Bram;

I stare at my reflection in the water. Alana’s gentle face stares back.

Her big, harmless, unassuming eyes, wild, long brown hair, and floppy bunny ears.

I’ve grown used to her form. Mastered almost everything.

From the way she walks, down to her expressions.

I never thought it would be possible to impitate someone so well, but here I am.

Doing it... and enjoying it.

There’s something bloody exciting about being overlooked. That feeling when everyone smiles at you and trusts you without knowing the kind of poisonous thorn you are.

It’s... peaceful in an amusing way. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

When I was forced to take on this role, I didn’t expect to enjoy it so... but here I am.

A small smile splits my face as I pick up the robe from the heap beside me and shove it gently into the water.

The cool water engulfs my hands, and gentle shivers run up my fingers.

I watch as dirt from the cloth bleeds into the water and gets carried away by the current.

The lakes here always look so serene under morning light.

My gaze locks on my reflection again, and gentle pride fills me.

People have lost their guard around me.

Even the ones who feel that something is off cannot quite place it. Not when the scent matches. Not when the voice is right. Not when the body moves exactly as it should.

The witches did their job well.

I run my fingers through the water again, letting it ripple and distort the reflection.

"Perfect," I whisper under my breath. Not because I admire it, but because I know how useful it is.

After scrubbing the robe, I pull it out of the water and place it on the now growing pile beside me.

Just then, voices reach from further upstream.

Light, careless and unimportant chatter of young girls.

I don’t shift or look up to acknowledge them as they settle just a distance away.

I keep washing in silence, but with nothing else to listen to... I can’t help but hear.

"You heard, right?" A young girl’s curious voice questions, and immediately, another girl replies.

"Of course I did. He left last night."

"Who?" A third, clueless voice asks, and the reply I get causes me to freeze.

"Alpha Koda! My mom says she saw his carriage stealing away at night."

"Alpha Koda left!?" The third voice whispers in disbelief, and my hand freezes beneath the water.

WHAT!??

"Left... to where?" The third voice questions, and I blink at my hands in the water, also waiting for the answer.

"That’s the thing. Nobody knows. One of the guards said it was urgent, though." The second girl replies, and the first girl hums.

"Urgent enough to leave in the middle of the night, when those witches and warlocks could come back at any time? That’s not like him." The first girl says, and I swallow.

To avoid suspicion, I start washing again... Slowly, as my heart and mind start racing.

"Maybe something happened." The third voice chimes in, softer.

"What kind of something?" The first girl demands in a whisper.

"I don’t know," the third girl admits.

"But you don’t rush out of your kingdom at night like that unless it’s serious." She adds, and there’s a pause.

Then the second girl speaks.

"Do you think it has something to do with... the Omega?" She questions, and I pause.

"Which one?" The third girl questions, and I roll my eyes.

Who’s this dumb girl??

"The one he married." The second girl informs.

"Oh... Prince Elian? The pretty one?" The first girl asks, and my face scrunches.

Prince??

"Yes, him." The second girl confirms, and I slowly pull the robe out of the water before picking up another one and shoving it in the water.

"I heard he’s not even from here." The third girl says, and I nearly scoff.

Oh, they have no idea how far away the prat comes from.

"I heard that too." The first girl notes.

"And that Alpha Koda is... obsessed with him." The second girl whispers with a giggle.

"Of course he is. Have you not seen Prince Elian!? He’s like the goddess’s breath!" The first girl exclaims, and I pull my lips together.

Just like that, the conversation turns. It drifts into absolute nonsense as the girls start rambling about every boy they find attractive in the kingdom.

I block them out as one thought starts repeating itself over and over again in my head.

Koda is gone.

KODA IS GONE!

I rinse the cloth one last time before placing it aside, and my fingers slide back idly into the cold water.

This new development... complicates things.

But... but not beyond repair.

Nothing is ever beyond repair.

But this is going to cause a major shift in plans, and I do not like shifts I did not prepare for.

I sit back slightly, letting my gaze drift over the surface of the stream as my mind races.

Just like everything else in this place, my original plan had been simple.

VERY simple!

Hurt Koda. Not kill him.

...Not yet.

Just hurt him enough to draw blood. Enough to make it impossible for King Wilhelm to ignore.

The heir to the throne injured. A direct threat to the throne.

