Ch. 246..250: Alpha King’s Lost Luna Chapter 246-250
Chapter 246 80% ASHER
Much to my surprise, Silas didn’t protest this time. He obediently nodded his head and after a long, lingering glance, the Beta retreated immediately. I'd expected resistance, but then again, Silas likely didn’t know how to deal with this situation. He was incredibly intelligent, but when it came to emotional hardships, he wasn’t well-equipped.
Once he was gone. | gave Kane a cold glance and then a scoff. “What do you have to say to me?” | wondered and | fought the urge to roll my eyes. “What's so important that you had to dismiss Silas?”
Though | knew it was cruel of me to think that way, Kane’s weary face irritated me greatly. | knew | was being unreasonable and acting childishly, yet | couldn’t control myself. The stakes were far too dire and | wasn’t sure what was going on.
| lost my temper when Kane mentioned Cassandra. Was my stepbrother trying to remind me how useless | was at this point? | didn’t understand his intentions, which only made my own emotional issues far worse.
Perhaps my anger came from immense jealousy. As much as | hated to admit it, in the past, | had been jealous of any man who seemed to know Cassandra better than me. Kane, Kaleb, Rayden... | had been extremely weary and jealous of all of them. They all acted as if they knew her better, as if they could see through her heart.
| felt exasperated. | could feel the anger in my heart contorting my face and body, consuming what little tenderness and calmness | still had left in
If only Cassandra could see me now, | lamented bitterly, and | tried to summon the image of her lovely face in my mind. Her long, gorgeous hair, her full lips, her big emerald eyes... would such a stunning beauty still find me attractive? Or would she see a terrible monster before her? If | were to touch her, would she recoil? Would she find me the most despicable man alive?
“If you want to stop me from going to the North, you should hold your breath,” | advised. “I’m not going to change my mind on the matter. As soon as | recover from my current condition, I’m going to resume my journey-”
“| won't stop you, Asher,” Kane cut me off with a soft sigh. “I know that trying to sway you in any direction other than your intended one is impossible. | just wanted to remind you that the stiffness of your body might reoccur, and you might not be able to recover any time soon. The next time may be worse, and | don’t want you to lose control of yourself.”
| wanted to say some kind of retort, but before | could, Kane suddenly changed his tone.
“| was jealous of you, Asher,” he admitted, and he took a seat on the chair near me. “I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, but | can’t keep it to myself. | was jealous of the fact that decided without
you Cassandra. |... | would never do that. You always know what you want and would give up everything for your love.” any hesitation to go find
He released yet another sigh. “I don’t know that | could have done the same if | were you. | would hesitate to things | was doing, like duty, responsibilities, and so on.”
give up the My eyebrows creased together and | glared at him. “Are you trying to make fun of me?”
Kane shook his head immediately. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. | mean... I’m jealous that | could never love Cassandra the way you do.”
Anger swelled within me once again. The mere sound of her name from his mouth filled me with agitation.
“| thought that Cassandra would do the same for you as you would for her,” my stepbrother continued, and he golden hair away from his handsome face. “Why would she agree to leave with Kaleb and go to Yurene? Was it out of
swept his
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responsibility for Wegalla? If so, what motivated her to save our country, one that made her suffer so much? | guess | just don’t understand this.”
His violet-blue eyes were distant and wistful as he mused. “Don't speak like you can see through her,” | said spitefully as | shook my head.
He laughed. “I can see through both you and Cassandra even though you can’t do the same. Love has blinded you both and makes you insecure and distrusting of one another. Your relationship is wrought with suffering.”
| fell silent and studied him for a moment. His tone had taken on a bitter edge, and | wasn’t sure how to react. Had mine and Cassandra’s love truly grown bitter as he’d suggested? Or was he basing this theory on my current temperament?
“| can also see another reason why Cassandra decided to cooperate with Kaleb,” Kane continued on with a raised eyebrow, and then he gestured to my arms, which were covered by long sleeves. “Asher, did you get the disease when you were in Wild Crawler?”
| glanced down at my sleeves and heat spread to
my cheeks.
