Chapter 32
Will
“So, hear me out,” he said, holding up both hands as if staging a protest.
“It never ends well when you begin a sentence in such a manner,” Rion muttered.
Will plowed on ahead. “We convince your father Lyla is pregnant. If he thinks she’s taken a potential heir to the In-Between to raise without his influence, he would not allow it. Right?”
“Twins,” Lyla interjected. “I always carry twins.”
“Always?” Tobias arched a brow. “You only have one set.”
Lyla, ever elegant amidst any discomfort, stood tall. “I have one set that survived, which was due to Kyriel’s efforts.”
Rion gave her a pained look. “How many times…?”
“It does not matter,” she said quickly.
“Yes, it does,” he insisted.
Lyla made eye contact with Will. “How do you propose we convince my ex-husband of this supposed pregnancy?”
“Tobias will glamour you,” Will said.
“It will need to be perfect,” Rion warned. “This will be a much greater feat than the stunt you pulled in the eighth palace. I am not convinced even you could accomplish this.”
“How hard could it be?” Will’s smile faltered a little. “You’ve seen how his glamour has evolved.”
“Appearances and sound will not suffice this time, and neither will touch.” Rion sighed. “You forget my father is like me, an empath. He will cast out his senses to connect with the unborn. Since she is not actually pregnant, this would be exceedingly difficult.”
“Who is that?” Christo asked suddenly, pointing at the headless body.
“One of Lyla’s sons,” Will answered.
“Shit…” Lori whispered.
“We’ll catch you up later,” Tobias said absently. “A little busy here, yeah?”
“What is Kitty doing?” Vixen pointed at the dais, where the small dark-haired female was standing beside one of the thrones, facing the wall, about an inch from the stonework.
“Fuck, I forgot about that,” Tobias mumbled.
Kitty slowly dissipated like fog after a powerful sunrise. Everyone stared at the spot where she had been, the conversation completely derailed.
“What the fuck, Tobias…” Will breathed.
“That was a glamour? This entire time?” Rion gaped at him.
“Yeah. I was practicing,” Tobias threw back defensively. “She never came back from checking on her charges.”
“You didn’t think to keep us in the loop?” Will rubbed the back of his neck and closed both eyes. “No wonder she was so blasé about everything.”
“If you’d known, you would have behaved differently,” Tobias said. “This way, the real Kitty was safe, and nobody had a clue what was right in front of them.”
“What are you three doing here anyway?” Will asked the mortals.
“The entire palace could feel the power in this room,” Lori answered. “We wanted to know what was going on.”
Lyla arose from beside her son’s body. “The discussion is not over. Now we have set the ball rolling, we must continue if we hope to retain any semblance of control. His death will not be wasted.”
“Maybe we should go…” Vixen suggested.
“No, wait, I need you.” Will grabbed her by the arm and led her over to Tobias. “Glamour her to look like Lyla.”
“Will,” Tobias began and then stopped. He looked at Vixen’s belly and then back at Will. “Charisma,” he said.
Will nodded. If you can do it with Vixen, you can do it with Charisma. What if saving her from the streets wasn’t her main purpose? She’s carrying twins, it seems a little too coincidental.”
Tobias stroked his jawline as he thought about it. Damn it, Jones has a point. I don’t like this, but our options seem to be growing more limited by the second.
“Okay, we’ll see what I can whip up.” Tobias walked several paces away from the group. “Vixen, Christo, Lyla, could you come over here please? Everyone else turn around.”
Tobias spent the next couple of minutes weaving an elaborate illusion, making both Christo and Vixen appear exactly as Lyla did, right down to the expressions on their faces. Then he created the illusion of a rounded belly on each.
“You can turn around now.”
Will, Rion, and Lori turned back around and looked at the three ice demons before them.
Visually, it was impossible to tell them apart.
Will asked them a couple of questions, and Tobias glamoured their voices.
Again, it was impossible to tell them apart.
Obviously if the right questions were asked, only Lyla would know the answers, but for now, it was an Oscar-worthy performance.
Rion stepped closer, walking around the three Lylas, scrutinizing every part of their stature, expressions, and demeanor. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders, and touched their hair.
“Remarkable,” he murmured.
Tobias folded his arms across his chest and waited for the assessment to be over. Rion placed a hand on each belly, and then returned to the second female.
