Page 138 of Stolen Crown

“What do we do?” Aislinn asked him.

“Noth—“ But he could not finish his sentence.

The door burst open, throwing Aislinn and Lord Aster to the other side. I ducked before the bookshelf hit me on the head.

There was no time to react.

Three soldiers, all wearing the sleek dark colors of the queen’s elite forces entered the room. Behind them, Lady Dahlia stood tall, her face beaming with a proud smile.

But they weren't the only ones who had found us. Six more soldiers stood in a semi-circle behind Lady Cara, creating a daunting barrier. Lady Cara, wearing a blank face, met my gaze past Lady Dahlia.

The queen had sent her assassin after us.

“Seize them,” Lady Dahlia spoke in a low voice. The three soldiers who were already in the room moved at once to capture Lord Aster and Aislinn.

Lord Aster attempted to use his air in defense, but Lady Dahlia’s gaze quickly darted his way and the wind around him dissipated at once.

The soldiers grabbed Aislinn and me. No one attempted to touch Yeen, likely because they did not need to. She stood motionless, staring at the mirror with a blank expression.

“Well, well,” Lady Dahlia said, stepping into the room. Lady Cara followed her inside silently, her silver hair tied tightly behind her head. The soldiers with her remained outside. “Lord Aster. The queen will be happy to hear of your demise.”

Lord Aster did not respond. He didn’t acknowledge Lady Dahlia’s words nor her presence. His gaze was focused on Lady Cara.

“You were such a sweet child,” Lord Aster said. “How can you side with that queen?”

He said that last word as though it was a curse word. And surprisingly, Lady Cara stared at him blankly but I could see that the insult had landed.

Lady Dahlia gestured at the soldier standing closest to Lord Aster, and the man punched Lord Aster’s face. His nose started bleeding, but Lord Aster didn’t seem to mind.

He looked up to meet Lady Dahlia’s gaze.

“I won’t talk,” he said.

Somehow, that made Lady Dahlia’s smile grow bigger.

“I don’t need you to talk,” she said to Lord Aster. “I’m in your mind. And I’m not surprised you betrayed our queen. You were already her enemy.”

“But you,” she added, looking at me. “The queen loved you, boy. Why would you align yourself with her enemies?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Aislinn’s gaze warned me. Unfortunately, Lady Dahlia noticed.

“It’s funny,” she said, her gaze meeting Lady Cara’s as though she wanted to share the joke with her. “They think their silence means anything.”

I knew what Lady Dahlia was capable of, yet despite my efforts to suppress it, the image of Jasmine replacing the dark figure in the prophecy lingered in my mind. It refused to be pushed away, casting a shadow of fear that prevented me from attempting to dismiss it entirely, lest Lady Dahlia become aware of my thoughts.

“We should go,” Lady Cara said. “They might have called reinforcements.”

Lady Dahlia was clearly disappointed about having to end the taunting, but she nodded curtly.

Relief washed over me. If I had a little bit more time, I could manage to hide the rest of the prophecy from them. Surely, they would torture us all and there was still a chance that they might be able to pull the prophecy from me, but with more time, I might...

What do we have here? Lady Dahlia’s voice rang in my mind as she raised her hand to stop the others. What is that?

Since she did not say anything to the others, they all looked surprised at the abrupt pause she had forced on them. But Lady Dahlia paid no attention to them.

She was focused solely on me.

I stared at Aislinn. Her face twisted with concern as she saw my pleading gaze.

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