Page 173 of The Forsaken Heir
“It’s the prince!”
“End this.”
“What more do you want? He’s not a skinwalker.”
“Are the Hikshil reallythispetty?”
Sahalie acted as if she didn’t hear them. Instead, she tilted her head like a bird in thought, still looking at the man who was doing his best to make everyone here believe he was Aurelius. From what I saw, he was convincingeveryonebut our small group. But Bastienhadto know we knew better. This was all a show. It made me more confident than ever that Aurelius was right. This was nothing more than a ruse to get him out in the open so Bastien could kill him.
Sahalie made a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a grunt and straightened. When she turned back, hiding her face from Bastien and the crowd, the look in her eyes was one of abject terror. Her throat worked reflexively as she tried to swallow.
“Well, that was a bit less of a show than the first two,” Bastien said. “A bit anticlimactic, don’t you think?”
Through the crowd, I could see who he was talking to. My heart lurched in my chest as I spotted my entire family standing near the tent. Sophia and Aunt Collette, a few uncles and cousins, and of course, my parents. My sister and aunt looked anxious, while the rest looked on with detached boredom.
When Sahalie rejoined us, I could see the look of horror on her face more clearly. Achakos grabbed her shoulder and leaned in close.
“What’s wrong with you? What did you see? Could you get inside his mind? If he was a real shifter, you wouldn’t be able to see into his thoughts. This could be our proof.”
Sahalie shook her head vigorously, and calmed her features, stuffing aside whatever had spooked her.
“That, most definitely, is not Prince Aurelius. It is alsonota shifter.” She let out an explosive sigh. “Where did they evenfindone?”
“Onewhat?” I grabbed her wrist, but Sahalie pulled away and turned back, taking a few strides toward Bastien.
“Does thisfinallysettle things?” my brother asked.
Before Sahalie could answer, Bastien glanced behind us toward the trees, an expectant look on his face, then he shot his eyes toward the sky. A surreptitious glance, fast enough that it wouldn’t have been noticeable had I not been looking right at him when he did it. I glanced up as well, but thankfully Aurelius was hidden in the clouds again.
“Or,” Bastien said, “Would you like to bring out this imposter of yours? I’m sure you’d like to show him off. Let us see him so he be exposed as the liar he is for all to see. We can put this charade to rest at once.”
There it was. My heart jumped to my throat. This really was his plan all along. We’d been right. He was looking for Aurelius to come forward. Bastien had known from the start that his imposter wouldn’t get throughallthe tests. This was a giant show to bring him out to be killed, maybe by whatever was masquerading as Aurelius. But what evenwasthat thing pretending to be Aurelius, and why had it terrified Sahalie so much?
“No need,” Sahalie said, and her voice was strong and confident, hiding all the fear I’d seen in her face a few moments before. “This man is who you say he is. He passes all the tests. You may proceed with the execution.”
Bastien stood frozen, the smile crystallizing on his face.
“Uh.” He tried to chuckle, but it came out as a cough. “I’m sorry? Is, uh, thatallyou have? Nothing—uhm, no further evidence perhaps?”
“No.” Sahalie shook her head. “Go on then,” she said, waving a hand toward the Aurelius thing. “Let’s do it. Off with his head orwhateveryou’re going to do.”
The imprisoned Aurelius’s eyes went wide, and his upper lip curled back, revealing a face that could have been either terror or anger. It was most definitely a face I’d never seen the real Aurelius make. He turned and shot a look at Bastien.
“Understood,” my brother said, enunciating the word slowly. Behind him, I could see my mother and father looking confused, and my sister and aunt cast me a hopeful glance.
“It may take some time to prepare,” Bastien said. “A…uh, a few hours? Maybe?”
“A few hours?” I glared at my brother. “Why not go ahead and put a silver bullet in his brain right now?” I glared at my brother.
His look of discomfort turned into one of revulsion. “You should hold your tongue,filth. You have no say here. This is between us and the Hikshil. You and your little dragon friends are here as a courtesy to them. It will take as long as it takes. Is that understood?”
“What I understand,” I said, “is that you’re trying to buy time. Why don’t you come out and say it, Bastien?”
All his calm composure vanished, and Bastien turned into the spiteful and spoiled boy I’d known my whole childhood. “Saywhat,you stupid bitch?” he growled.
I smirked at him, enjoying the fact that I was getting under his skin. “Say that you want us to bring out the real Aurelius so your hidden assassins can kill him the way you killed Jolon.”
All the color drained out of Bastien’s face as he looked at the Hikshil. “That is a disgusting lie,” he said, pointing a wavering finger at me while looking at the fae.