“I'm not sure,” | admitted as | tried to recall the specific details of my illness. “It was likely around that time, but | don’t think I'd taken water from the poisoned place. Cassandra has also speculated that my... disease.... is different from the one that prevails in Wild Crawler.”
Kane nodded thoughtfully. “This might be related to Yurene’s plan. If so, the sorceress would know something about it.”
“| don’t know,” | said as my lips curled downward into a frown. “If Kaleb wanted me dead, why would he have gone around somehow and used a chronic poison like the one within me? He could have just killed me and been done with it. | don’t understand why two different poisons would have been used on me and those in Wild Crawler... but | suspect it was done by Oliver Moses.”
Kane’s golden eyebrows shot up for a second. “I’m not sure if it was Oliver. He’s conniving and devious, but | don’t think he would have had an opportunity to poison you.”
As much as | didn’t want to admit it, Kane was probably right. | had always been on guard with the entire Moses family. Though we were close due to my unfortunate marriage to Adalyn, | had made a clear point of keeping myself protected while in proximity to all of the Moses-save for Silas, of course.
“No matter what the answers are... we seem to have an opportunity to question the sorceress,” Kane offered. “Hopefully we can dig out some truths about Yurene and figure out what’s truly going on here.”
Though his words sounded nice, | didn’t think the mysterious magic-wielding woman would be that willing to share her plans. “| thought she was unwilling to cooperate,” | said as | frowned.
“Yes,” Kane replied, and then he smirked. “She was at first. But something changed when you were unconscious, Asher. And we have made an interesting discovery.”
Chapter 247 ASHER
In less than an hour, | had regained enough strength to be able to move. With Kane’s assistance, | careful position and climbed out of the cot, though my knees wobbled when my feet hit the ground. My stepbroti with his arm, and | clung on tightly for balance.
“You okay?” he asked me, and when | offered him a small nod, he nodded back. “Good. Take a deep breath. We don move swiftly. Take all of the time you need.”
Though | wanted to rush out of the tent and go straight to the sorceress, a lingering sense of numbness remained in my limbs. It was as if they had fallen asleep, and the feeling was quite unpleasant.
| grimaced as | tried to shake it off, and then frowned further still when it didn’t work. | took a breath as Kane instructed and then began to walk to the entrance of the tent. Kane dropped his arm but followed suit in case | fell.
Once we were outside, Kane led me down the path, and once we reached our destination, my eyebrows shot up. We were in the camp where the sorceress had been kept.
At my orders, the magic-wielding woman was brought to us. Kane, Silas, two other soldiers, and | stood on either side of her to keep her from escaping.
The pretty sorceress appeared pale. Her skin had almost bluish undertones, and her eyes were lifeless and vacant. According to Silas, she hadn’t eaten or drunk, nor had she uttered a single word. The spiteful expression she’d once worn had disappeared since I'd lost consciousness. Instead, the woman seemed weary and exhausted.
“The soldiers hadn’t allowed her to rest or sleep,” Kane explained quietly as | studied her. “Every few minutes, they force her to take a walk, which makes her even more tired than she already is.”
| nodded, and it wasn’t until she noticed me that she lifted her chin with eagerness. Though she still clung to exhaustion, her eyes trailed over me and her lips pursed, as if she were studying me. Yet, she still said nothing.
Kane took a step forward. He rolled his shoulders back and then offered her a smooth smile.
“You must be famished and thirsty,” he remarked to her, his voice silky like an interrogator seducing answers from a stubborn prisoner. “We're willing to let you go... but only if you tell us what we want to know. The way | see it, you've already betrayed your king by telling us about Cassandra... so why not tell us more?”
His velvet tone would have normally been enough to sway any woman, but the sorceress looked uninterested in his efforts. The more Kane spoke, the more determined her expression grew, as if she was proud of ignoring his attempts at seduction.
Kane realized that he was getting nowhere, so he nodded at Silas, who moved forward with no hesitation. His movements were fluid and graceful, and as he walked over to the sorceress, it was clear that his tactics weren't going to be anything like Kane’s. His golden eyes were focused and his tall form rose well over her petite frame.
