.”
Shifting into her bird, she soared at a height that made her slightly ill. Or was it knowing she had been chosen by someone with a wicked mind to be the lady of the castle? Finding a place to set down, Jude landed on the mountain she’d been to hundreds of times before the death of the queen.
What the hell are you doing? She didn’t answer Mercy because, honestly, she had no idea what she was doing. You can’t run away from this, Jude. You have to know he’s the perfect person for you.
You might well have mentioned this before I got here. Mercy told her she wasn’t allowed to. Why? You couldn’t have just mentioned that—oh, I don’t know, I might find my other half here, and woohoo, he’s the king of all the lands we worked for?
I couldn’t tell you, Jude. I couldn’t tell anyone. You have no idea how much I wanted to warn you about this. So many times in the last week, I went to just tell you. But I was sworn to secrecy. Jude thought about the many times Mercy had come to her place and hung out with her. This, you and Duncan coming together, it was foretold by Dante. She knew what her son was to you.
How did you even figure out she had a son? I didn’t know. I’m sure none of the rest of the birds knew about him either. Mercy told her she’d not told them either. How is it possible she was able to hide not just a baby from us, but her pregnancy as well?
Duncan was born before she brought us to the castle to change us. Well, that did make sense. She birthed him after her husband died. Mary—you remember her and her two sons? Well, she raised Duncan as her own, but he’s not really hers, and now they’re here in the castle together. Even Mary lives here now. If you want, I can send her to you so you can talk to her.
I don’t want to speak to anyone just yet. Lying back on the snowy mountain, Jude wondered at this all coming together. You said that Dante knew about him and me. How did you find this out?
The books. And a lot of research. Also, I saw him a couple of times. But once I found it in the books she left for us, I understood a great many things. He’s been investing the money that was left for him to care for New Town, and they are living well because of it. The castle, as of the moment I got here and signed it back over to the two of you, has been renovated to this century. Cable, Internet—all the things you’ll need to use while being the queen. Jude told her she wasn’t going to be a queen. Honey, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you are. The queen of the lands here, and everywhere he invested in.
This is all so surreal. Don’t you think? Mercy told her that once she’d gotten used to the information, she thought it was the perfect choice. I don’t know how to be a queen. I’m just a bird that is out of sorts.
You have never been just anything, Jude. There were a lot of times in the past—before I knew what you were, I’ve come to realize—that you were taking control and getting us on the right road. Times, now that I can look back on them, I realize you were made to be a ruler. Don’t you remember all the times we’d be fighting over some investment or where to live? Small things, I know, but all you had to do was point out the flaws in our reasoning, and we’d settle right down. Mercy laughed. You would never raise your voice like I would have done. You never got angry like Piper would have and burnt us all to a
