Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
With Orla fast asleep, Owain slipped out of the room and quietly made his way to Chrys’s room.
They had a plan for how the next few days would go to keep Orla safe while also fulfilling their goal.
Over the past week, when Owain wasn’t with Orla, he had been practicing a fairly complicated illusion spell.
Though he doubted she realized it, his conversation with Cessly had helped him hone the spell immensely.
The spell work was difficult for someone who wasn’t a full-blooded witch, but with Chrys’s changeling ability, he felt fairly certain that he could convince the Edamish lords of Orla’s death.
The next steps would be to somehow convince her to leave for Benin so that his deception would not be discovered.
After a soft knock on the door, Chrys let him in.
“Any updates?” Chrys had continued to pose as the messenger imp around the palace, listening to hushed conversations where he could.
“Lord Calix doesn’t believe you will follow through with your part of the plan. He says you’re too weak to actually kill Orla in the end.”
The plan: killing Orla.
It was the rock that had sat in his chest for nearly two moons. The weight that wouldn’t lift no matter how much he tried to shake it. His role had always been to kill Orla, and once she was dead, Chrys would impersonate her and kill King Mikki.
At first, it seemed like a simple task that he could carry out to their strategic advantage.
But Owain had decided in the forest as he watched the beautiful nymph forage that he would never harm her.
Now the thought of her death was agony. All their meticulous planning had hinged on him killing her.
But unbeknownst to the Edamish lords, Owain would do no such thing.
“He’s not wrong. But what are the others saying?”
Chrys shrugged. “You know that Allium says little, but he thinks that our strategic allies in Urdhe and Mondseer will back out if we can’t take King Mikki’s army quickly.
They’ve also expressed… concern around their positions should you become heir apparent and prince of the realm.
Lord Patrin was quiet during their exchanges; he is planning something.
Unfortunately for us, I just don’t know what. ”
None of this came as a surprise. Owain had seen the three lords tucked away throughout the palace or whispering to one another covertly.
He had also seen Lord Calix watching him intently on more than one occasion.
He knew the older male was trying to use mind work on Owain to gain insight into his desires.
Luckily for Owain, he hadn’t seen much beyond what was commonly known.
Unluckily, rumors about Owain and Orla’s relationship had been circulating around the palace since he saved her from her attacker. He knew the lords were trying to scope out if Owain was lying about using Orla’s affections for him to his advantage.
As if he would dream of taking any kind of advantage of Orla.
When he was lucky enough to have her, he focused his entire mind, body, and soul on pleasuring her.
He kept telling himself that he would come clean and be honest with her.
Each night as she slipped into bed, he would steel himself to have the difficult conversation.
And each time he looked into those dark coffee-colored eyes, he hesitated.
In short, he was a coward. He knew it was unfair to her, but Orla was the first person who ever made him feel worth a damn. Each time he avoided telling her the things he knew he needed to, he told himself that he just wanted one more day where he was promised her affections.
Now, with the coup set in motion, he told himself that he would tell her when she was safe back in Benin. He would tell her. She would forgive him. They would be together. He told himself the words over and over, his own personal prayer.