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Alain sucked his breath.
"Adjustments will have to be made for their absences."
"I understand, Your Highness. I'll let the lieutenants know." Fina's tone was deliberately subdued. Now that she was done sowing the seeds of discord, it was time to step back and let everyone reap its cursed rewards.
Estrella couldn't believe Lysander was going to end their discussion just like that. Your Highness, please—-
Lysander flinched at the heartbreaking sound of Estrella's voice inside his mind, and his gaze snapped to where his wife was. The twins were gently but firmly pulling her up, not letting her stay on her knees, but before he could look away, her stricken gaze suddenly clashed with his, and Lysander sucked his breath at the desperate amount of pain in her eyes.
Please listen to me, Lysander. I swear I didn't tell my brother anything. Please—-
He turned his back on her. Get the fuck out of my mind. And then he forced himself to walk away. Tonight's offensive wasn't just about retribution, and she had goddamn known that. Tonight was supposed to be their ultimate show of strength, and her lies had just fucking jeopardized that. If the Lyccans were to interfere or sabotage this for whatever reason, the Faes would be seen as the weakest link in L'Alliance and Lysander couldn't afford to even risk having that happen.
Weak rulers had failed the Faes far too many times, and their mistakes had cost the lives of thousands. He couldn't let that happen. Just fucking couldn't. Not even if it meant destroying any chances for a future with the woman he loved.
Chapter Twenty
The tower, Estrella thought hysterically. They had actually gone as far as imprisoning her in the tower room just as if they had gone back to the Dark Ages, and she was a prisoner of the royal family, just waiting to be beheaded.
Estrella forced herself to set her heartbreak aside and start thinking clearly. The evidence the spymaster had presented was damning, and it was understandable for Lysander to act as he did. With her confinement, she would not be able to interfere but she wasn't also being directly accused of treason either.
Why didn't Fina talk to her first? Before Lysander's return, the spymaster had always been on her side, a loyal and wise mentor whose words had successfully guided her out of a few politically tricky situations. But the older woman had drastically changed the moment her husband came back, and after what happened today, Estrella knew she had no choice but to take her blinders off.
The way Fina liked shutting her out in meetings that Estrella used to attend at her encouragement...the way Fina seemed to forget that Lysander was her prince and Estrella's husband and instead acted like Lysander was a bachelor she could sidle up to at any given moment...
All this time, she had done her best to ignore her intuition and read nothing in the changes in Fina's actions, but with how the spymaster had practically thrown her under the bus this morning—-
Fina wasn't just out for blood. It was clear now that the other woman wanted everything Estrella had - and Lysander most of all.
So the question was, what did she do about it?
Estrella eyed the tower window calculatingly. It would be a three-story leap to the ground, enough to potentially break her bones, but if she were to shift...
Ten minutes later, and Estrella's paws silently landed against the hard ground, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she stretched and tested her limbs. Unlike her siblings, she had never felt too at home in her Lyccan form. The power that coursed through her veins was too wild and unwieldy, and she was always worried she'd lose control of her own strength and end up accidentally hurting those weaker than her.
But for now, she had no choice.
Although the white fur of her wolf form made her more easily discernible, Estrella was more worried about masking her scent. The Faes might not be known for having an exceptional sense of smell, but Lysander...
Estrella mentally crossed her fingers. Lysander in beast form she would have no chance of fooling, but hopefully, Lysander would be too busy reworking his strategy to have shifted out of his Fae—-
Frack.
In the act of padding inside the stable, Estrella managed to back out just in time while hastily putting up walls in her mind. Lysander had just entered the stable from the other side, and it was imperative he didn't hear her thinking.
"...in agreement about the attack?" she heard Lysander ask.
"Yes, Your Highness."
George, Estrella thought. A Fae lieutenant about her age, and one whom the twins believed had a promising future in the military.
"Be ready to leave at 2000h," Lysander said.
They were supposed to leave at midnight, Estrella thought. Was the change to preempt any move on Domenico's part?