“Vixen?”
She laughed. “Yes, it’s me.”
“Lyla, and Christo,” Rion predicted of the other two.
“You’re joking?” One of the Lylas spun to face Tobias. “Seriously, Martelli?”
The remaining Lyla arched both brows. “The glamour was so good you could not tell male from female?”
“It was exactly the reason I chose Christo instead of Lori,” Tobias explained.
“Holy shit, that was awesome.” Will grinned.
“Perhaps this is not as foolish as I first believed,” Rion mused.
“What do you think, Lyla?” Tobias asked.
She exhaled slowly. “It may be possible to succeed.”
“What does this mean?” Vixen asked as the glamour slipped away and her true form returned.
“They’re going to try to use Charisma to fool Rion’s father,” Christo said, examining his clothing to confirm his own true form had returned. “Which I think stinks. How can you put her or her unborn kids at risk? I’ll bet you wouldn’t do this to Vixen.”
Tobias turned to Rion and Will in desperation. It was untrue but he didn’t know how to reassure any of them. At least, not in a way that would be believable.
“Not a single one of you are expendable,” Rion said, clearly picking up on Tobias’ uncertainty. “To suggest such a thing after all we have endured is preposterous.”
“If we needed one baby, Vixen would be considered for this situation,” Will added. “Though of course, never without her permission. Nor will we even consider this without Charisma’s.”
“It’s madness!” Christo growled under a breath. “We are forever going to be your puppets, aren’t we?”
“No!” Tobias pinched at the bridge of his nose.
“No. You are not my puppets. I am not a dictator, nor do I intend to become one. We include all of you at every opportunity. We tell you more than most kings would. We are in an impossible situation and we have to find a way through this, or none of us will live to see any of these babies grow up.”
Before anyone could respond, the angel Uriel appeared.
“Doesn’t anyone know how to knock around here?” Tobias complained.
“What is it, my friend?” Will asked.
Uriel’s gaze rested on the body in the center of the room. “Who is responsible for that?” He asked in a weary voice. “This is not how it was foretold.”
“His twin,” Rion answered. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“It was supposed to be Lyla,” Uriel sighed.
“That is what I said!” She protested.
“We sort of have a plan,” Will said.
Uriel looked from Tobias to Will and back again. “If it hinges on glamour, I shall need details.”
“Maybe we should reconvene somewhere with alcohol,” Christo muttered.
“Anyone who needs alcohol that badly, feel free to go get some,” Tobias said. “But think carefully because once I shut that door behind you, I won’t be opening it again until we’re done here.”
Christo’s expression darkened. “I’m good.”
“Why was it supposed to be Lyla?” Will pressed as he and Rion reinstated the wards. “We didn’t anticipate one twin killing the other, but I have to be honest. I’m glad Lyla doesn’t have to live with his blood on her hands.”
“You do not understand,” Lyla said coolly.
“It was not about guilt or trauma on Lyla’s part.
” Uriel sighed and began to pace, his walnut-colored curls bobbing every time he turned around.
“If Lyla had killed her own son, it would have drawn the eighth lord from his realm. It was one of a very limited number of things that could. Now fratricide has occurred, there is great risk of the eighth lord harming Oriax before we can ever get him near the throne.”
“What about pregnancy?” Tobias asked. “Would he be tempted by an heir that had been taken from him? Our twin ally seemed to think so.”
“What?” Uriel’s eyes grew as round as saucers.
“Relax Uri, she’s not actually pregnant. We just want the eighth lord to think she is,” Will added.
“Tobias has demonstrated himself capable,” Rion threw in, though no pride was present in his tone.
“Ah, this is what the scribes spoke of.” Uriel inhaled slowly and let out a sharp breath. “The eighth lord is empathic–”
“We know,” Will interrupted. “That’s why we’re not going to glamour Lyla to fool him. We’re going to glamour someone who is pregnant to look like her instead.”
Uriel blinked. “That is…”
“Brilliant, yeah, we know.” Tobias smirked. “You have Jones to thank for this plan. But, if we can fool Rion, I reckon we have a chance.”
“This outcome was not foretold. I do not know how to feel about it.” Uriel stroked his jawline.
“Feel free to run along and check with everyone upstairs.” Will grinned.
“Yes. I believe that is wise.” Uriel gave a wan smile and dematerialized.