Chapter 21
Twenty One
Kaden
Iwatch them through the hidden camera feed, the two women huddled together on the plush couch in the guest wing’s sitting room.
Wynter’s arms are still wrapped around Emily, a fierce, protective embrace.
Emily, pale and trembling, is whispering, her voice too low for the microphones to pick up, but her frantic gestures tell their own story.
My lips twitch. Emily is a wild card. A variable I hadn’t fully accounted for. I brought her here to secure my leverage, to show Wynter the extent of my reach, and to protect Emily from Evilin’s escalating madness. But now, seeing them together, a different kind of calculation begins.
Emily is Wynter’s last link to her old life, her last bastion of normalcy. She represents everything Wynter is trying to hold onto. And everything I need to dismantle.
Wynter pulls back, her hand reaching out to cup Emily’s cheek.
I can see the raw emotion on her face, relief, fear, but also a dawning resolve.
She’s explaining something to Emily, her gaze firm, her jaw set.
She’s trying to be strong for her friend.
Good. I want her strong. I want her to embrace her power, even if that power is currently derived from me.
A knock on my office door. “Come in.”
Alrik enters, a tablet in his hand. “The perimeter is secure, sir. No anomalies. Emily Carter’s apartment is clean. We’ve planted a tracking device on her phone, just in case.”
“Good,” I say, my eyes still on the screen. “What about Evilin?”
“She’s escalating. She’s been making calls to every low-level fixer and bounty hunter in the city. Her paranoia is increasing. She’s convinced Wynter is hiding, and that Emily is complicit.”
“Her ‘magic mirror’ is failing her,” I muse, a cold smile touching my lips. “She’s seeing only what she fears.”
Alrik nods. “Her mental state is deteriorating rapidly. Her staff are starting to talk. They’re scared.”
“Let them,” I say. “Fear is a powerful motivator. Keep a close eye on her. I want to know her every move. Every delusion.”
My gaze returns to the screen. Wynter is now pouring tea for Emily, her movements surprisingly graceful. She’s adapting. She’s observing. She’s learning.
“Sir,” Alrik says, his voice hesitant. “The guest wing is secure, but… two women alone. It could be a distraction. A liability.”
I turn from the screen, my gaze meeting Alrik’s. “They are not alone. They are under my protection. And they are not a liability. They are… an investment.”
“Alrik,” I state, my voice firm, leaving no room for discussion. “Emily Carter will be housed in the main guest suite. She is to have every comfort, but she will not leave it without my express permission. And Wynter…”
My eyes return to the screen, to the image of Wynter, her curvy figure now settled beside Emily, a picture of fierce loyalty.
“Wynter will remain in my room. Permanently.”
Alrik’s eyebrows shoot up, a rare display of surprise. He knows the implications. He knows the absolute nature of that claim. “Understood, sir. I’ll make the arrangements.”
“And Alrik,” I add, as he turns to leave. “Have a selection of books delivered to my room. Classics. Literature. And some art supplies. High quality. Anything she desires.”
He pauses. “For Wynter, sir?”
“For Snowflake,” I correct him, my voice firm. “She is not a prisoner, Alrik. She is a queen in the making. And queens require stimulation.”
He nods, a strange look in his eyes. He knows I’m playing a game he doesn’t fully comprehend. Good. He doesn’t need to. He just needs to execute.
I turn back to the screen. Wynter is now listening intently to Emily, her expression softening with concern. Emily is crying again, her shoulders shaking.
This is the next phase. Wynter has her friend. A piece of her old life. But that piece is now entirely within my control. Emily is a tether, a chain that binds Wynter even more tightly to me.
Wynter will learn that her comfort, her safety, and the safety of those she cares about, are entirely dependent on her obedience.
She will learn that my darkness is not just a threat, but also a sanctuary.
And in that sanctuary, she will find a power she never knew she possessed.
A power that will allow her to embrace the darkness, and ultimately, to destroy the evil that once tormented her.