~~

Trinity

~~

I was a little lost in thought while Aunt Glory and Athair mòr said good night to Hibiscus and summoned a few of Aunt Glory's guards to take her home. They didn't want to chance that someone might come after her again while she was on her way back home.

I wasn't as worried about Hibiscus, for some reason, something was telling me she wasn't in any danger. I could feel Reece's eyes on me as I thought about what it was that we needed to do next. I knew there was something that he wanted to say to me, but I could also tell that he didn't want to say it here.

When I turned to look at him, I saw that there was a serious look in his eyes, but that seriousness was also mixed with a good amount of confusion. There was a lot that we needed to talk about, but I wanted to wait until it was just me and him. I didn't think that it was a good idea for Aunt Glory and Athair mòr to hear what it was that I had to say right now.

"Go straight home, Bissy, do not stop anywhere else. The guards will see you to your door. And over the next few days I will make sure that there is someone outside your house at all times. You won't be alone at all, I promise. There won't be anything for you to be afraid of while they are there."

"Thank you so much, Glory. You truly are the best friend that I could ask for." Hibiscus gave a forced smile, fighting past the grief she was feeling.

"I will be coming to see you soon, Bissy, count on that, alright?"

"Glory and I will be in touch soon." Athair mòr added.

"Thank you, Valerian, you've always been like a brother to me." She gave him a grin then, a look that didn't seem to be holding the grief from just a moment ago.

I watched as the guards surrounded Hibiscus and led her out of the room, their eyes vigilantly watching their surroundings. I wish I believed in Hibiscus like the others seem to. That would be better. I really didn't want to have to tell my aunt that I suspected her best friend of more than she was letting on.

When Aunt Glory turned to look at me, I knew that she was going to ask me if I still thought that Hibiscus was the one behind all of this.

"Trinity, what should we do now?" She sat across from me and looked me in the eyes.

"Well, if I had to guess what the next course of action is, I would say that we need to account for everyone's whereabouts during the show. And while doing that, we need to identify this man here." I held the drawing up and showed them the man that Hibiscus had described.

"I know who that man is already." Athair mòr answered as soon as he saw the drawing. "And I never would have suspected him of doing anything like this."

"Is he someone else that hasn't been interviewed?" I asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, he is indeed." Athair mòr nodded his head as he answered and I had to repress the urge to sigh. "However, it is because he does not live anywhere near the city." He added when he saw the frustration in my eyes.

"So, he lives outside of the Fae compound?" I was confused for a moment as I thought about this. "If he isn't-." I started to say something but Athair mòr interrupted me almost immediately.

"I said he doesn't live in the city. I did not say that he didn't live inside the lands of Fae. We may call it a compound but it is a magical realm all unto itself. It is far larger than just this city." I had never actually explored the Fae lands so I didn't really know about any of these things he was saying just yet.

"Well then, I guess we should have some people gathering the whereabouts of the city residents while we talk to this man and the other people outside of the city. No one is off of our radar with this investigation. That is something that the both of you need to agree to. Unless they have a rock solid alibi, they are on the suspect list."

I gave Aunt Glory the firmest look out of the two of them but Athair mòr was not immune to that look. He got the same stare and firm set to my jaw. They needed to understand that this was not something that we could play around with. This was important, not to just me, but to the entire land of the Fae.

"Alright, I understand." Aunt Glory hung her head in shame as she felt the weight of the mistakes that she had made. "I am sorry that I never thought to suspect those close to me. And then, there are those that are so far away from the city that I never would have suspected them at all had it not been for you, Trinity." Aunt Glory looked like she was trying to concede to me that I was the better Queen or something. I didn't want to win some contest about who was better. I just wanted to do what it was that Danu had asked me to do. I wanted to keep my family safe.

Having these two on the same page as me and not standing in my way would be so much easier. They obviously needed someone else to help them see what was going on around them.

"OK, since we are done here, I will head back to my room. Aunt Glory, I am sure that you are eager to see Trevor, so I think it is best for us to say good night now. We will continue the investigation tomorrow."

"That sounds good. I am going to cancel the rest of the festivities. It is simply not safe for my people right now. I need to protect them, all of them." Aunt Glory nodded at me firmly then and rose to her feet. "I am counting on you, Trinity. I need your help, as a Fae, to find the person who had been committing these crimes."

"Even if I wasn't a Fae, Aunt Glory, I am still your family and I would help you."