The light of a bright winter morning warmed Kat's face. She slowly slipped into consciousness, aware of the pleasant feeling in her body, not wanting to lose it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a good night's sleep. If she could linger in it just a few more moments...

Other sensations assaulted her senses, like the feel of the silk sheets on her bare skin, the softness of her mattress and how there was a warmth to her body that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Her eyes still closed, she smiled. This was heaven.

At least until she remembered why she felt that way.

With a jolt, she sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. The room was empty and she couldn't say she hadn't expected it. After what she'd done, there was no way Cage would miss the opportunity to escape.

Foolish! Lust addled brain! What did I even-- She faltered as she realized that it was just her berating herself. No violent voices, no freezing magic curling through her veins.

After everything, she was still her. Could she even dare believe the effect would be long lasting?

No, I can't risk it.

She needed to be on high alert because she'd just let Cage go and it was going to have consequences.

Her chest no longer felt hallow. Instead, a myriad of feelings and memories assaulted her, and not just of their shared past, but of last night. By the gods, she loved him, and she couldn't believe it had come to this. How could she lose sight of everything? Become a threat to her friends, to her former kingdom? Yes, Endir was hers to protect, but that didn't mean she had to go stomping into Iride.

Each thought was more panicked than the last until her breathing hastened and she felt as if she would run out of air. The magic picked up on her distress and snowflakes danced through the air.

No. Pull yourself together!

She took in a deep breath and forced herself to hold it in for a few moments. After exhaling, she kept her lungs starving for air for a bit as well, before repeating the process. After a few cycles of this, she felt she could think again.

Jinx and Jazz had been right. Somewhere along the way, Lucille had taken control of her. She'd come out like a benevolent grandmother, there to make all her dreams come true. But if they really were her dreams, why would the fairy need to control her?

How did she control her? Could she really do that when she was so far away? No one had noticed anything odd, no one had reported a fairy was walking in and out of the castle in Corosa. Could she really be that powerful?

She knew the answer to that. No. If the stories she'd heard were to be believed, Lucille and Cecille were of comparable power. Cecille had never been able to hurt or control her or Cage without being near. She'd even taken refuge inside a hut close to the castle to ensure that she could have access to Cage while he'd been cursed.

Lucille had somehow infiltrated her ranks and made sure to keep her on the right track because...

A knock on the door had her letting out a short yelp. Shit, she was naked.

"I am busy," she called out.

"Your Majesty!"

It was Keith and he sounded disgruntled and scared at the same time which could only mean one thing. They'd found the dungeon empty that morning and they couldn't fathom how the King of Iride had escaped. She knew a few other things that they couldn't fathom, including the reason for her nakedness.

"I'll be right out. I need to get dressed."

"But... It's urgent," Keith finished rather lamely.

"It can't be urgent enough for you to burst into my chambers while I am naked."

She could practically feel her general blushing through the door just like she could feel Cage's approval from miles away.

"I will be quick," she added, then picked up her shift and pulled it over her head.

It took her mere minutes to put on her battle gear and head for the door. As she strode towards it, her eye caught something golden placed on her vanity table. It reminded her that she should comb her hair, but also... She picked up the notebook. There was a small note on it.

Just in case you're still there.

It was Cage. He was the only one who knew that this wasn't just a simple notebook but a means of communication and they'd written letters to each other for so ling, she knew his handwriting as well as her own. Did this mean that he had the other one?

"Your Majesty?" Keith tried again.

"I'm coming, General!" Damn, he could be insistant!

She'd have to deal with the notebook later, as well as her conflicting feelings. But as she opened the door, preparing to feign shock and outrage, she wondered where Cage was, whether he was thinking about her, remembering what happened between them fondly. Had he been enchanted just like her? Had what happened lifted the curses?

"The king has escaped!" Keith said right away.

Kat made a face which she hoped showed angry shock rather than constipation. "Excuse me?"

"We found the dungeon empty. The door was unlocked."

"How is that even possible? And the perimeter? How could he leave the perimeter? It was well guarded!"

Keith's pleasant features twisted in anger. "Oh, I think I know how. The redheaded woman. Jinx. She's gone, too."

"What?" This piece of news definitely caught Kat by surprise so she no longer had to pretend.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but we should have never trusted her."

Shit! This was bad. Very bad. She hadn't even dreamed that the blame would be placed on Jinx. But, on the other hand, she couldn't have anticipated that Jinx would choose now to tuck tail and run.

An image of magic flinging her into a tree hard enough to break something resurfaced. On the other hand, the moment made sense. But did she run off on her own, or did she really help Cage escape? Old jealousies floated in the back of her mind, but she didn't reach out to grab those feelings. She now knew that Jinx was married to Jazz, and she'd seen the strength of their bond.

"Find them," she ordered, just to get rid of Keith.

He nodded and made to step towards the staircase when he stopped again. "There is one more thing. Leila is here."

"What?" The word was out before she could stop it, and it was filled with fear.

Keith looked alarmed by her reaction and turned back to face her. "Your Majesty?"