His tone was unlike Kane’s in every possible way.
“If you don’t cooperate, we'll have to torture you,” he snarled quietly, and then he went into detail about his intended methods. | had to admit that while Silas wasn’t exactly the kind of person to employ such tactics, | could respect his attempts.
Unfortunately for us, even though Silas wasn’t bad at playing the role, the sorceress saw through him right away. She let out a contemptuous snort and remained impassive.
Silas studied her for a moment and then stepped away. Once he was back in place, he inclined his head in my direction, and | walked into plas c
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| was the final option, and | was more than ready to speak with her.
| exhaled heavily, as if | were bored by this useless interrogation, and then | rolled my gray eyes.
“She seems like she doesn’t know anything else,” | remarked. “Since her accomplice has abandoned her, she’s of now.” | removed a badge from my pocket and dropped it on the ground like it was a piece of trash. Then | patted Silas’ sho “Execute the poor girl when you find it convenient,” | said.
At first, the dark-haired sorceress remained nonchalant, like she didn’t know we were referring to her fate, but when she caught sight of the badge I'd dropped, her face changed completely. Her expression froze and disbelief and shock filled her bluish-green eyes. She looked up at me just as | was about to turn and walk away. Her lips trembled and parted, but pursed again without a sound.
| fought the urge to smirk, though it was quite tempting. | couldn’t give myself away, not when | was so close. Instead, | raised a brow. “What did you mean when you said her accomplice abandoned her?” | wondered.
Kane spoke up, his voice full of faux sympathy as he played along. “Her accomplice had arrived not too long ago but was discovered by our soldiers. The man said he would do anything not to get caught or imprisoned. So, he agreed to give her up. He’s going back to their home to report to the king that she betrayed her country-”
“That’s impossible!” the sorceress shouted. “He wouldn’t give me up and leave!”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she visibly broke down. “The badge speaks for itself,” Kane continued on, and he gestured at the ground. Acry escaped the sorceress. “It must be Anubis! The crafty Anubis... damn him! Damn him!”
She began to curse in her native tongue, her words thick and not easily understood. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her hair fell into her face as she cried.
Kane and | exchanged a glance with one another, and then my stepbrother squatted down beside the sorceress. He handed her a handkerchief and offered her a few kind words.
She was instantly alarmed and suspicious. Despite feeling desperate after what we'd told her, she didn’t seem to trust Kane or particularly like the way he tried to soothe her.
Meanwhile, | stared at the badge on the ground. That little thing was the reason she’d broken down.
When we made the plan, though Kane believed it was worth trying, we didn’t expect it to work so smoothly. The story my stepbrother had told wasn’t all lies. We did find someone was lurking around, and they must have been the sorceress’ accomplice, but the soldiers hadn’t caught him. The man, whoever he was, was skillful and quick. They were only able to tear the badge from his shoulder before he slipped away.
This badge seemed to be all we needed to make the girl speak. She smiled for a moment and then snatched the handkerchief from Kane’s hand with a small snart “Stop referring to me as sorceress or girl” she muttered as she wiped the wetness from her high cheekbones. “My name is Buy
Chapter 248 CASSANDRA
| was certain that | would never forget the look on Ms. Benn’s face when I'd threatened her and alluded that her daughter's condition could easily worsen if | stopped offering help.
The head housekeeper’s already fair complexion blanched so white she looked like a ghost. Her lower lip trembled and her icy blue eyes widened so large that they appeared like they could fall out of her skull.
Though her terrible expression haunted my thoughts, | didn’t regret that I'd done something awful like this. Given the chance, | would have done it over and over again, but still, | some part of me did feel sorry for Ms. Benn. | couldn't imagine how | would feel if someone had threatened me with Finnick’s life.
But, | did what had to be done. | was powerless in this castle, in this entire country, even. Without nasty ploys and fierce cunning. | wouldn’t get any closer to getting out of here and returning to my homeland with Erika and my son.
After our discussion, Ms. Benn left the room at once, her cheeks flushed and her movements swift. As she walked away, | felt a strange sense of empowerment. | was stronger than | thought, and | needed to carry this strength with me as much as possible.
| could survive Yurene. | just needed to be brave.
