Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(70)

“Prince Luca is also missing. The acting chief of police has issued a statement that they knew something was going to happen, but even with the heightened security, they weren’t prepared for the magnitude of today’s events.

“A number of people are still fighting for their lives after being crushed in the crowds of people fleeing the scene. If you know someone who was there and are worried about them, we’ve set up this hotline for you to call...”

The sound on the TV was shut off although the picture remained.

“You blew up my palace?” I screamed. I didn’t care that I was completely outnumbered. I stood up and punched Cynder’s chest.

Someone pulled me back, pinning my arms behind me, so I spat in his face instead.

“Let her go!” said Cynder, wiping his face with his sleeve.

My arms fell to my sides.

“I’m not The Regent, and I never lied to you,” he said.

“So then, who is?” I asked, not really caring anymore.

“It’s your husband. Luca is The Regent.”

I stared up at him, unable to process what he was telling me.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe him,” said Daniel, coming up beside him and resting his hand on his shoulder.

“None of this was planned, us bringing you all here. We only found out this morning who The Regent was. At first, I didn’t believe it myself, but as I thought about it, it made perfect sense. He has access to you and the palace. He was the one who provided all the security who, let’s face it, were next to useless today.”

“He’s been helping me promote Magi rights for the past year!”

“And I’m a Mage,” said Cynder “but you still accused me of being The Regent. Also, just for the record, we aren’t the MDS. The MDS are all those people who have been recruited over the past few months as your palace guards. I even recognized some of them on the TV.”

“You are the Freedom of Magic,” I said quietly, trying to wrap my head around everything that was happening.

“Give the girl a cigar,” shouted someone at the back, causing Cynder to glare at her.”

“We knew someone had been providing fake documents to Drusilla Bloom. She’s not rich enough or smart enough to figure out how to do it on her own. Thanks to you opening up the police force, we managed to get a couple of our own into the task force so we could keep tabs ourselves on The Regent. A lot of what we know is thanks to you, Leo.”

I turned to look at him. It was then I noticed he had a black eye from the fight earlier.

Up until this morning, we knew exactly what you knew. That The Regent was planning something. A lot of the Freedom of Magic were already planning to be at the wedding to protect you in case anything should happen, but this morning we received a tip-off. We found out that Luca was The Regent. It was too late to contact you, Leo. You were too busy with the wedding. If we had have been able to get through to you, we might have been able to stop this before it started.”

“I told Copper that I couldn’t be reached today.”

“And I didn’t know Inspector Copper. For all we knew, he was one of them.” I was frantic, knowing Luca was going to do something big. I got on my horse and rode as fast as I could to the capital, just in time to see you say your vows on the big screen. I gathered up the Freedom of Magic people and told them what to do, Then it was just a case of pulling the drivers from the front two carriages and driving off quickly before anyone could stop us. Once we had gone, our people closed around the other carriages so no one could follow. As I said, Luca wasn’t intending to follow you. He was making his escape.”

“I...” I had no words. It couldn’t be true.

“He wants to rule the kingdom. He doesn’t care in what capacity, whether as a prince or a president. With you out of the way, he’s free to do that. He is not the fan of the Magi he pretends to be. If you look into his past, you’ll see that he opposed Seraphia when she married his brother. It’s only in the last year or so he’s had this amazing turnaround.”

“Since the ball?” I asked.

“Exactly!”

The room went quiet. I looked over at Leo. He nodded his head.

“I believe him. I also believe Daniel.”

“I actually didn’t know what was going on until I got here,” said Daniel. “But I know these people, and I trust them with my life.”

“If you don’t believe us, you are free to go now,” said Cynder looking directly at me. “We won’t follow you. Your horses and carriages are still outside. I don’t want you to go. I don’t think any of you are safe in the capital at the moment. I suspect Luca will show up on TV at some point, blaming us or someone else. He’ll become the kingdom’s hero and all the while he is publicly grieving, he’ll have his best men looking to kill you all. I can only keep you safe here, but I’m not going to keep any of you by force.”

I waited to see if anyone would get up but no one moved. Cynder looked at me almost beseeching me to believe him, and I found that I did. There was more in the way he looked at me then, than there had been all the way through my wedding with Luca. No wonder Luca’s hands had been cold and clammy. He knew that the palace was going to blow up. He knew I was going to be inside it when it did. I wondered what excuse he was going to give me for him to leave just before it happened.