Damn it, she couldn't make him suspicious. She couldn't make Leila suspicious. "I'm sorry, you just took me by surprise. Head out and search for the king. I'll meet with Leila and discuss strategy."

"I should be there for battle tactics discussions."

"Are you pouting?"

"No, of course not." He blushed instead. "I was just..."

He couldn't find his words, and Kat realized he had no idea what to say and yet was too scared to leave her standing there.

"You can go."

It was hard not to laugh as he scurried away like a giant crab, but her smile died once Leila appeared at the end of the corridor. She beamed and broke into a run, wrapping her arms around Kat the moment she reached her.

"You did it! You conquered Iride!"

Kat's skin crawled at the touch and every hair on her body stood on end. Her friend was cold. Deathly cold.

"Well, just a part of it," she said.

"The richest part!" Leila let go, grinning like a mad woman. "I'll work on the supply chain right away."

"Wait, I think we should keep the resources for the army." The words made Kat wince even before they were out. 

Her old upbringing had her reluctant to raid Iride, but she was still the queen of Endir and she knew that her people were starving with winter on their doorstep. As much as she hated it, Leila was right. They should start pumping food into their kingdom. She seemed to know it because she narrowed her eyes at Kat. Had they always been that icy?

A whirlwind grabbed hold of Kat and fear scampered through her veins. So many details assaulted her, it was hard to keep focusing on the reality surrounding her. But a mantra took hold of her, more clear than anything else.

She knows. Leila knows.

Leila knew everything, and yet led her and encouraged her to destroy Iride. She knew that Kat's memories were altered, that she was being set against her friends. And yet, she did nothing to prevent the obvious tragedy.

"Are you alright?" Leila asked.

The edge in her voice was very subtle, but Kat caught it because she expected it to be there.

"Yes, of course. I'm just exhausted. The battle was only yesterday. We're still gathering our bearings."

"But you're not hurt, are you?" How her supposed friend could sound both worried and derisive at the same time was a mystery.

"No, I'm not."

"Good." The grin on Leila's face looked evil. "We need to start planning the next steps of the invasion."

"Yes, of course. But first, I need to get something to eat. Want to join me?"

Leila shook her head. "I'll just glance around for any useful clues."

The thought of her ransacking the castle in which she and Cage had been so happy sent bile to Kat's mouth, but she pushed it down and only smiled before rushing down to the kitchens.

As she suspected, the room was empty, so she could have a seat at the large wooden table and sink her face in her hands. She wanted to scream.

Now with the fog lifted from her brain, she could remember how creepy Leila had been about her relationship with Cage, how she pushed them together and seemed to thrive in their closeness. How could she not mention anything about it later, pretend like he'd betrayed her and it no longer mattered? She didn't mention her destroying the ship, that she almost killed her friends. Even if Kat couldn't remember the incident fully, she knew her magic had gone out of control, that she had to fight it so hard that she ended up switching from fire to ice. How had they even escaped?

He abandoned you and laughed.

That had been an outright lie, one that her magical hold had picked up. Unless...

She sat up straight, heart hammering against her rib cage. Jinx and Jazz claimed that Lucille was manipulating her. Lucille, not Leila. Her fairy grandmother had appeared on that beach with her, whispering soothing words in her ears. What were the chances that Lucille, who Kat suspected voiced the magic, and Leila cooked up the exact same lies? What if...?

The prospect was too frightening to entertain, but she pushed past all mental barriers. What if Leila was Lucille? Jinx had said that Lucille took her off the ship, no mention of Leila. And yet, they'd both been on that beach.

What was going on? Why was Lucille playing this game when she could've easily revealed herself in Endir? And now, she was here. As if she'd sensed Kat had become herself again. Ready to manipulate her into submission.

Gods, no! She had to make sure that her grandmother didn't catch wind that the magic had failed.

But then again, what if it was only temporary? What if she would start to slowly lose herself again? She'd try to kill Cage again, disregarded everyone she ever cared about.

Her father! Was he even still in Darkwood or had Cage taken him away? That would've been the strategic thing to do. And Keleigh! This couldn't go on. She had to do something.

But then again, what if she was wrong and Leila was innocent? There was maybe one way to find out.

Kat stepped out of the kitchen and hurried back to her room. The castle was empty again, but she could hear voices coming from the front door. Once inside her chambers, she rushed to the vanity table and picked up the notebook. She searched for a pen in the drawers and once she found one, she quickly scribbled.

Is Leila Lucille?

The damning letters sunk into the page and disappeared.

Heart pounding, she waited.

Nothing happened. She was sure Cage had the other notebook or he wouldn't have left the note on hers, but that didn't mean he was waiting for a message. He was probably on the run, looking to avoid her soldiers.

She would have to wait.

⚜⚜⚜

I decided to split this chapter up after all because it was almost 5k words and it was a bit too much. Since this was a natural scene break, I decided to cut if off here.

Would you look at that? We have Kat again. The real Kat! She's still a thing! And she's figuring stuff out. Maybe there's an actual chance things will go well.

Let's get going because I'm sure you're curious!