He would return to Gravemaw. He would have to.

And once he stepped outside that protected capital, the witches would handle the rest.

Things were meant to be that simple.

But now...

I exhale slowly through my nose as I recalibrate everything.

Now the board has shifted, and I need to move accordingly if I’m going to succeed.

I need to act. And fast.

I rise to my feet, picking up the basket of wet clothes as I finally look up at the girls.

The three young girls who seem to be in their final teenage years wave at me, and I force a gentle smile before waving back.

I turn around, balancing the basket of clothes on my hips as my movements remain unhurried.

There is no reason to rush.

Especially when thinking is far more important than acting.

Koda is gone.

Which means I cannot use him... Which means I need something else.

...Someone else.

Someone valuable enough. Important enough to force the king to move.

And right now, for the best result... there’s only one such person.

Queen Cassia.

The name settles into my mind almost immediately, and I don’t resist it.

I accept it.

Considering it carefully with every step I take.

She is his first wife.

The one spoken about with a kind of reverence that irritates me. She’s the one whose relationship with King Wilhelm people whisper about when they speak of love that lasts.

Quite frankly, during my stay here, I have heard enough and seen enough to understand something.

If harming Koda would bring concern... Then hurting Queen Cassia would bring urgency.

Possibly even panic... And panic is far more useful.

Ut then... Queen Cassia is not as easily approached as Koda.

She is guarded and watched.

Especially by that witch Liandria, whom I still do not know why she’s here!!

Ugh!! I need to think about this carefully.

I can not afford any slip-ups if, now that psycho bitch Calisi will have my head.

I pass by a group of villagers, offering a small nod when one of them greets me.

"Alana." He calls, and I smile.

I return the greeting easily with a soft voice and lowered gaze. Everything exactly as it should be.

These people do not see me.

...Not really. And that is what makes this so easy.

Queen Cassia will not expect it.

Not from within.

And that too, not from someone already inside her walls.

Someone she has allowed to exist in her space without question.

This will be her mistake.

I step into the quieter part of the village, towards my hut, where the sounds thin out, and the air feels heavier.

My grip tightens slightly around the basket.

As my thoughts deepen.

This... This is better.

A more effective option. Why didn’t I consider this earlier??

Why did those maroons tell me to hurt Koda instead!? What a waste of time!

If I hurt Cassia... Truly hurt her...

There will be no ignoring it. No delay.

King Wilhelm will return to Gravemaw instantly.

Not as a ruler, but as a man.

...And men in that state make mistakes.

A slow smirk pulls at my lips, and I don’t stop it this time because no one is here to see it.

"And when he comes back..." I whisper softly as I stare at my small legs walking down the bushy path.

When he returns, the witches will have their chance. And I... I will have mine.

My expression shifts as I near the main path again.

The smile disappears, and softness returns.

Alana walks back into the open, bowing and smiling when necessary.

.

Not Bram. Never Bram.

Not where anyone can see.

One name twists and toils in my mind as the wind carries through my clothes and over my skin.

Elián.

The name rises like an unwanted, annoying curse.

I click my tongue softly under my breath, as my grip tightens on the basket.

This is his fault.

If not for him, I wouldn’t be here.

I wouldn’t have had to adjust... Adapt and endure this fucking world.

These strange people, and ridiculous... attachments.

It’s okay. I’ll make sure to have my revenge.

My gaze lifts slightly as Queen Cassia’s comes into view in the distance.

I stare at it as I make my way back to mine.

My smile grows as the new resolve settles.

My dear best friend...

"I’ll take everything from you... Piece by piece."

And when I’m done—

I won’t just leave him broken. I’ll make sure he understands exactly why.

*****

Hi, my precious reader.

I’m not putting this in the author note section because I need you all to be able to see this.

It has come to my attention that this book... that I have devoted MONTHS and effort to, is being pirated.

Yes, I want to share my story. Yes, I want the whole world to read it if possible, but through the right means.

I give so much of myself to my books, and it hurts me every time I see them pirated.

"But it’s under your name, what’s the fuss?" I do not know how best to explain the effect piracy has and how much it hurts authors.

I just need to put this out here. Whether you’re reading for free, viewing ads to read or paying "Smaller tokens" to read, all that doesn’t come to me.

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