Luckily for me, Ms. Benn accomplished her mission excellently despite her unwillingness. She worked like a skillful spy. getting close to Ronald's tower residence with plausible excuses. She caused no fuss at all and did everything with her usual calmness.
When she arrived at my chamber one night to report her findings, she seemed surprisingly disoriented. Her expression was a mixture of horrified, confused, and strained. I’d asked her to take a seat, and when | realized she was shaking, | carefully guided her to the table.
Finnick and Erika were fast asleep, so | led her to the far side of the room to give us some privacy, and once we were certain our conversation could be conducted without interruption, Ms. Benn began to speak.
“| grew close with a few maids who didn’t serve Helene or Ronald directly,” she began, her heavily accented voice timid. “Ones who worked in the residence, but didn’t report to them. Though | don’t want to belittle them or make light of their efforts, their jobs are relatively unimportant and boring. They were more than eager to converse with me since they don’t often get the chance to talk to others.”
| nodded thoughifully.
“They were eager to speak with someone who works for the king directly,” she continued, and she ran a hand over her slicked- back hair and smoothed it down nervously.
| could sense that it was a habit of hers, one that only appeared when she was under duress.
“After some light conversation about the goings-on in the palace, | began to pry,” Ms. Benn said quietly. “It didn’t take much for them to speak. They told me that Helene hadn't left her chamber in days. One of the maids told me that no one is allowed to enter Helene’s room exept for Lord Ronald himself. They were instructed to leave her food trays on the floor outads the door and then collect it at a fixed tune Yet, when they arrive to collect the tray the food is hardly touched.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. This situation was far more date than I’d suspected. Helene, locked in a room? Unable to C2 perhaps being prevented to do so?
Was she truly ill? Or being held captive by the king’s cousin?
“Go on,” | insisted, though | wanted to ask all of these questions aloud.
Ms. Benn let out a small breath and then nodded. “At first, Helene’s maid’s could hear quarrels within the sounds from Helene or roars from Ronald. At night, they would hear the door bumping and the stomps in none of them were allowed to approach. None of them could witness anything for themselves. Then the nois and there was only silence.”
| shook my head slowly. 35)
“Even after Lord Ronald came back and entered Helene’s room, no complaints or fighting could be heard anymore,” Ms. Benn reported and her eyebrows knitted together. “Two days ago, one of Helene’s maids was summoned to the lady’s room. By whom, they didn’t know, but that didn’t matter.. After an hour or so, the maid returned to the servant's quarters without saying a word. Despite it being a bit strange, the others didn’t pay much attention to her. It wasn’t until they went back to the maid’s room that night that they found her lying on the bed, with a knife in her stomach. She... took her own life.”
My jaw dropped slightly as | tried to understand what she’d just told me. “What?” | breathed, and my head swam with dizziness.
Ms. Benn’s lips turned white as if she’d witnessed the gruesome display herself. “Yes. She killed herself. Since then... all of the maids have been horrified. Some believe the knife was given by Lady Helene and that she enchanted it with some kind of sorcery. Others think the maid had an affair with her master. They’re all rumors, of course, just speculations and gossip. But the death... the death was real, whether it was a suicide or a murder.”
| stared at her for a moment, my eyes wide and my heart heavy as | considered the situation. A dead maid? This wasn’t good news.
| wasn’t sure | believed in the idea of an enchanted knife, but | couldn’t discredit it given everything I'd seen in this savage country. Yurenians were capable of so many acts of magic and violence. What if someone had used a spell on the knife after all? What was their intention? And why the maid? Had she seen something she wasn’t meant to in that chamber?
“Did they describe how she looked?” | wondered, and when Ms. Benn frowned in confusion, | clarified my statement. “The maid?”
Ms. Benn hesitated and then nodded. When she described the appearance of the maid, my heart sank even further in my chest. It wasn’t just any maid. It was Alana, the maid who had accompanied us on our shopping trip in town.
| remembered that Helene had thought the girl might be a spy. But did she take her theory too far? Had she killed the girl out of self-defense? Helene didn’t seem like the type, but then again, nothing was as it seemed.
