"I can't tell you," Hecate says at last in response to Nalani's question, her voice shifting from Elsabet's back to her own. The oracle queen has finally left, leaving the decision to reveal the identity of the fourth born in Hecate's hands.
But can't tell her. She loves Nalani like a daughter but it would not right in her knowing. It is the most grace of secrets. The secret she and one other have guarded for eighteen years. Hers and Halia's secret.
Nalani only narrows her eyes in irritation, "why can't you tell me, she is my sister, the rightful queen according to the temple's rules, I have a right to know."
Hecate sighs, sipping her tea, "if I tell you, you will go after her."
Nalani doesn't respond at first as she truly thinks about it. Finding her sister would not be a joyous embrace. Even with the new threat the island now faced. Queens are still queens. They are not bound by love, only blood - blood that each one of them intends to spill.
And according to Elsabet's vision at the Breccia Domain or whatever queen she was pretending to be - if the Blue Queen lives Nalani will not.
The fourth born threatens the legitimacy of her, Carina and Arwen. All of them should've been put to death. This Blue Queen should've ruled, free of any threat or opposition. So why weren't they killed? What secrets is Hecate hiding? All the questions race through Nalani's mind all at once and she still cannot make sense of it all.
The only thing she knows is that she must secure her crown, one threat at a time. The Goddess through Arwen and this fourthborn are all threats. Threats that need to be dealt with. For there is little Nalani fears but death. And death is certain unless she slays all her enemies before they have the chance to strike.
She thinks on the dead queens' edicts, that she needed this fourth-born to help her face a threat. But what if they were wrong? What if she decides to find and form an alliance with this other queen just to have her stab her in the back. Literally. This girl could be Queen Crowned with ease. Those spirits tell her one thing, other spirits tell her another? To help the Blue Queen or to kill her.
"It's my right to know and my right to go after her," Nalani says at last, "I am a queen, she is a queen and it is the Ascension Year, the temple zealots would whisper she is the only legitimate heir of the entire cycle, they would call for my head, Arwen's and Carina's."
"Not necessarily," Hecate counters, "there hasn't been a Blue Queen in centuries and this one hasn't been brought up to be a queen, she doesn't even know of her true identity, there is no guarantee that she would even want the crown."
Nalani has to resist the urge to scoff at Hecate but her anger at being lied to keeps building. How dare she keep this a secret? She would've rather been culled as a babe then live all these wasted years. At least with triplets she has a chance, not only to rule but to live - that is something she can work with. But being chopped apart by the temple and forsaken for a queen who knows nothing of ruling the island - that she cannot accept. And she knows that the bitch of a High Priestess would gladly get rid of her.
All those who oppose the return of the shadows would be overjoyed and well, no one wants the poisoners back in power. This Blue Queen would be the perfect solution for many on the island.
"Of course she would," Nalani snaps furiously, "she would be a White Handed Queen, she need not spill any blood to ascend, an occurrence that only happens every few centuries, and who on this goddess forsaken island wouldn't want a crown?"
"There are many challenges to being a Queen Crowned, even one who did not have to kill her sister to ascend, not everybody would want it and the people may not even accept her, she knows nothing of ruling or being a queen, to be a Queen Crowned is power it's true, but it is also the loss of freedom, shackles of another kind," Hecate says darkly.
"Nonsense," Nalani dismisses, "there is no greater honour than becoming Queen Crowned and no greater power, and no matter how pure hearted this mystery sister may be it is unlikely that she would have no ambition, no desire to take my throne," she snaps raising her voice that is tainted with both rage and a little fear.
She is so close to her destiny she can almost taste it. She can be the first elemental queen to successfully take the throne in centuries. Strengthening her and her people. And the Goddess would never escape during her reign, perhaps not for another few centuries - and by then Nalani will be bones and dust.
But for now she needs that throne. Providing the sovereignty that the people on the island deserve. To liberate them from the threat of the shadows and poisoners.
She is meant for it. There is no other purpose that has ever called to her. And perhaps it is her queensblood, or the way she is raised. But the crown sings to her very blood and she must sing back.
"Lani," Hecate says patiently, "I understand why you feel like this, you have been brought up as a queen, installed with these ambitions and ideas but you must accept that your sister may not even share them, nobody outside this room knows of the existence of the Blue Queen, she herself doesn't even know her true identity so there is no reason to be threatened."
"How do I know you haven't told anyone else?" Nalani hisses, unable to stop herself, "How do I know that this secret will stay buried and remain dormant, unable to threaten my position as a queen and the future legitimacy of my reign - if this secret gets out it could cause a civil war, it would be just like the Queens War and who knows how many lives it would cost."
"I raised you," Hecate says softly, putting a hand by Nalani's which she rips away in fury, "I would not lie to you."
"That's exactly what a liar would say," Nalani spits venomously, unable to control her temper, "and Goddess knows you are the biggest one of them all, you kept this secret from everyone and if this secret comes to light I will never forgive you."
Hecate takes a deep breath as she tries not to let her own temper from rising. Compared to her war gifted family she is passive but that doesn't mean she doesn't know how to bite back. But she knows arguing with Nalani will be to no avail. For six years her, Arwen and Carina were Hecate's and she remembers how quickly Nalani is to anger. And how that anger could soon turn into destructiveness, both for herself and those around her.
