Evidence

“I don’t know anything about this.” Leo sat opposite me in my office. I watched as he massaged his temples.

“What about your informant? Could they have gone to the press?”

“Yesterday, I would have said no. He’s been my friend for years, and I trusted him completely. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

The door opened, and Cynder walked in. I’d invited them both up here for an urgent meeting. Leo had beaten Cynder to it by a couple of minutes. I passed the paper to Cynder to let him digest the contents.

“I’m so sorry, Cynder,” began Leo. “I was just looking out for Charmaine. I didn’t know anything about you, and I was worried about a stranger coming into the palace. I didn’t leak this to the press, but my informant must have. I’ll deal with him, but I obviously can’t take this back.” He smacked his hand down at the paper. I’d never seen him mad before.

“Don’t. There’s a possibility it isn’t your informant. If my ex-stepsisters got wind of him, there is a good chance they leaked this themselves. I’m actually amazed it took them so long.”

“Are they anti-Magi?”

“No, they just like money and power. Seeing me living in the palace must be killing them. I haven’t seen them in years, but that won’t stop them. This is their one shot at fame, and they are going to make the most of it.”

“What shall we do about it?” I asked.

Cynder thought for a minute. “Ignore it. It will go away on its own eventually.”

“The people will want to know the truth,” I reminded him. “They will expect a statement from me.”

“Any statement you give will only add fuel to the fire. You don’t know these women. They are power-hungry. You talk about them at all, and it will validate their claim. They’ll say you are lying.”

“But I’m not lying. They have no proof, no wedding certificate.”

“They won’t care. Even bad publicity is publicity to them, and they’ll milk it for all they are worth. I honestly think it’s better to leave it well alone and let the flames die out. If you don’t bite back, they will get bored eventually.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what damage they’d do in the meantime, but I let Cynder have his way. I didn’t know these women, and he did. If he said they were ruthless, then I believed him. I’d be monitoring the papers, though. I wasn’t about to let two crazy women mess up everything I was working towards.

The next day, I headed to Silverwood’s main police station with Leo and Daniel. The whole force knew we were coming and, apart from a few key staff members manning the reception desk, they had all crammed into the biggest conference room in the building. Even with the huge capacity, it was standing room only.

The second in command, who’d taken up the mantle in the two days since Grenfall had left was a jovial middle-aged man with the unlikely name of Copper. Jason Copper. I briefed him fully before seeing the rest of the staff, and he seemed more than happy, to have Leo come into the force. Jason was a man I took to straight away. With one of those faces that had a permanent smile, he was more than happy to accommodate us. Even better, was the fact that he agreed with us on a lot of key issues regarding the Magi. He told us how he’d repeatedly spoken to Grenfall over the past few years about the Magi and had been shot down at every turn. After an hour-long meeting with him, I decided that he and Leo should work together. If Leo liked him as much as I did, he’d eventually get the chief of police position to himself once Leo had finished what he was there to do.

I looked at the faces looking up at me with great expectation and knew that this was going to be one of the most important speeches I ever gave. These men and women were Silverwood’s backbone. As they were on the front line, so to speak, they dealt with Magi and non-Magi and the problems between the two communities on a regular basis.

“Good morning,” I began. “As you are no doubt aware, I terminated Mr. Grenfall from his position of Chief of Police a couple of days ago.”

There was a cheer. It seemed that Grenfall was as unpopular with his staff as he was with me. That would make things easier.

“For the next few weeks, Your second in command, Sergeant Copper will be taking his place. His title from today onward will be Acting Chief of Police. Alongside him will be Mr. Leo Halifax. As you are probably aware, Mr. Halifax is my brother-in-law, but he is also a trusted member of my staff.

“Mr. Copper and Mr. Halifax will be working together in the coming weeks to streamline the police force. I want to assure you that your jobs are all safe and there is no need to panic. If you are happy in your current position, then there is no need for that to change.

“However, we are looking for some people to step up for a new task force. This task force will be dealing with highly privileged information regarding Anti-Magi groups. I can’t say any more than that now, but application forms will be left by the door for you to pick up if you think this is something you might be interested in. Anyone can apply, but only the best will be picked. There is a hefty bonus plan for those who get the job.

