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It had worked before, hadn’t it?
I love Aislinn. She kissed me. She trusted me and...
It was no use trying to think about it now. The image of Jasmine, standing tall amidst danger was engraved in me. Lady Dahlia entered my mind and took it.
I had no power to stop her.
“It’s her?” she whispered after a moment, mostly to herself. Her gaze met mine in hesitation. “You’re not trying to trick me, are you boy?”
This was my only chance. I needed to make her think I was trying to feed her a vision. It made no sense, but if she hesitated even a little bit, we could save some time.
No, it’s the truth, I thought. I need to convince her. If she finds out who the real one in the prophecy is... It will be our end.
“You are,” she said. “Trying to trick me. But why would you choose her as bait? You love her. I can sense it all over you. You wouldn’t use her. So it must be true. The trick is the opposite.”
Everyone in the room looked confused.
“Take them,” Lady Dahlia said, her tendrils still wrapped around my mind. It’s your sister. She said to me. She’s the one.
Lady Dahlia knew the truth. As the soldiers dragged all of us out of the room, I knew there was nothing I could have done to change that fact.
One of the soldiers focused solely on Lord Aster. The blond soldier’s fingers were dug into Aislinn’s arm. He did not seem gentle as he pushed her outside and made her walk quickly to follow Lady Dahlia.
Yeen followed the group on her own, her mind completely under Lady Dahlia’s control.
Instead of controlling her, the third soldier remained close to Lady Dahlia, protecting her.
Lady Cara stood close to me. She did not attempt to grab my arm or forcefully drag me out. She simply nodded and pointed towards the door.
Six more soldiers awaited command outside. Even if I were to attempt an escape, they would easily capture me, which was why Lady Cara didn’t bother to restrain me.
Lady Dahlia strode alone before us and we had no choice but to follow. We left Lord Aster’s house and entered the street. I was surprised to notice that there were no other soldiers outside. Then again, perhaps even these nine weren’t needed. After all, Lady Dahlia was capable of capturing us all by herself.
As we kept walking, Lady Cara put her hand on my shoulder. She pushed me, forcing me to walk faster to catch up to Lady Dahlia. A few seconds more and I knew why.
“You found out something important, didn’t you?” She asked Lady Dahlia.
“I won’t tell you,” Lady Dahlia replied tersely.
“I’m not asking you to,” Lady Cara said. She didn’t sound offended. “But if it’s important enough that the queen should know immediately, you should go and tell her. We don’t know what the resistance might be planning. If the information is lost... She would be furious with us all.”
Lady Dahlia's heavy-lidded eyes slowly opened.
“You’re right,” she said. “The queen is not in the palace tonight.”
“That was what I was thinking,” Lady Cara said. “She was supposed to attend that ball, wasn’t she? I saw several members of her court leaving the palace with her. You should go and tell her personally. If it’s important enough to try and hide it from me so that I won’t be the one to tell her first, you should make sure she hears it tonight.”
“Are you insinuating that I'm withholding information because I see you as my competition?” Lady Dahlia questioned, her tone carrying the unmistakable signs of brewing conflict.
“No,” Lady Cara calmly replied. “I merely wish to offer my assistance in taking them to the palace while you proceed to the queen. I am well aware of my abilities, which pale in comparison to yours. As for myself, I aspire to be a steadfast friend and supporter. For you and the queen.”
It was disgusting. Her attempt at vile sycophancy was obvious, but if Lady Dahlia recognized it, she did not seem to mind it.
“Don’t expect my gratitude for something as simple as this,” Lady Dahlia said. “If you want to get in my favor, you’re gonna have to work harder. But I was already considering what you suggested. The queen should know about this now. Take them to the palace and put them in the dungeon. I’ll go and talk to the queen myself.”
Lady Cara nodded submissively.
They hadn’t stopped our walk while they talked. We were getting closer to the palace.
