THE LAST SECRET KEEPER Secret Keeper series books 1-4

CHAPTER 33

Reaghan, as a fully divine goddess, was able to be seen by commoners as well as become invisible at will, therefore Catherine and her sister, Abigail weren't aware of Lanecea's daughter as she stood within their shop. Just 48 hours earlier, her mother had entered this very shop with Revna, commissioning the sisters to make gowns for her. Abigail looked up from the needle she was pressing into the satiny crimson fabric - the last that was imported from Britain. 

"Where've you been, Catherine? I was beginning to worry and would have begun looking for you if we didn't have a deadline. I need your help if they are to be completed by Friday."

"That won't be necessary. I don't think Lady Lanecea will be returning."

"Why would you say that? She was a wonderful customer..."

What could Catherine say? Abigail, her older sister, would think she was telling tall tales if she heard the story. Without saying another word, Catherine held the record in her hands for a long moment, unseeing eyes barely attempting to read her own name. Setting it, at long last, to the side, she picked up the navy blue satin before thrusting the needle within the fabric as she attempted to keep up with her sister's fast stitching.

"Promise me, Abby, that I won't be forgotten."

"Why would you be forgotten?"

"Just promise me..."

"Seriously, sometimes you make no sense," Abigail didn't look out even when Catherine bit back a cry of pain as the needle punctured her thumb instead of the fabric, blood spilling onto the record.

Tears and cum flowed from Catherine's body as she watched helplessly her surname blotted out by the blood that had splashed onto the document she had foolishly kept too close.

She was just a Catherine in a sea of Catherines. Tears and blood quickly destroyed the document until all that remained were two words: Catherine and seamstress.  

Reaghan laughed as she stepped out of the shop and was still laughing as Tarvos hoisted the little imp onto his broad back.

"She's already forgotten," Reaghan giggled. "For not being fully divine, Mamma's curses work really fast."

Tarvos's booming laughter filled the early morning air as he carried the goddess on his back toward the river where he was meeting Lanecea shortly. Curses might be more expedient after all, than summoning the territorial queen's armies. 

"We better not tell your mother how quick and efficient her curses are. Your father already worries that she won't behave. If your mamma ever realizes what power she has at her fingertips, your poor daddy will be beside himself with worry."

"Yes, but everyone will always behave," Reaghan grinned, "although I think it is too late for my brother."

"Likely," Tarvos agreed, a muscle clenching in his jaw.

****

Thorson had nothing to entertain his thoughts but regret as he sat alone in the empty nest, the boy grounded for the foreseeable future. Trust is fragile and banished to the empty loft kept him out of trouble as the rest of the family prepared for their expedition. Thorson crossed to the window, swallowing hard at the memory of the many times he had bred Lani within an inch of her life as she looked out at her centaur army from this very window. It seemed like an eternity ago now, as her army, still below, turned their backs toward the window and the banished prince. He wouldn't be the first prince in history to be banished, but it was not easy to see Lanecea's army turn their backs on him in disgust.

Loyal. 

Everyone but Thorson was "Team Lani," as always.

No one bothered to look up at the window as they stepped out of the grove, only Storm stopping for a moment when he opened the barn doors.

"Where's the vampires? Lani, have you seen them?"

"I have a surprise for you when we return."

Thorson leaned further out the window, straining to hear Lanecea's soft voice, especially over the sound of Hans' black polished boots pacing just outside the bedroom door where he was standing guard.

"Mamma said you will have more time for us now, Daddy," Revna informed her father as she reached for his hand. "She said it keeps you far too busy taking care of her captives and it is hard work. Aren't you so excited to spend more time with us now?"

"Very," Storm assured his daughter, although he looked over her head, meeting Lanecea's eyes, but Lani wasn't about to reveal her secret anytime soon, her eyes only conveying one sentence to her king: Trust me.

Lanecea looked away, her eyes trailing over her children who were all dressed in matching authentic period outfits that complemented her lavender-hued gown perfectly. 

"Let's go over the plan one more time. We are going to Fort Frontenac to rescue the orphans that will be lost to history. There are too many babies, so we are going to have to make several trips. Mr. and Mrs. McLean will meet us at the entrance to the grove, so we don't have to waste time. Now remember, The French and Indian War has just ended and the French have been defeated. They may be celebrating their win when we arrive, but there has been a great number of casualties on both sides. Mohawks will likely come to the fort to trade, but remember, they are cannibals and so stick together. My King?"

"Your mother is correct, so I want you to stay close and where I can see you at all times. You may, of course, look at the trinkets and other things for sale in the trading post, but this is not like one of our field trips. There are no vampires to hunt - we are simply there to rescue the soldier's babies that have been left behind so I will be focused on negotiating and I expect you to stay out of trouble and to be paying attention. The Wyandotte were pushed back along with the French, but there may still be small skirmishes and surprise attacks. The French did not surrender willingly. The beaver trade was very lucrative, not to mention that they settled in New Frace hundreds of years before the English arrived. They have every right to remain territorial."

Storm and Lanecea exchanged a look that spoke volumes before he reached for her hand, Storm, Lani and their older children stepping out of earshot as they headed toward New France where thirty-two British babies were waiting.