ALL NOVEL 66. Disclosed
"Hey Tegan?" she asked softly, as she hugged me close against her.
I tried to keep the uneasiness out of my voice as I replied, "Yes?" It still came out sounding awkward though.
"Thank you for doing this," Keira whispered. "We don't need to actually do anything tonight. I can tell you're anxious, and right now this is fine. Just cuddling is good."
That actually did make me feel a little better, and I was sure she could feel the tension unwind as I relaxed slightly.
"Thanks Keira," I whispered back. "If you're good with just cuddling though, why didn't you want to join me and Kelly in our bed? Why'd you want me in here?"
She grinned, "Kelly would have made you keep the nightshirt on, and made me keep my pyjamas on. This way I get naked cuddles."
After a moment she added in a more serious tone, "And I wanted to have some time alone with you. To talk about stuff."
I started to blush, then frowned as some of my anxiety returned. "Oh... What do you want to talk about?"
Keira sighed softly. "It's some mood-killing stuff. I know you've got issues with our granddad. And some issues with our mom too. You've been really good about not saying anything, but it's pretty obvious whenever either of them are mentioned."
I sighed, "I'm sorry Keira. I've tried to keep that to myself, I didn't want to upset you or Kelly."
"Shh," she quieted me, and gave me a gentle squeeze. "Have you ever talked with Kelly about this stuff?"
"No," I shook my head. "Like I said, I don't want to upset either of you."
Keira nodded slightly, then said "You can talk about it with me. I don't think Kelly knows all of this. Or maybe she does, but tries not to think about it. She's a little pollyanna sometimes, I'm more pragmatic I think."
I frowned as I looked at her. "What is it you're saying, Keira?"
She sighed, "I know my granddad is the one who wiped Amy's memories. And my mom's the one who got him to do it."
I was still watching her as my eyes widened. "You know that? For sure?"
She sighed again, a longer, deeper sigh. "Mom's the only one outside of us three who knew that Amy knew our secrets. And mom knew when me and Amy broke up. And I know my granddad knows those kind of spells, I know he's willing to use them."
I wasn't sure what to say, but she'd just confirmed my own suspicions and my reasoning. I kept looking at her for now, and kept my arms around her.
Keira shook her head slightly as she looked back at me. "My granddad is not a good man, Tegan. I don't know all the stuff he gets up to, but what I do know... He's pretty awful."
She added, "And I know my mom's closer to him than she is to me and Kelly. We're too human, not fae enough or whatever for the two of them."
After another little pause she confessed, "Forget about the intrigue and the assassination attempt and all that stuff. Even without that I don't think Kelly and I are safe alone on Earth. I think if we weren't with you, we'd be stuck with our family. And I don't think that would be a good place for us. There's a reason I wanted to stay with you and Kelly rather than on my own. Or with my mom."
By now it felt like my blood had gone cold and my stomach heavy. I had my suspicions about Keenan and I had mixed feelings about Kelsey, but I had no idea they might be a danger to the twins.
It took me a few moments to find my voice, then I asked softly "What sort of things do you figure Keenan gets up to? What's he done that's so bad?"
Keira sighed again, "Kelly told me that she told you about the summer we both stayed with him? And that spell book we found. Kelly said she gave you a copy of it."
I nodded quietly.
"Didn't you ever stop and wonder why our granddad had a book on sex magic? Kelly probably didn't tell you about the other books we found, the ones on mind-magic. That's how I know he knows those spells."
Keira hesitated once more, then finally admitted "He supplies human slaves to whoever can afford his prices. He uses transformation spells, control spells. He turns people into whatever his customers want, then hands them over for a price. His customers are fae on Earth, sometimes even other humans. And he ships some people back here to Otherworld to supply fae here."
For a few minutes I was completely silent. I felt nauseous, realizing where Kelsey got all that money from. But I was also angry. It made me angry to think that Keenan and Kelsey would be like that. And worse, that they'd put Kelly and Keira in any kind of danger, that Keira would actually be afraid of them.
Eventually I asked, "Do you know why Kelsey was so nice to me at first? Why she put me up in that condo and was supporting me and stuff?"
Keira shook her head, "I don't know for sure, but I have some ideas. Could be mom or granddad were planning to ransom you off? Like once they knew you were Maeve's, maybe they were trying to cut a deal with her to reveal your location. Or if they knew who else might have wanted you, maybe they meant to start a bidding war, hand you over to whoever paid the most. Or the other possibility, is maybe they planned on grooming you to be like them. Like if they got you to treat our mom like a surrogate mother to you, maybe they'd have started trying to get you on board with granddad's business."
I felt sick again as I remembered, Kelsey kept wanting to use mind magic on my parents. Or for me to disappear from them. She basically tried to convince me to disappear from my entire life. If I'd followed all her advice I might have wound up deeper in her and Keenan's clutches.
Keira added, "In the meantime mom had you in a gilded cage so she could keep tabs on you, keep you under control. She made sure to fix you up with Kelly, as her informant. Not that Kelly would have known she was doing that. But every time they talked, Kelly would have been telling mom how you were doing, what you were up to."
