Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(54)
“My reign has gotten off to a tumultuous start. I wasn’t anticipating becoming a target for assassination so soon, and yet it happened. You all know that Cynder here saved me and brought me home. So far, the danger has not resurfaced, but the group behind the assassination attempt is still out there. They are called the Magi Death Squad. A man named Frederick Pittser is one of the members. You probably remember him as the man who told the media that Cynder and I were having an affair to stop me from inviting the Magi back into the kingdom. Unfortunately for him, his plan backfired. The Magi have been coming back in force over the last week or so, including people who weren’t living in Silverwood originally.”
You all know I’ve been forced into another round of competition for who will be my husband. It’s not been easy, but I want to thank both Luca and Cynder for going through with it. It was not an easy decision to make for any of us, but as you have, no doubt, seen in the papers, the popularity for the monarchy has increased massively in the past week, ever since it was announced we were doing this. It’s my belief that the competition is what’s buoying that and bringing the Magi back. Furthermore, since Cynder arrived, I’ve had no reports of any attacks on any Magi, nor have I had word that there have been any further demonstrations. This competition, as ridiculous as it is, is uniting the kingdom.”
“It’s all good news then!” said Dean.
“Mostly, yes, but there are a few problems and a few things I want to clear up before we go any further. The people around this table are the people I trust most in the world. You’ve all proved yourself in one way or another, so I think it’s time a few truths were known. Firstly, Daniel is a Mage.”
I heard Jenny gasp. She stopped scribbling and looked over at Daniel. Dean took his hand.
“He knows I was going to tell you all and agreed to come out of the closet so to speak.”
“Wouldn’t be the first closet I’ve come out of this year,” he quipped.
“But your mother...” said Jenny, trailing off. “Maggie was the one who asked me to put in a good word for you at the ball.”
“I’m afraid my mother is dead and has been for a great many years. Maggie is a friend of mine. She agreed to lie to you to get me into the palace. I’m so sorry.”
“But...”
“Jenny, that’s why we are here,” I said as kindly as I could. She hated being lied to as much as I did. “We are clearing the air.”
“Ok.” She picked up her pen again. I could see she wasn’t happy but kept it to herself.
“Daniel and Cynder are in a group fighting the Magi Death Squad, called the Freedom of Magic. They have known each other for quite a while. Originally, this group was set up to bring down my father, but since he did a pretty good job of that himself, they decided to help the monarchy rather than fight it.”
“We decided to help you,” corrected Cynder.
“And I’m grateful. I think it’s safe to say we all have a common cause here. To bring Silverwood together and to eliminate hate between the Magi and non-Magi. I was wondering if you both would tell everyone exactly what it is that the Freedom of Magic have been doing, and what it is they are doing now.”
Cynder stood and cleared his throat. This wasn’t going to be easy for him. He was going to have to tell the truth about the fact that the Freedom of Magic had originally intended to bring down the monarchy. I listened to him as he spoke, and gauged the reactions of the others. At first, I could see they were uncomfortable with what they were hearing, especially Jenny. But as he continued with how they had been helping us since my father died, she visibly relaxed. When he finished up with telling everyone how he had saved my life in Thalia, Jenny got up and gave him a hug. A huge honor indeed!
“I hope you all understand where Cynder is coming from,” I said, taking over from him. “The Magi have been persecuted for years. I don’t blame him or Daniel for trying to bring down my father, and I hope you won’t either. The main thing is, they are on our side now, and we are all working together. Cynder, Daniel, would it be possible to bring some other members of The Freedom of Magic to the palace? I would like to talk to them all. If we are going to fight the Magi Death Squad, we need to all be on the same page.”
“We could try,” replied Daniel. “The police might try to stop that many Magi from getting into the palace. We all know that the MDS has people in high places including the police force.”
“No, they won’t. I’ll say it’s a garden party for Magi. All of Silverwood knows what I’m trying to do, whether they like it or not. They will just assume that I’m trying to mend fences. Also, that brings me to my next point. I fired the chief of police last night. The kingdom cannot run for long without someone running the police force, but I saw last night how corrupt our police force can be. Leo, I know you are a businessman and not a policeman, but I trust you. I’d like it if you can jump into the police chief’s position for the next couple of weeks. Your detective skills are nothing short of amazing...except for a couple of little mistakes.” I’d told him that morning that his informant was wrong about Cynder being married, a fact that embarrassed Leo no end. “I want you to organize and implement a recruitment drive for Magi police at all levels, and then when you think things are running smoothly, hire someone to take on the chief role.”