What was the truth?
What was Helene thinking and what was she doing right now? Was she even alive? The last thought sent a chill down my spine. Ms. Benn stood up and offered me a small nod. “I must take my leave, Miss Cassandra. | have things to attend to-”
“You may leave,” | said in agreement. The head housekeeper left with no hesitation, and once she was gone, | pondered this whole situation
Before tears could roll down my checks. | rose from my seat and approached the window. | carefully closed them, and as | started to turn around to head back to the table, | noticed that Finnick was awake. My son’s gray eyes were large with concern, and they stared at me with a weary gaze
Chapter 249 CASSANDRA
| was a little taken aback by Finnick’s serious request. His face appeared timid, yet his tone was solemn, much more sole than a child’s should have been. As | studied his expression, | felt ashamed of myself for borderline neglecting my son thes days. I’d been so immersed in this undercover business that | didn’t have much time to talk with Finnick, aside from our daily goodnight kiss.
When | shifted my gaze, | realized I'd left Helene’s map on the table not too far away. “Okay, honey,” | agreed. “I just need to do something really quick, okay?”
Finnick nodded politely, and then | moved forward and folded the map up. | stashed it aside, and once it was gone, | gestured for Finnick to join me.
“Come here, baby,” | urged him, and after | took a seat, | extended my arms out to him. “Would you like to sit in my lap?”
My son nodded and then gave me a little smile. He climbed onto my lap and | held him close. | ran my hands through his dark hair and then stroked his cheek affectionately.
“I'm sorry for interrupting you, Mommy,” Finnick apologized as he leaned into my touch. “Aunt Erika said you were busy these days, so | shouldn't bother
you as much.”
“You could never bother me,” | insisted. “Ever. I’m always here for you, honey. Now, what did you want to tell me?”
| continued to pet his hair as he remained silent, and then he gathered the courage to speak.
“Is Lila going to die, Mommy?” he wondered quietly.
| was instantly surprised by this question as well as his saddened tone. “Why would you ask something like that, baby?” “Lila told me her disease was incurable,” Finnick answered, and his sterling eyes fell downward.
| lifted his chin and shook my head. “That isn’t true, Finnick. Lila is getting better with every passing day. She was sick with pneumonia, which is extremely curable. She’s going to get better soon.”
But Finnick shook his head. “Lila told me that there was something else in her body that she couldn’t get out, and it’s devouring her and her mother day by day.”
My eyebrows shot up as | tried to make sense of such words coming from my five-year-old’s mouth.
“When | told her we were going to leave this country and go back to Wegalla one day, she went quiet and didn’t want to talk to me anymore,” he continued quietly. “She didn’t want to be friends with me anymore because | would leave while she would just stay here and die. Mommy... | don’t want Lila to die.”
His eyes welled up with tears and his voice cracked at the end of his sentence. It was heartbreaking to see him get so worked up over something that likely wasn’t true at all.
“Oh, Finnick,” | soothed him gently as | wiped the tears from his cheeks. “Lila isn’t going to die. She doesn’t have any other serious illnesses and she’s going to recover soon. | know it seems scary, but she’s going to be okay.”
He hesitated and then spoke again “Mommy, are we going to leave this country?”
i nodded but felt a bit worried. “Yes. Finnick, do you not want to leave?”
Finnick frowned. “I miss my friends in Wild Crawler. Can we go back there after we leave here? Anemond isn’t fun and r
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Prince Marco isn’t my friend, | don’t like the palace at all. It’s too stuffy. | miss the trees in Wild Crawler. Can we please go back there and pretend none of this happened, Mommy? Please!
“It depends, baby” | answered honestly, though | knew the possibility was likely small. “I also miss Wild Crawle could go back there too. Who knows, maybe we can make it happen. But there’s no guarantee. | don’t know w happen just yet.”
Ashort silence lingered between us and then Finnick spoke again.
“Can we take Lila with us when we leave?” he pleaded, his voice more urgent than before. | was surprised again by this insistence.
“Lila won't want to leave,” | tried to say, but Finnick shook his head.
