“It is the only way I see this situation resolving. Mitch’s change was blessed by the Mother of All. You witnessed what happened in Her sacred circle. You cannot deny he is Goddess-touched. I can only believe that the stalemate we have lived with for so many painful years is at last to be challenged.”
“I always heard that you chose exile, your majesty,” Mitch said respectfully. There was more going on here than he knew and it seemed imperative that he understood all facets of what might be asked of him now that the Lady had taken a startlingly personal interest in his existence.
The Tig’Ra sighed heavily. “It was the only choice that made any sense at the time. It was the only way I could safeguard my family while avoiding killing my own brother.” He seemed so defeated, Gina worried for her dad. “To understand, you must know how this all started. I was born to a family of golden tigers. When I got old enough to shift for the first time, everything changed. I was blanche. Immediately, my family went from being merely related to the royal line to having the heir apparent. The old king’s family had all been killed in human wars and shifter conflicts and he was despondent until I came along. We moved to the stronghold and he took me under his wing. He was my father’s uncle and I’d known him growing up, but after I shifted white, he took an even stronger interest in my life, teaching me about the Rule and all that a good king should know. Eventually though, he passed on to the next realm and I took the throne. My parents were still young enough to have cubs and the Goddess blessed them with my baby brother, Gisli.”
Silence reigned while the king contemplated his next words. Finally, he continued. “I don’t know when it started to go wrong for Gisli. Maybe it was the mages we had to bring into the stronghold to magically hide it from human discovery. Gisli was always so fascinated by the magic users. He befriended them and learned from them. He learned things our parents would not have taught him. He learned how to lie and how to steal. Or maybe some children are just born selfish. I really don’t know, and I’ve had a lot of time to ponder it over the years. So much happened so fast and only in hindsight do I really understand how those events unfolded so long ago. Gisli came of age and he was as golden as our parents. He was so upset about it. He’d thought for certain he would be like me and his first shift would prove him to be royalty. When it didn’t happen, his bitterness began to overcome his goodness. Over the years that followed, he changed. I didn’t see it. Not for many years. During that time I married and had children. Gina and her older brother, Fridrik junior.”
Her father looked so upset by the retelling of the tale that Gina reached out to put one hand on his arm, offering what comfort she could. He covered her hand with one of his, meeting her gaze for a short moment before going on with his story.
“Little accidents started happening. As a toddler, Gina fell down a flight of stairs. She was okay, but I think Gisli or one of his cronies pushed my little girl with the intent to harm her. My wife’s car had its brake lines cut and she wrecked it on the road. She was injured but made a full recovery. Then they killed Fridrik.” His voice broke and Gina clutched his hand, gripping tight. Tears were in her eyes as she remembered.
“Fridrik and I were both white when we first shifted. He was a few years older than me and we both trained with the Guard to hone our skills. One day when we were out with our teachers practicing stealth in the snow, we were attacked by a group of human hunters. They weren’t just any hunters though. They had a mage with them and it was pretty clear they were there to kill us all. Fridrik died protecting my trail.” A tear rolled down her cheek and she paused to wipe it away. “They all died. All except me—the smallest. I was hurt, but I ran as fast as I could back to the stronghold and right into my father’s arms.”
“I sent out help right away, but it was already too late. The Guards found the scene and it was a bloodbath. All the tigers were killed, but they’d taken out a good number of the hunters as well. All human. All with the stink of magic about them. At least one survived and stole a piece of my son’s pelt. I shudder to think what the murderous bastard has done with it all these years.” Her father growled, and Gina wiped away the tears, allowing anger to stiffen her spine.
“When it was clear magic was involved, I began to suspect Gisli, even if the rest of the Clan thought he was a great guy. He had them all fooled back then, but I knew how much he always liked mages. I would’ve torn his heart out, but the Rule does not allow for brother to kill brother, and I had no evidence to punish him or strip him of his rank. I prayed. I went up to the sacred mountain and sought the Lady’s counsel. The vision I received in answer told me what to do.” He paused a moment as if remembering that desperate time.