"Nalani," Morrigan warns, speaking up, "do not talk to my aunt like that, whatever she's done she would have had her reason and she would never purposefully endanger you or anyone else, don't let your temper flaw your judgement."
"I didn't ask for your input Morrigan," Nalani snarls, the candles by the table flaring upwards in response to her temper.
"And I didn't ask to watch your temper tantrum but here we are Queen Nalani," she retorts quickly, a dagger appearing in her hand faster than Nalani can blink as she cuts the tops of the candles off in one clean slice - all while staring down the elemental queen.
Nalani shakes her head at Morrigan's dramatics with the candles - as if that will stop her from sparking more flames. She could burn this entire cottage to the ground if she wished. But she has no desire to go head to head with Morrigan in this moment, she knows firsthand that Morrigan has a temper to rival her own. And no matter what connection may have sparked between them, Morrigan will side with Hecate regardless.
For a moment she wishes she is a shadow. A powerful one of Old. So she could invade Hecate's mind and force the identity of the Blue Queen from her.
But then she starts thinking. Who is the only orphan of note she knows? One closely related to the Murtras, a powerful family with links to Hecate. The only other girl she's ever seen with hair as dark as her own. Who has no real idea who or where her parents are. A girl with a powerful gift.
Nalani doesn't need to rip the information from Hecate's mind. Not when she already knows.
"It's Nimue isn't it, she's the fourth born," she says softly, locking eyes with Hecate, "that's why you didn't want me to know, she's like a niece to you, like a sister to Morrigan, I wouldn't be surprised if even Pele knows, agreed to take Nimue in and hide her identity, why I cannot say, and I have no idea why she doesn't have queens eyes but she has the colouring, the hair and her gift is strong, abnormally strong as she has no ties to the Milones ... she even has a wolf as her damned familiar, just like Queen Bernadine," she pauses, accusation and loathing swimming in those eyes, "I would bet that one of you did some sort of low magic spell to hide at least one queenly feature, the eyes, so no one would ever know or suspect."
Morrigan's eyes widen as she turns to Hecate who betrays nothing on her face and simply doesn't respond.
"Even Rowan said when he first got to Bastian City that he mistook her for me," Nalani says laughing manically, "there's no point sitting in silence Hecate, not when I know what you are hiding."
As her words continue the wax from the fallen candles sparks into flame that slithers across the table, closer and closer to Hecate. Surprisingly the oracle does not balk as a knowing look engulfs her eyes.
Nalani is so blinded by her rage she doesn't have time to register or see the blow from behind. And as she crumples to the floor Morrigan stands over her holding the butt of her sword with an expression of granite.
The flames licking their way towards Hecate dissipate immediately but she only looks at her niece in a bit of disbelief.
"You struck a queen," Hecate manages to get out, quickly going to check on Nalani. A blow to the head would hurt anyone but one from a war gifted? That could very well be fatal. She lets out a breath of relief when she sees Nalani is breathing.
"She's fine," Morrigan dismisses, "but Nimue will not be when Queen Nalani wakes, we need to warn her immediately."
Morrigan cannot bring herself to feel guilty about hurting the elemental queen, not when she has seen with her own eyes how threatened Nalani has already become by Nimue.
The elemental queen is unravelling.
Poor Nimmy, her sister who is unaware of her true heritage and how much danger she is truly in. She knows Nimue well, she is not one for ambition but she can see Nalani doesn't care. Deep down she knows no matter how friendly Nalani has been with her in the past, that with this new revelation that Nalani will do anything to protect herself and her legitimacy. She saw the look on Nalani's face at the Breccia Domain when Elsabet told her that if the fourth born lived Nalani would never be Queen Crowned.
Queens will always kill queens. And Nimue is strong, she is a threat in Nalani's eyes now. And that is just what the Goddess wants Morrigan is sure. The elemental is beyond reasoning.
And Nimue has unknowingly just become the biggest threat to all the queens on the island. She is already in danger. And Morrigan must protect. That is where her loyalties lie.
Though she cares for Nalani as well it doesn't compare to the loyalty to her family. And no matter Nimue's true heritage - she is a Murtra through and through.
"To warn her is to reveal to her who she truly is," Hecate warns, "there will be repercussions."
"And to leave her in the dark is to leave her as vulnerable as newborn lamb," Morrigan retorts, suddenly feeling a surge of anger towards both her mother and Hecate, "how could you never tell me, how could my mother never tell me."
"It would've only endangered you to know," Hecate says,
"The Goddess herself foretold that the very island itself would fall if all four queens didn't survive infancy, we had no choice and no desire to kill the other three queens. We did what we thought the Goddess wanted."
Morrigan only rolls her eyes. She has had it up to here with oracles for today. And she feels nothing but contempt for the Goddess. Everyone believes she is sacred, the lifeblood of the island. But this place is only her prison and the queens, generations upon generations of queens have only died to feed her own power.
She suddenly feels nothing but dread as the true implications of everything she has learnt on this day settles in, she must protect Nimue from both the Goddess and Nalani.
"Well that doesn't matter now, not when I know, not when she knows," Morrigan says glancing at Nalani's limp form, feeling torn. She swore to protect the elemental, guard her on her journey to becoming Queen Crowned. But what in the Goddess' name could've prepared her for this.
"Do what you will Aunt but Nimue needs to know, she faces too many threats on this island, we need to help her, Nimue needs to be saved."