“She does,” he insisted with a firm shake of his head.. “It was her request, Mommy. She wants to leave with us. She said her incurable disease is caused by this country and she wants to leave for good.”
“| don’t think her mother, Ms. Benn, would agree to something like this,” | tried to say as | fought to understand what he was talking about. Children often had lofty imaginations, but something told me there was more to this situation than | thought. Something was going on here, though | wasn’t sure what yet.
“Lila has never liked her mother,” Finnick pressed. “She’s using her, and Lila hates being used, Mommy.”
| frowned at him. “Lila might just be unhappy because her mother is so busy, Finnick. But Ms. Benn loves Lila. She’s been worried about Lila’s condition. It was she who requested that | treat Lila-”
“Lila told me it wasn’t like that,” Finnick argued, his little voice fierce as he defended his friend. “She said her mother didn’t want her to die because she still wanted to use her. And if Lila died, her mother would be useless to this country.”
| was confused at once.
This seemed like such a strange thing for Finnick to say, but at the same time, | knew that he wasn't one to tell tall tales. He was always such a truthful child, sometimes to a fault. | could trust him with my life, and | had the sinking feeling that he knew something that | didn’t.
Was Lila in trouble?
Would Finnick also be in trouble since he was so close to Lila and whatever was happening? The thought was terrible. | didn’t want my son to get involved in anything dangerous. We were already in such a precarious position here in Yurene. We couldn't risk it getting any worse than it was.
Though | was nervous to figure out what was going on, | summoned my courage and maintained a calm demeanor.
“What do you mean, honey?” | wondered. “How does Lila make her mother useful to Yurene?”
“Lila has special abilities,” Finnick answered slowly. “Just like the black-haired woman who came to our room not long after we arrived. The one with the pretty eyes.”
| frowned again,
Was he referring to Raven?
“But Lila’s ability is different,” he continued before | could ask. “She can fetch a cup with a flick of her fingers. She can read minds. She knows what I’m about to say before | even open my mouth, and she can predict things.”
His face grew serious.
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“It's a secret between Lila and me,” he explained softly, his voice practically a whisper. He reached out and tugged on the sleeve of my shirt, just as he had when he was much younger, and then his gray eyes stared deeply into mine. “But | though you should know about this, Mommy. Lila is special. That’s why Ms. Benn wanted you to save her.”
Chapter 250
| froze in place and my heart pounded in my chest as my head drowned with what felt like a million thoughts. Had | heard Finnick correctly?
Did my son mean to tell me that Lila was a sorceress?
| knew he didn’t know the word “sorceress” nor did | explain to him what kind of tricks Raven had played during that visit to our chamber. So, there was little chance that he was making this entire thing up. Besides, Finnick wasn’t a liar.
So, did that mean...?
Finnick’s gray eyes grew wider still and he glanced around the room as if to make sure that no one would hear us.
“Mommy, Lila can read my mind,” he uttered, his voice filled with a mixture of shock and amazement as his intensely into mine. eyes
bore
| forced down the lump that had formed in my throat and searched for the right thing to say. If this was truly the case, | needed to speak with Lila and try to get to the bottom of what was going on.
Achild sorceress... it was a concept I’d never considered before, but it made a great deal of sense. Raven, Roxy, Ronald... they all probably grew up with the ability to wield magic. To someone who didn’t possess such abilities, it all sounded so fantastical and incredible.
“Well, if that’s the case, | would like to talk to Lila,” | decided after | took a couple of moments to gather myself. “I want to know what's going on for myself, okay? Until then, let’s keep this between us.”
The next day, Ms. Benn dropped Lila off at our room in the afternoon, just as she usually did.
“I'm still working on the guest list, Miss Cassandra,” she said quietly before she left the room. “I'll have it to you in two days. Is that suitable?”
Though | wanted it earlier than that, | nodded my head. “That’s fine. Thank you, Ms. Benn.”
The head housekeeper nodded, and then she closed the door behind her as she left.