We were both quiet again for a while. We were still cuddled together, our arms around each other. Any thoughts of sex were long gone, now it was more that we were just mutually comforting each other.
Finally I asked, "Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?"
She hesitated, then admitted "At first, like right after Kelly figured out you were a changeling, and the next couple months when mom had the two of you set up in the condo and stuff? I didn't trust you."
"You thought I might be like them?" I asked softly. That made a lot of sense, thinking back. Keira was cold and distant towards me, and she wasn't happy that Amy and I were friends.
She sighed, "Yeah. You were the first full fae I'd met other than our granddad. And the way mom was getting all friendly and generous with you? I thought you were like them. I thought all fae were like them. I thought you'd be cruel and dangerous and you'd treat humans as disposable."
With another sigh she confessed, "Even me and Kelly were a little like them at first. Like, we didn't think anything of messing with you and Amy for that bet. It was the first time we'd done anything like that. But it was also the last. We both got freaked out, and realized we couldn't do that. Couldn't treat people like that."
She continued, "When you two got back from Otherworld, talking with Kelly on the phone that day? That's when I realized you weren't like them. I realized you were a good person."
She sighed once more. "The reason I still didn't say anything till now, was I had to wait until we were twenty-five. I had to wait until we were free. Then I guess I needed some time alone with you, when I felt comfortable enough to talk about this stuff. And honestly? Being a whole world away from my family feels safe. Mom's on Earth, granddad's on Earth. And we're in an enormous castle defended by hundreds of soldiers and guards and under your mother's protection. This is the safest place in the universe."
I held her a little tighter and whispered, "I'm sorry Keira. For what happened to Amy. For your family being such nasty people. And for the fact that you've been living in fear of them. I don't know right now if there's anything I can do about Keenan and Kelsey, but I'm going to make sure you and Kelly stay safe."
"Thanks Tegan," she whispered back. She gave me a little squeeze then asked, "So before I told you all this, you were already kind of suspicious of my granddad. What did you know about him that had you wary?"
I sighed, "I already suspected he had something to do with Amy. But ontop of that? The man who betrayed my mother, kidnapped me and brought me to Earth, who made me a changeling? He knows Keenan. I don't know how he knows him, but I've done a lot of thinking and I have some suspicions."
I took a deep breath then explained, "Liam isn't strong enough to cross over on his own. He was given an enchanted ring that let him do it. As far as I know he's only been to Earth the one time, when he kidnapped me and escaped Maeve's castle. So he appeared on a strange planet where he didn't speak the language, wearing strange clothes and carrying a newborn baby. And somehow he managed to find an Earth couple with a newborn child and perform the changeling ritual. Then he stayed close and kept tabs on me for at least six months, maybe as long as two full years, before he finally came back here."
I shook my head, "Liam had to have help. I think Eileen maybe contacted Keenan, or outright hired him. He'd have been set up as their contact there, so when Liam showed up with me, Keenan was probably waiting. Maybe he just acted as a guide and helped Liam get established or get him into hiding. Maybe Keenan played a more active part in the whole thing. I don't know. I have no proof of any of this, I just know somehow Liam achieved all that on his first and only trip to Earth."
Keira was quiet for a few moments as she thought that through. Finally she nodded, "It's the sort of thing my granddad would do, if the money was right. He wouldn't have cared who was hurt or who got in the way, as long as he got his gold."
She added, "Maybe that's how he knew so fast who your parents were? It was just a few days right, before that information turned up? Maybe he realized as soon as mom contacted him. If he helped Liam in the first place, he probably knew who Liam worked for, even if he didn't know for sure who you were."
"Yeah," I sighed. "That makes sense. And you're right. Kelsey said it could take months or years to figure out who my family were, then it was like two or three days later she had all the details."
After a few moments I suggested, "We need to talk with Kelly. The three of us have to discuss this, so we're all on the same page. And..." I hesitated a moment. "There's something else I wanted to talk to you both about. It might be good to bring that up at the same time."
Keira gave me another gentle squeeze and asked, "Maybe we can arrange a three-way cuddle tomorrow night?"
I groaned slightly as I felt my cheeks going red, "Please don't call it a 'three-way' anything. My life's already complicated enough as it is."
She just smiled, then leaned closer and kissed me on the cheek. "You're a good friend, Tegan. And you're a good person. I'm glad Kelly's got you."
"Thanks Keira," I was still blushing, but I gave her a slight smile as well. "I'm glad Kelly and I both have you too."
We were quiet again after that. We continued to cuddle, till eventually the two of us drifted to sleep. I don't think either of us slept well though.
I was plagued by disturbing thoughts and dreams, and I woke several times through the night. Each time I did, I found Keira was still holding me close.
It almost felt like she was clinging to me, as if for protection or security. It made me feel bad for all the nights she'd had to spend alone, without anyone there for her.
And it made me even more certain, the three of us definitely needed to talk.
