“So glad you asked.” Lora forced herself to move closer to her enemy. She had to give this another shot. “I want to call my family. Give me back my phone.”
“You want your phone?” Karwyn asked.
“You know damn well that I do.”
Karwyn stared straight ahead. “Fine. I will have Layken bring it to you.”
They had reached Lora’s door. Karwyn opened it quickly, then turned to her once more. His gaze could give someone frostbite. “But if you make a scene in Quarnian, little cousin, you will lose more than your phone. Remember that.”
* * *
Lora had thought she’d finally gotten somewhere, played her cards right, when Karwyn had agreed to her terms. But he had played her.
Before Lora had even been able to entertain the idea of sneaking out of her room to explore the palace more, Layken had shown up with her phone.
Only her phone. No WiFi cube. No way to reach her family.
Karwyn had kept his word. Lora blamed herself for not phrasing her demand precisely enough.
A dark laugh escaped her as she lowered herself to the cold bathroom tiles. Locked in her small bathroom, with a few candles lighting the room and water running from the tap, Lora could almost pretend she was somewhere else.
She’d been so fucking stupid. If she had thought this through, then maybe she would have a means to call her family. But she hadn’t and she didn’t.
She was an utter failure. With Varsha’s help, Lora had filled in some gaps of the palace map Eyden had given her, but neither of them knew where Karwyn’s secret lair was. Or rather, the witch’s lair. They thought it must be underground, but Lora hadn’t had the chance to go exploring, and Varsha hadn’t had much luck either.
It had been surprising that Varsha had managed to visit Lora at all, but the painter had argued with Layken that a princess needed a hobby and painting was a good one. Lora had been suspicious of Varsha at first, but if Eyden of all people trusted her, she could too.
But besides updating the map, these past two weeks had been an utter waste of time. Lora wiped at her eyes furiously as she teared up on her bathroom floor. She had already spent too much time crying this past month. It didn’t do her any good. She had to stop feeling miserable anddo.
Nothing happens when all you do is wait.
No way in hell would she go down easily and let Karwyn get everything he wanted. He needed to go. A deep feeling of hatred had taken root in Lora’s heart ever since she’d first met him. She’d come to despise it, but now Lora decided she needed to nurture it.
Let it increase. Let her rage gather and build until the day she could act on her revenge.
Clenching her teeth, Lora imagined Karwyn’s face when he realised he couldn’t play her anymore, that she had won. Could she do it? Maybe not, but she could help Eyden and the others.
Lora took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the time. It was almost ten. Eagerly, she bent to the side to reach the underside of the bathroom cabinet and took the runia out of its hiding spot, switching it on. Since her runia had to stay turned off and hidden away, Lora was always the one calling.
Before she could overthink it, she pressed the talk button. “Eyden, you there?” Lora asked, keeping her voice low.
There was some static, and then Eyden’s voice came through, “I’m here.”
A weird sense of peace washed over her. “Any news?” she asked, trying hard not to let her tears be heard. He didn’t need to know how she was feeling. Karwyn’s threat still lingered in her mind, and she needed to keep her walls up.
“Nothing much, I’m afraid. How are things on your end?”
Lora involuntarily sighed. How were things? Awful. Miserable.Utterly doomed.“I managed to convince Karwyn to let me come to Quarnian. Most royals will be there.”
“Tarnan?” he asked.Elyssa,she could almost hear him think.
“No. Tarnan and Amira are staying in Carnylen. Do you think he knows about her pill problem?”
There was a short pause. “Maybe.” Now he was the one sighing. “El will have answers. She has to come back soon. When are you going to Quarnian?”
“Tomorrow.” Lora glanced at the shadows dancing in the candlelight. “I won’t take the runia with me. It’s too risky.”
“It wouldn’t work with the distance anyway. Call me when you’re back. I’ll be waiting.” Another sigh, as if he’d said too much. “Anything else?”