Usually, after Ms. Benn departed, | would check Lila’s blood pressure, ask the little girl a few questions, and then make sure she took her medicine. Once all of that was handled, | would leave Finnick and Lila alone to play, and then Erika, read some books, or just contemplate our situation, worrying about this or that.
go talk with
Normally, Lila seemed cold and bored as she spoke to me, her ice-blue eyes intense as they stared at me. Her gaze usually sent a chill down my spine, but as | stared back at her today, | felt a small ache in my heart.
Was this poor, pretty girl in trouble? “Lila, can | speak with you?” | asked after she took her medicine, “Just you and me, please?”
| half-expected her to roll those large eyes and ignore me, but instead, she nodded seriously. Finnick started to walk over but | shook my head gently at him. | didn’t have to utter a single word. He seemed to understand what was happening, though he pouted a litle at being left out
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Once we were alone, | asked Lila to sit with me. She complied without complaint and after | took a moment to gather myself, | smiled at her.
“Lila, how old are you?” | wondered.
“Five,” she answere politely. | was a little surprised by this. | knew she couldn’t be much older than Finnic expression was so serious that | thought she was at least six or seven. Of course, her body was so small and appeared fragile, as if she could break at any given moment.
| smiled at her again. “That's a wonderful age. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what | want to talk about. Finnick... he me about your special abilities-”
Lila suddenly huffed and cursed under her breath, using some vulgar words that surprised me. “| knew Finnick couldn't be trusted,” she growled quietly.
| reached out and touched her arm. “That’s exactly the reason why you told him about your ability. You wanted me to know, didn’t you, honey?”
Lila’s cheeks flushed a dark rose color and she didn’t deny it. “Why did you want to tell me?” | continued. “Aren’t you afraid I'll tell someone else?”
She shook her head firmly and stared into my eyes. “You wouldn’t. Ever since Finnick told me that you were both going to leave the country, | knew my secret was safe with you.”
| wanted to smirk. Lila was smart. She was not only acting like an adult but also thinking like an adult. Though she was merely five years old, she was evaluating her circumstances and making the bold yet right decision.
| only hoped it would pay off. “What do you want from me?” | wondered gently. “Hasn't Finnick told you already?” she said in a slightly irritated voice. “I want to leave this country. | want to go with you.”
“You know this can’t happen, right?” | asked her softly, making sure to remain polite and respectful. “Your mother would never agree to it, Lila-”
“| don’t care what my mother thinks,” she cut me off quickly. “She only wants to use me. My mother knows I’m a sorceress but doesn’t know what I can do exactly. Once she does, she’s going to make use of me. I’m certain of it.”
“Don't think like that,” | tried to urge her. “You don’t know how much your mother loves you.”
Lila’s stare suddenly became spiteful. It was a strange expression to see on such a young child, and | was suddenly taken aback by it.
“It's you who doesn’t understand,” she fired back. “Il know my mother much better than you do, Cassandra.”
Though | didn’t agree with her sudden intensity, | didn’t argue with her. Perhaps Lila was right. Either way, | wasn’t here to talk about Ms. Benn. | was more interested in finding out more about Lila’s identity and abilities.
“Is your father a sorcerer?” | asked her, shifting the subject.
“| don’t think so, she answered. “And | don’t think Ms. Benn is my real mother as well. | think I’m adopted and that’s why I’m mistreated”
Hes pale blue eyes filled with tears and her voice trembled a bit. My heart ached for the child, and | thought she was going to elaborate more, but she didn’t. | was so surprised by all of this
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“Are you from Dark Abyss?” | asked. 89%
When Ms. Benn had told me about her experience, how her Pack had been attacked and her husband was killed, she’d never mentioned which Pack it was.
But Lila shook her head. “I don’t know. | lost a lot of my memories.” | nodded and tried to assess the situation. | noticed that Lila’s words were inconsistent. She seemed to
stress and probably had a lot of trauma to work through. The poor girl seemed like she’d been through a empathize with her strongly.
“Can you demonstrate your abilities to me?” | wondered.
Lila grew serious and shook her head. “I can’t read your mind, Cassandra. You're the only one I’ve never been able to read. That’s also why | decided to tell you about my abilities. | believe we're the same.”