No, this is not the big Chapter 23, that is next chapter.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I WILL NOT BE PUBLISHING THROUGH THE MONTH OF APRIL. I am participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, which is almost identical to their event in November, but you set your own word count. I will be attempting to finish my sci-fi novel Rediscovering Humanity and if I do, it will be available for sale on Amazon. So, this is the last update you're getting from me until the end of April. I'm sorry. You'll have to wait until May to find out what happens.


If there was one thing Juline was glad for, it was that the quintuplet never swapped identities. When they had their capes with their names on them, they never swapped them. Not once. It made making sure she had all of them far easier. Still, she was constantly counting the number of blonde heads around her, making sure she had one-two-three-four-five.

"Mira, give that back!"

"Nuh uh, it's mine!"

"Guys, it's just a shoe!"

"SHUT UP DESSY."

That didn't make Rimeshire any less noisy. They were, surprisingly, quieter than the triplets, but as soon as something changed hands that wasn't supposed to, their argument exploded into a five-way shouting match and would become a sore point for days.

"We have six pairs of the same shoes! Find another one!"

"No! That is my shoe and I want it back!"

"GRANDMA JULINE! MAKE THEM SHUT UP!"

"THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, LUCKY. MIRA HAS MY SHOE AND I WANT IT BACK!"

"WELL STOP SHOUTING AT LEAST I'M TRYING TO READ!"

Juline sighed and walked upstairs. It was a struggle to be heard above their bickering, but she got across, "Girls, what is the problem?"

One of them huffed. "Mira stole my shoe and won't give it back."

Juline squinted at the embroidery on her collar. "Faith, is it really that big of a deal? You're just going back to Havenfield. You don't need to be dressed up."

"But I want that shoe."

"Faith."

"Fine. I'll wear another pair." she grumbled.

They finished getting ready in relative silence, except for the occasional squabble. Juline gathered them all in a line outside and pulled out her pathfinder.

When they leapt to Havenfield, she immediately knew something was off. Years of being married to Kesler had taught her when ancient draconic magic was afoot; and this magic was not the benevolent kind.

"Girls, stay on your toes. Something's not right."

Edaline came out of the house, smiling. She didn't come running or show any signs one would expect after seeing her granddaughters for the first time in two years.

"Juline, it's great to see you! Who are these lovely girls?"

Instantly, she tensed up. "They're your granddaughters, Eda."

Edaline's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"They're your granddaughters, Edaline. Sophie's daughters."

"Who's Sophie?"

Juline felt Miracle contact her. Grandma Juline, what's going on?

I don't know.

"She's your daughter. You adopted her, about twenty-five years ago. Remember?"

"No…" A light of remembrance flashed in her eye. "Oh, wait…no. Should I remember?"

"Yes. Do you remember how excited Dex was to have a cousin his age? He was absolutely thrilled when I told him you were adopting her."

"You sound delusional, Juline. What are you talking about? Who is Dex? Unless I'm remembering wrong, your son's names are Lex and Rex."

"Dex is older than the triplets by a year and a half."

"Who is Dex?"

"He's my son." Juline was firmly panicking by now.

Edaline looked as nervous as she was. "No he's not."

No. No no no no no no. She forced a smile. "Guess I better go home and count my children. Make sure they're all there." Juline jammed the facet for home into her pathfinder and leapt away with the girls before Edaline could reply.

She went to Everglen alone and met the same wall, but so much worse. Alden and Della had no idea who she was. Worse, they didn't remember Fitz or Biana. The only child they remembered was Alvar. She was even threatened with arrest when she mentioned she was a member of the Black Swan in an effort to get them to remember.

Again, she felt the heavy influence of Titan dragon magic. It wasn't the aura of light cheerfulness that surrounded Rimeshire, thanks to Kelser. This was heavy, and thick. Suffocating. She knew who was responsible.

Kesler had told her all about the Banished Seven, two of whom had been his older siblings. This felt like Tyrginth's handiwork. The brother directly above Kesler, who had a propensity for telepathic meddling and bending others to his will. Which lent a lot of credence to their theory that one of the Banished Seven was on the Council and this new information all but confirmed it was Tyrginth. The only question was who.

The quintuplets were understandably terrified when she got back. Juline hurried them inside.

Hope took the lead, as she usually did when things were stressful. "What's going on? What happened to Grammy Eda and Grandpa Grady?"

Juline sighed. "Does anyone have a piece of string?"

Miracle retrieved one.

"Okay." She took it and pulled a small pair of scissors out of her desk. "So Washing is like this." She tied a slip knot in it. "Give it a tug and you have the memory back. Shattering is like tying a knot." Juline tied a quick square knot. "It's more difficult, but you can still get it back, mostly undamaged. But when memories are Obliviated," She cut a small section out of the string and tied the ends together. "They're not swept under a proverbial rug or smashed and the pieces left behind. They're removed completely. You can't get those memories back because they aren't there to get back. That's what happened to your grandparents. Their memories of you, your parents, Dex, everyone, is gone."

Either Faith or Fortune started crying. Juline reached for the crying child and pulled her onto her lap.

"What's going to happen to us?" Destiny asked.

Juline rubbed Fortune's back. "You'll stay with me and we'll figure something out. I promise."


First Saturday in May is the BIG CHAPTER. As for Such A Twisted Legacy, there are three of four more chapters of that to be expected, all through May. After those, I'll be working on the prequel to this story, the name of which I will reveal at the end of this book.

Shine brightly!

Ruby