Black Pearl

Chapter 53

Everyone seemed to stiffen at this strange man's claim. All eyes flashed to Leo, waiting a response where he would surely beg to know every last detail of his brother's confusing and heart wrenching demise. This mystery had been plaguing the whole kingdom with fear of the unknown and sadness without closure. It could all end now. 

But my husband just sighed, shaking his head.

"Atticus has been gone for a long time and I do not know you. In fact, I have never seen you in my life. If you knew anything of value, you would have come forward a long time ago. Anything you say now is certainly a lie, a grab for attention."

The hesitating guards surged forward once more.

The man smiled as if Leo had played perfectly into his plan. He tossed his head about, sending his long dark hair to one side. Revealing sharply pointed ears. A low gasp filled the church. "Fortunately, I cannot lie. It's not in my blood. You know that don't you? That fairies can't speak untruths."

Very quickly, I understood everything. There had been a fairy that infiltrated our wedding, uninvited, but also mostly undetected. Whether the guards had caught him or only heard rumors of him, it was clear that he would have had to find a different way to sneak through the cracks. And there was Oceana, sweet and kind. And so naïve. So easy to manipulate into believing in true love. I don't know how they started sending letters to one another, but it was clear now that he was using her. This fairy was the man Banner she wrote to me about.  

And somewhere along the line she had told him the truth. She had confessed to him what I had done.

I felt the blood leave my head, my skin left ashen.

"Alright, if you are so confident, let's hear your truth," Leo agreed, motioning for the guards to step back.

I feared I was going to faint.

"The hunch that you had about the killer being a siren were all too true. A siren, as beautiful as they come, slaughtered your brother, cut him down like he was nothing while the useless guards watched. They watched as this gorgeous creature came out of the water, watched as your brother talked to her, and watched when she drove a dagger into his back."

"These are nothing but assumptions," Leo sighed, almost sounding bored. "Assumptions that everyone in this room has heard."

"Yes, yes of course. Mindless rumors. But, I see that your mother is in fact wearing the pearl that was found near your brother's body."

My eyes swept the church until I spotted the former king and queen sitting on the sideline, perched in small thrones with a clear view. They were both deathly still, eyes locked on this evil man, but silent. And sure enough, there, around the queen's neck was a small chain that held a dark orb.

"But," Banner continued, grinning as if he were putting on quite the performance. Even with his arms restrained behind his back, he was quite the showman. "we have all heard about this pearl already. We don't really care about it, do we? However, the lovely lady keeping me company was kind enough to provide the murder weapon."

All attention was on Oceana who had been previously reaching out, almost like she wanted to pull him back to his seat. Now her mouth was clamped shut, her arms down, and her eyes watering. She was praying the world could cave in around her.

"Oceana," Leo whispered, his voice surprisingly soft. "Is this true?"

"I didn't," she gasped. "I didn't kill him. I would never. I have never even left the island. I-"

"It's alright," my husband assured her, so steady and careful. It was a look I had not seen often, but knew. On the surface there was softness and consideration. But below was that cold, calculating general he had been raised to be. "I just want to know if you have any weapon at all."

Not trusting, Oceana swallowed hard, meeting his gaze as evenly as she could. Then, slowly, she nodded once.

"Can you come here and show me what you have?" 

Banner didn't lose his cursed grin as timid Oceana stood and stumbled towards us. Her lower lip was trembling almost as badly as her legs. The only sound was her choked breathing as she neared, every single pair of eyes on her.

I didn't know if I wanted to lunge for her throat or wrap my arms around her and comfort her.

I did neither, standing unearthly still as my husband spoke with her, convincing her to retrieve a small box from a hidden pocket I had sewn into this gorgeous dress when I made. When I made it for my sisters, sitting on the floor, wishing for a better life for them. For all of us. And it was all for nothing.

Because when Leo opened the box, he saw the dagger. And he saw the indentation I used to rub for comfort, the gaping hole that the black pearl had left.

"As you can see the dagger is clearly either a siren creation or a gift for a siren," Banner announced, speaking more to the room than he was to us. "The handle is covered in smooth shells, precious stones, and smaller pearls. The metal is not the blend that we currently use, speaking to the blades age, meaning it was made before all the sirens suddenly disappeared. And the fact that the pearl was found at the murder scene...well that speaks for itself, doesn't it Prince Leo. Though, I suppose it's King Leo now, isn't it?"

I would have given anything to be in that military-wired mind then. I could see his attention moving over every detail of the dagger. Was he thinking about how his brother died? Was he feeling relief that he was one step closer? Was he furious? Was he trying to find something, anything, that would indicate that Banner was lying?

"Oceana, do you know who used this dagger against my brother?" Leo asked.

My sister shook her head. "Please," was the only thing that came out of her mouth, tears streaking her cheeks. 

"Tell me who it was." Bit by bit, my husband's kindness was falling away. Each layer that departed revealed more of the cunning man beneath. He wasn't here to be the man who saved my poor sister from herself. He was here to finally know the secret that had destroyed his family.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jacob, dressed in his best and brightest, taking slow steps towards us. Though he was not a guard, he was Leo's closest friend. And he knew what Leo was going to say.

"Leo," I hissed, dread tightening around my throat.

"Oceana, tell me who it was," he repeated as if he hadn't heard me.

My sister's gorgeous eyes that I was always so envious of, held so much pain it almost broke me. "I can't."

"Then I hope you understand that I can't let you walk out of here today," he said, his voice apologetic. Because he knew. He knew that Oceana didn't have it in her to slice through someone's flesh, to wash blood off her hands in the middle of the night and return home as if nothing had happened.

But Jacob still slid up behind her, a meaty hand clamping down on her shoulder so hard she flinched.

She didn't even glance at me for help. In her mind, I knew that she felt she had done wrong, she had trusted someone she shouldn't have, and this was her punishment.

But Banner knew the truth. And Banner would not let me be crowned, regardless of what happened to the woman he used to get here.

"I did it," I blurted. But it was weak and feeble, so quiet that Leo barely even glanced at me. I lifted my chin, forced my mouth to move again, stronger, harder this time. "I'm the siren that slaughtered Atticus. I killed him. I stabbed him with that dagger until his body went limp."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

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