“Mr. Dean Wentworth, another of my advisors at the palace, will be in charge. Some of you may already know him. The positions that are left vacant by those moving up to the new task force will be filled with people from outside the force. A recruitment drive for Magi to join the force will be trialed starting this week. If there is anyone here who doesn’t like that or will not be able to work alongside the Magi, please leave now. Take your coats as you won’t be welcomed back.”

I waited for someone to leave, but apart from a few grumbles, no one did.

I took a deep breath. So far so good! By the time the people cleared the conference room, I was feeling a whole lot more confident. No one had openly complained about me hiring Magi, and I’d even managed to find a couple of people who would look into Cynder’s sisters for me. They’d been on the front of all the papers again, and despite Cynder’s reassurance that it would just go away, I wasn’t so sure.

Leaving Leo and Dean to begin their new jobs, I headed back to the palace. A quick session with Xavi and her crew had me ready for my interview with Marybelle. After the scandal with Cynder had broken overnight, I’d decided to cancel the big interview on the stage with all the leading newspaper reporters and TV stations, and just invite Marybelle into the palace. I didn’t have the energy to deal with an excitable crowd on top of everything else, and so the palace gates would remain shut to the public this week. When I looked out of one of the front windows of the palace, I could see that, despite the cancellation, people had still turned up for the show.

“It will be ok,” said Cynder, putting his hands on my shoulders behind me. I gave a huge sigh, and he kneaded the tension from my shoulders. As much as I hated to admit it, I welcomed his touch.

“I don’t know if it will be. The monarchy is too frail to stand another scandal. Two days ago you were the kingdom’s hero, and now they hate you. It’s like every day there is something new. One day you are the favorite, the next it’s Luca. The whole thing is madness.”

Cynder stopped what he was doing and spun me around. Dropping the curtains I’d been holding open, I turned to face him. His hand went to my face, touching my skin. My body reacted immediately as it always did when he touched me. Heat flooded through me at his slightest touch.

“I promise it will be fine.” He kissed me lightly on the lips, and despite myself, I closed my eyes, savoring it.

“Stop!” I said, but he already had. “It was the kiss of a friend, no more.” He smiled. “We stick to the plan. If the interviewer asks about my sisters , we say “no comment” and leave it at that.”

If only it were so simple. I followed him out of the room up to the sitting room where I knew Marybelle and her crew would be waiting. The “kiss of a friend” still burning on my lips.

“You’ve had quite the week,” began Marybelle, not giving us time to prepare. I’d wanted to tell her not to speak about Cynder’s sisters, but she’d gone straight into her interview, the second we’d both sat down.

“Yes, Marybelle, thank you.” I pulled down the hem of my skirt and tried to look in control. “This week has been quite an adventure. Firstly, we rescued a young boy from drowning, and this morning I began the process of rolling out a new initiative at the police headquarters for Magi to join the police force. At the moment there is not a single Magi police officer in the whole of Silverwood. That’s a startling statistic and one I’d like to see changed in the near future.”

“Of course. What do you make of the rumors about Cynder here?” She turned to him, her newly blonde curls bobbing behind her. “Did the queen know you had a wife when she invited you to the palace?”

“No comment.” Cynder crossed his arms defiantly.

“He’s not married,” I butted in. “It’s a vicious rumor and no more. Cynder and I have already spoken about it, and neither of us has anything more to say on the matter.”

“But surely you must be wondering if you can trust him, after all, his wife has provided evidence that they shared a last name and that they lived together.”

I gripped the hem of my skirt and began to pick at a loose thread. How Cynder could sit there so calmly was beyond me. While part of me wanted to scream out that she was once his foster sister, I knew it would do no good. Cynder didn’t want his past raked through by the media, and I could understand that. The beginnings of the Freedom of Magic movement were founded in those early years and to expose any of his history would likely bring down the group.

“I trust Cynder. I hope that you and the viewing public at home will also be able to do the same. Only two nights ago, he saved the life of a young boy who had been thrown into a freezing cold canal.” I tried changing the subject, but Marybelle wouldn’t be swayed.

“It’s just been brought to my attention that as well as the proof of marriage I mentioned earlier, there is also a wedding photograph.” On a screen behind her, a photograph of Cynder was displayed. He was looking very handsome in a suit. Next to him was Drusilla Bloom wearing what only could be described as a wedding dress.

The look of shock on my face as I took in the photo was not put on for the public. It was too late, they’d already seen it.