Chapter 27 #3
"Lady Caroline," he said, his voice rough and uncertain. "What happened? The magic—I felt—"
"It was a spell," Caroline whispered, shame and horror flooding through her. "I cast a spell. It wasn't supposed to—you weren't supposed to—"
She fumbled with her dress, trying desperately to make herself presentable. Tears streamed down her face.
This was a disaster. A complete disaster.
The spell had been meant for Percival. For the man she loved. For the future she'd planned.
Instead, she'd accidentally trapped the most dangerous man in the kingdom. The Butcher of the North. A duke who could destroy her family with a word.
And she'd just... they'd just...
"I'm sorry," Caspian said quietly, and he sounded genuinely distressed. "I didn't mean to—the magic, it was so strong, I couldn't—" He paused. "Did I hurt you?"
"No," Caroline managed, still struggling with her dress. The lacing was impossible to do alone. "No, you didn't—it wasn't your fault. The spell, it reflected, it wasn't supposed to—"
She couldn't finish the sentence. Couldn't admit that she'd meant to trap someone else. That Caspian had been an accident. A mistake.
Footsteps approached through the gardens—multiple sets.
Caroline's stomach dropped.
"Someone's coming," she whispered urgently.
Caspian was already on his feet, his own clothing hastily rearranged though still obviously disheveled. He tried to help Caroline with her dress, his fingers clumsy with the unfamiliar fastenings.
"Here," he said quietly, managing to get enough of the lacing done that she wasn't completely exposed.
The bushes that had provided privacy began to recede—his Matter Manipulation releasing its hold as his concentration broke.
Voices called out: "Caroline? Caroline, are you out here?"
Her father's voice.
And Earl Holloway sounded furious.
Caroline met Caspian's eyes for just a moment—jade-green and filled with guilt and confusion and something that might have been an apology.
Then her father and several other nobles burst into the alcove.
What they saw was damning enough: Caroline disheveled and tearful, Caspian's clothing obviously hastily arranged, the flower bed that had clearly been created by magic, the intimate scene impossible to misinterpret.
Her father's face went purple with rage and shock. "Caroline! What—how could you—"
"It wasn't supposed to be him!" Caroline sobbed, the words bursting out before she could stop them. "The spell was for Percival! It was supposed to be Percival! He wasn't supposed to—I didn't mean—"
Shocked gasps from the other nobles who'd followed her father.
Caroline clapped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late. The words were out.
She'd just admitted, in front of witnesses, that she'd set a love spell trap for Earl Sinclair and accidentally caught Duke Vanthorn instead.
The scandal erupted immediately.
◆◆◆
Carol gasped and opened her eyes, the memory releasing her abruptly.
She was back in her chambers, sitting on her bed, Mochi and Shadow watching her with concerned eyes.
Her face was burning. Her heart was racing.
She'd felt everything. Caroline's nervousness preparing the spell. Her excitement waiting for Percival. Her horror when Caspian arrived instead. The overwhelming power of the reflected spell. The intensity of what followed.
And Caspian's guilt. His confusion. His genuine distress at thinking he'd hurt her.
"Oh no," Carol whispered, pressing her hands to her hot cheeks. "Oh no, that's what happened. That's really what happened."
"Now you know," Lumi said gently.
"She didn't mean to trap him," Carol said, her voice shaking. "She meant to trap Percival. But Caspian showed up instead, and the spell—his power made it worse. Made it affect both of them."
"Neither of them had any control once the spell activated," Lumi confirmed. "Caroline's Mind magic combined with Caspian's raw power created something far stronger than she'd intended."
"He felt guilty," Carol said. "He thought he'd taken advantage of her. But it was her spell. Her trap. Just... for the wrong person."
Carol felt tears prick her eyes.
She'd trapped him. Well, Caroline had. But Carol was living in Caroline's body, benefiting from Caroline's marriage, carrying Caroline's child.
And Caspian had spent three months married to someone who resented him for something that was entirely her fault.
"I need to tell him," Carol whispered. "I need to—I need to apologize. I need to give him a choice."
"A choice?" Missy asked.
"Whether he wants to stay married to me," Carol said. "Whether he wants... any of this."
The guilt settled heavy in her chest.
She'd been so focused on avoiding death flags, on making the marriage work, on being a better person than Caroline.
But she'd never once considered that Caspian might want out.
That he might be trapped just as much as she was.
And after tonight—after Millicent's public accusation, after being reminded of exactly how this marriage started—Carol couldn't ignore it anymore.
She had to know.
Did Caspian want to be married to her?
Or was he just too honorable to leave a pregnant wife, even one who'd trapped him with magic?