“First, if you think I didn’t see that grin, you’re mistaken.” Caspian nodded to another group of townsfolk before continuing, “And second,gods if I know, but I’m hating it about as equally, if not more, than you are.”
I started to offer another colorful rebuttal, but before I could, Olliviera rounded the corner.
Clad in all white, the silken fabric chased her like a phantom wind. Arm sleeves that blended with the dress’s material made it impossible to tell where she began and where she ended. Pearls adorned her waistline, the bodice, and the neckline, attached to the over-the-shoulder straps, bathing her in luxury, refined by the expectations of royalty.
Strawberry-blonde hair wound back, her round yet defined face had been coated in a layer of powder. Her sharp jawline demanded respect, but the softness of her lips gave away a softer side, one incapable of the atrocities my father would demand her to commit. Kohl lined her honeydew eyes, framing her stare with a righteous power she didn’t desire.
In that moment, it felt like I was staring at someone who found themselves in a similar situation as me, and while I could acknowledge that she looked like a queen—breathtaking in all the right ways—I desired a king.
Approaching, she held my gaze before joining me on the small platformed dais. “Prince Kaelivan Marellan.”
“Olliviera Tremoille.” Her name felt traitorous on my tongue when Percy’s was all I wished to utter. “Apologies for my… lack of enthusiasm; it was a long evening.”
“Likewise,” she mumbled, glancing at our guests. “And please, address me by my true name.”
Struggling to keep my features relaxed and my brows from furrowing, the question slipped from me as a near-breathless whisper. “What?”
Her shoulders rose with a lengthened sigh. “My name is not Olliviera.”
“And your surname?”
“Is not Tremoille.”
A groan of annoyance roared to life from behind us—Caspian. “Oh, for the love of the gods.”
“Lorelie Alreja,” she answered, subtly glancing over her shoulder at the man behind us.
“You’re… Sapphira’s lover,” Caspian murmured, but undeniable anger clung to each of his words. “What thefuckare you attempting to accomplish?”
Scoffing as if offended, the newly named woman met him with just as much fire. “As much as I am that godsdamned woman’slover,by whatever god wished to spite me, my presence carries far more weight than a title as simplistic as that.”
Okay, she was certainly someone I could get used to.
“That didn’t answer my fucking question.” The sharpness in Caspian’s tone carried something else with it. Unease?
“It seems you’re daft, so let me lay the land for you, Caspian Vayne.” Clasping her hands in front of her, she passed thanks to a woman who swept by to compliment her dress. Only once she was gone did she elect to continue. “The palace of the gravest enemy of this continent doesn’t seem like the most…appropriateplace to discuss things.
“I will offer you this: my capture was intentional; in fact, it was premeditated. Sapphira did not know of my plans, just as she still doesn’t entirely know who or what I am. Every man responsible for her beating washandled,and I slipped my way into the royal walls far too easily. That doesn’t even cover the surface of my truth, but it gives you an idea.”
The pirate exhaled, irritation dripping from the air he released. “And we are just supposed to take your word for it? From what I heard, you were begging to marry Kaelivan, who’s to say your intentions do not lie with the king?”
“I say,” she pushed out between clenched teeth. “This world does not survive if he remains in power.”
I cut in before Caspian had the chance to. “So you wish to overthrow him?”
“It is not a wish, it is a must.” Her eyes danced across the various individuals filling the space, as if she were hunting for someone. “My goal is to dismantle his reign entirely. The Others are leading these lands to a disastrous end, a realm where every human will be tied to their wishes, and the serenity of all those living on Wraelira will cease to exist.”
“While I agree wholeheartedly,” I concurred before gesturing toward the man who stood beside me. “Caspian’s point still contains validity. The manipulation slithering through the veins of Serevalen is commanded by the Others, and it’s easy to claim allegiance when intention lies elsewhere.”
“Well, as much as I wish I could obliterate everyone in the vicinity to prove where my loyalties lie, that is not an option.” Her expression softened slightly before she offered Caspian another glance. “My heart remains true to Sapphira, and while she betrayed you for what she believed was my well-being, it was led by Sorva. The dark goddess baited her with a false promise—that I would be on that ship—and she stumbled right into it. They’ve locked her in the dungeons.” Throat bobbing, she shook her head. “As far as any ofthemare concerned, I am dead and died alongside all the king’s men I killed. Sorva leveraged weakness and played into that ploy; she, too, is convinced I am the woman I claimed to be in that throne room.”
“So she formed a deal with Sapphira, claiming she would return her to you while you’re supposedly,knowingly,deceased to these falsified gods?”
She pinned me with a look of exasperation. “Are you shocked she would go to such lengths?”
“No,” I clarified, keeping my voice level so as not to alert anyone else to our conversation. “I am just trying to wrap my head around how that is even plausible. The Others do not exist within the realm of divinity, but that does not take away from their metaphysical prowess and their all-knowing intelligence.”
Nodding, Lorelie paused to take a small breath before speaking again. “But the degree to which their influence rules is definitive to therealm it binds. If one moves from one to the other, all applicable ties are severed, leaving room for sway. For one to overpower.”
