Bram;

"They’re draining her," I whisper wickedly, letting the words settle slowly.

"Every second I stay like this, her life force is being used to keep me here... in her form," I inform, and his breathing changes.

Sharper now.

He didn’t suspect that part. He thought I just looked, sounded, and acted like Alana with no contribution from Alana?? Oh, how naive...

"Now you know. That’s the cost of this kind of magic. Something has to give." I continue, straightening again.

I step back slightly, looking down at him as he struggles to push himself up again.

He’s stubborn. I’ll give him that. But that isn’t going to save him tonight.

For weeks, he’s been giving me bullshit! Yell at me. Scowling at me, snapping at me and embarrassing me. I was gonna let him off the hook, but he kept pushing, and now he’s a problem I must attend to.

I kick him again. Harder this time, though the body I’m using still doesn’t deliver the force I want.

"Stay down," I snap, but he doesn’t listen. I exhale slowly, irritation simmering just beneath the surface as I watch him.

"You and your mother," I say after a moment, my tone cooling again.

"You’re the only ones who’ve even come close to noticing anything," I say as I think about how much harder I’ve had to be careful because of the two of them.

I know they’ve tried to convince the others of my real identity as well, but without proof, they can’t do shit. So, before they can get proof, and before they thwart my plans...

"I’ll deal with you first. Then I’ll find a way to deal with that botch you call a Mom." I say as I turn slightly.

I pace a short distance before continuing, my thoughts shifting easily back into place.

"I was going to start with Koda," I say, almost conversational now.

"Hurt him badly enough to force Wilhelm to come running back as the witches and Warlock for some reason can’t infiltrate the capital," I explain.

That plan would have worked like a spell.

"But he’s gone," I add, with annoyance threading through the words.

"For reasons I still don’t fully understand," I add in annoyance.

"That was a disruption... An inconvenience, but not something that changes the outcome. Queen Cassia will just have to do," I say as I look back at him, and I find him watching me with wide eyes.

"King Wilhelm cares about her enough," I add with a shrug, and his breathing changes.

Oh no... is he angry?? Aww... the poor wolf.

"I can’t wait to be done with this place..." I confess as I glance back toward the faint glow of the festival beyond the trees.

"This entire village of savages, living like they’re proud of their poverty, like carved wood and dirt roads mean anything." I spit.

It’s disgusting. All of it. Such fucking minimalists!!

"They deserve what’s coming," I add as I step away from him again.

My gaze fell on a large rock a little distance away, and I smiled.

It will be heavier than the log, but manageable.

Enough to finish this properly.

I walk over, bending to pick it up, adjusting my grip as I lift it. The strain is noticeable, the weakness of this body irritating in a way that makes my jaw tighten again.

I turn back toward him, the rock steady in my hands.

He looks worse. Slower... weaker.

I walk closer as my hatred and lack of patience for him reaches its ultimate peak.

I’ve wasted enough time. I don’t want people to notice I’m absent.

"It’s been nice using you, Rhydian. But you’re starting to become a thorn in my side, so you have to go. In your next life, I hope you get a bit more sense." I say as I stand above him.

His eyes widen as I raise the rock. I position it above his head, and with a satisfied smile, I drop it.

I expect to hear the squelch of his head crushing in, but that doesn’t happen.

When I take a look, I see that he has moved. Way too fast for someone who should barely be conscious.

He rolled out of the way, leaving the rock to slam into the ground where his head had been with a heavy, useless crack.

For a split second, I freeze in confusion.

Before I can move or react, his hand is already on my wrist, gripping hard, and twisting sharply.

His fist connects with my face, and my vision crosses.

The impact is immediate and sharp— snapping my head to the side as pain flares across my cheek.

I stagger back, and in that moment— everything shifts.

The illusion breaks as I look at him properly now.

There’s no haze in his eyes.

No weakness in the way he stands... No...no imbalance in his footing.

He’s steady. Focused... Completely aware.

The realisation settles like butter on hot bread.

He wasn’t drunk!!! He was never drunk!

He was acting.... Waiting for me to—

Suddenly, I start hearing voices. Multiple voices.

I turn to look behind me, and I freeze when the darkness fills with light.

Lanterns. Dozens of them held high with angry faces behind them.

Queen Cassia stands at the front, with her expression hard. Her gaze fixes on me with something that has nothing to do with confusion.

Alpha Liandria stands beside her, quieter, but no less aware.

Igma is there too, but she rushes past me to Rhydian as she starts fussing over his bleeding.

She’s not surprised, and she’s not as uncertain as she used to be when she looked at me.

The villagers behind them shift, and murmurs break out as they look at me like I’m something they are seconds away from tearing me apart.

With all this new light, I can finally see better.

I glance toward the side and freeze when I see the faint glimmer of water beyond the trees.

The river... The place where they send their lanterns off.

This wasn’t a random location.

This was all planned.

Carefully... deliberately.

I was led here.

Every step, every word... Everything I just said— He wanted it heard.

I look back at Rhydian, and I see it clearly.

The control. The patience— The trap.

For the first time since I arrived in this place, something tightens in my chest.

Not just fear, but understanding.

I’ve been played.

The villagers were watching. All of them.

Their expressions shifting from anger to something sharper, something heavier.

Betrayal.

No one speaks at first.

The silence stretches, thick and suffocating as my heart pounds brutally in my chest.

How much did they hear!?

No— No, no!!

It... It can’t all be over. How could I make such a stupid mistake?? No. No!!!

Queen Cassia steps forward, and I gulp as she glares at me, with eyes that might smoulder me.

Her voice, when it comes, is cold and final.

"Throw him into the dungeon."

HIM!?? THEY HEARD IT ALL!!!

The guards move immediately, stepping forward without hesitation, and horror washes over me as I realise...

Control has slipped from my hands... completely.

Avaren is going to kill me! If... these people don’t kill me first.