SEVENTY
WILLOW
“No one under this roof rests until we find out who the traitor is. Is that understood? No one !” Caz slams the door to his office as soon as we’re all packed inside.
Not that I thought it would be anyone from his clan, but Hassha and Korah did readings on all of us. We went with her to find Killian and Maeve so she could read them too. After checking Makoto last, I sighed, relieved. He and the whole clan are clear.
But there are so many new people in Blackwater. Even the civilians could be suspects.
There’s Valden, for example. How he suddenly just dropped in to “see” The Regals. Maybe he was coerced to come here but is using Alora as a front.
And then there’s Danica who was spying on me and Korah. My heart hurts to think it could be her. After all, Hassha and Korah did kill her mate. Maybe she knew she could be healed by Hassha—maybe Selah told her—and she took her chance to get better just to strike. I’d like to think she’d never side with the woman who tainted my brother’s mind and forced Hassha and Korah’s hand, though. No, if anything, Selah is the greater evil.
“Killian, I want you to bring Danica to me,” Caz demands.
Killian nods and heads out.
“I’ll search deeper into Valden’s mind.” Hassha is already at the door.
“Can you not tell who it is right now? Without having to read their minds?” Caz asks before she can walk out.
“Not unless they’re nearby.”
“I just don’t understand why anyone would side with her.” Juniper slouches deeper in a chair.
“Knowing her, she promised this person something,” Korah says.
“What could she possibly promise them if the whole world will be destroyed?” Juniper counters.
“If Selah is to destroy this world, she will not let it lie in ash without a puppet,” Korah says. “She’ll need someone who doesn’t think like those creatures she’s created. Someone who doesn’t care about the fate of Vakeeli as long as they survive and get what they want.”
“That could be anyone,” Caz mutters. “Do you know how many people curse the land of Vakeeli everyday? How many people hate it here?”
Korah presses her lips.
“Whoever this is, they’re not a simple commoner,” Hassha says. “They’re someone with connections, allies. They know the truth about you, Caspian, and they don’t want you winning.”
“So it’s someone who leads others?” His eyes grow wide with revelation. “A monarch .”
Everyone stares at Caz, stunned.
“Do you think it’s Devlin?” Rowan questions. “Because I swear if it’s him, I’ll punch his fucking teeth out and shove them down his throat.”
“No,” Caz rasps, staring distantly. “Devlin is too arrogant. Too proud. He’d have slipped up by now, plus he’s not here. He’s in Whisper Grove.”
“You don’t think it’s Alora, do you?” I ask.
Juniper sits up in her seat again. “She sent Valden here. He was within the territory,” she declares, stealing my attention. “She’d need allies. You said she and Valden were feuding, right? What if she agreed to bring his tribe back to Vanora if he got closer to us?”
“No,” I say. “No, Alora wouldn’t do that.”
Caz glances at me. “ ‘At the end of it all, we must do whatever it takes to protect our territories. Even if that means losing ourselves a little.’ ” His eyes fall as his face pales. “She revealed her truth right to my face, and I ignored it.”
Without another word, Caz storms out of the office, leaving everyone else to sink beneath the weight of his words.