Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Now, she couldn’t believe she had to go inside.
The door creaked when she pushed it open. It was busier inside than she thought, and she dipped her head, wrinkling her nose at the scent of stale beer and body odour that seemed to seep out of every crevice.
“Yep?” The barman looked at her like she was no better than an orphan from the street.
He would regret that when she was the Grand Duchess, that was for sure.
“Do you know where I can find the doctor?” she recited the words from the letter.
The barman stared at her for a moment, then pointed to the staircase on the opposite side of the bar. “Aye. He’s upstairs, third door on the right. Knock thrice if ye’ve got an appointment. If not, knock once and wait outside.”
“Thank you.” She nodded to him, barely containing her disgust. He couldn’t even speak properly. Why must she come to a place with such uncultured people?
Ugh. Maybe it was better for her to leave.
No. She couldn’t. Not if there was a chance that she could find out who was behind the wraithhusk. Whoever it was could certainly wield black magic like her. There was no other way to control such a beast.
Lillia reached the upstairs floor and counted the doors until she reached the third one, then knocked three times. She was here at the time in the note, after all.
The door creaked as it opened, and a figure dressed in similar garb to her appeared. “Come in.”
Her stomach rolled with nerves, but Lillia stepped into the dark and dingy room. It was fine. She could use magic if she needed to make an escape, and she had a dagger concealed in her cape. She wasn’t defenceless.
“Leave us,” the figure ordered the woman who’d opened the door.
The maid nodded and left, closing it behind her, and the figure opposite Lillia set out a magic stone and activated it.
“Sit down,” they said, and their voice vaguely familiar to her ears. Where had she heard it before? “It’s only a silencing spell so nobody hears us.”
“Why did you call me here? And who are you?” Lillia asked, clutching her cape tightly.
“We have a mutual interest.” They were being deliberately vague, but there was nothing Lillia could do.
Despite her magic and weapon, she knew she was at a disadvantage here.
“And what is that interest?” she asked.
“Alicia Vermillion.” They tapped their fingernails against the desk. “More specifically, getting rid of Alicia Vermillion.”
Lillia froze. This had to be a trap. There was no way it would be this easy to find someone else who wanted her out of the picture. “Why do you want to get rid of her?”
“She’s a thorn in my side. That’s all I’m telling you.” The person withdrew their hand and sat back in the chair, deliberately keeping to the shadows of the dingy room.
“That’s not enough. How do I know this isn’t a trap?”
“I know who sent the wraithhusk, and they want the same thing we do. For Alicia and the Grand Duke to be separated.”
Lillia’s heart thumped. “Really? Was it sent after her?”
“It was sent after her tent,” they said. “There was bait hidden in there. It was a shame she wasn’t in there when it attacked, or our problem would have been solved.”
She swallowed. She was the reason Alicia had left the tent.
“That’s right. You’re the reason the plan failed, Lillia.”
Hearing her voice said by them sent a chill down her spine. “Is that why you want us to work together?”
“Why not? You want the Grand Duke for yourself, don’t you? To rise above the nobles who’ve looked down on you all week?”
Lillia clenched her jaw. Sure, of course. That was a bonus if she could rise above them all, but she was no longer bothered by their outright dismissal of her. She’d been through this several times now, and whether she married Torin or the Grand Duke, they’d have to bow to her eventually.
She just didn’t want the fuss of marrying Torin first. She couldn’t stand listening to him whine about Alicia in yet another life.
“What do you get out of this?” Lillia asked. “I stand to gain a great deal with Alicia out of the way, but what about you?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. How can I trust you if I don’t know who you are?”
They didn’t say anything.
“I’m not going to tell anyone about this, am I? I’d be incriminating myself. Besides, I’m nothing more than a lowly countryside noble. Who would believe me anyway?”
“Very well,” they said, shuffling forwards. “You do have a point. Nobody would believe you over me. If I show you who I am, will you agree to work with me? Between the three of us, I’m sure we can get what we want.”
The three of them? Did that include the one who was responsible for the wraithhusk?