To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Chapter 54: Good little liar

 "My name is Wylla," she said with all the confidence she could manage. She didn't like the feeling this stranger, Caius, gave off but she knew those much more terrifying than him. Wylla thought of Queen Manon for a second and how the queen would stand if she ever met this male. Wylla tried to embody her: narrow eyes, straight back, raised brow, and casually picking her nails as if she would slit this fellow's throat if he so much as breathed in her direction.

"Wylla," he gave her a mocking laugh. "And what is such a pale child like yourself doing here?"

"This is my dream. I should be asking you what are you doing here," she shot back.

He looked amused by her answer. He began to casually walk, picking a flower off a bush as he passed and ripping off the petals. He suddenly came to a stop and looked up at Wylla over the bare stem of the flower, "All night long I've had a terrible feeling- like something was coming for me. I have a good idea of who it is," he shrugged. "I'm interested though on how this will all play out."

"Are you scared of a little girl?" She tilted her head.

He laughed, his eyes were filled with a humor she couldn't place as he said, "little girls are my worst nightmare, but you're not the one I'm talking about."

"Who?" She feared his answer.

He sat down on the edge of the fountain and crossed his legs, "A few years ago, my wife came home with another male's scent. Last night, she smelled like him again. He's here, I know it."

A chill went through Wylla. If he knew Azriel was here he would probably be able to piece together that he was working with Harani. That was the last place Rai was alone. A question came up in Wylla's mind: if he knew Azriel was here, why isn't he looking for him?

"I could be wrong," Wylla jumped down from the bench. "But you sound awfully paranoid and insecure. Maybe it was just a scent."

"Just a scent," he snorted. His face turned serious, "I'm not mad or paranoid or insecure, I'm curious. My wife is nothing more than a walking doll now, she is finally the perfect queen, but I wonder if seeing her in her current state was enough to scare away her lover. Why didn't he take her last night? And then that got me thinking..."

Wylla's ears were ringing as she waited. She could tell that this Caius was an artist when it came to manipulation. She would have to play this out carefully.

Caius continued, "At first I thought he didn't want her anymore but now I believe that he is trying to fix her."

Wylla slipped on her clueless innocent face, "What happened to your wife?"

"You're a good little liar," he smirked. "But I'll tell you because I truly do wonder how far you'll get. Raisa looked into a mirror that stole her mind. I thought she was going to come out of it within a minute or two and either kill herself or shrug off the effects like I did. Instead, it's been five years of her walking around mindlessly and at one point, her magic blasted through the mirror, shattered it and took out a forth of the castle. Luckily I was able to blame the destruction and fatalities on the rebels but now I can't even look into the mirror. I used to be able to go in there and have some fun with her but I can't look into the mirror without feeling my head start to splinter."

Caius tapped his foot anxiously. Wylla couldn't figure him out. Did he love his wife or hate her? Did he want her back or did he want her trapped in the mirror?

"What do you mean by how far I'll get?" She asked.

He took a deep breath, "I'll make you a deal. I'll tell Harani where the mirror is and let her take you there. You won't be harmed or threatened by me or my people in any way. In exchange, the male you're working with, the one trying to steal my wife, you will tell him to meet me in Raisa's chambers as the dinner bells ring. The two of us will have a little chat."

Wylla did not like this one bit. She didn't trust Caius and this seemed like a trap. Did he seriously think she was dumb enough to accept this deal? Let him separate Azriel and her under some promise of not being harmed. Caius had said that Wylla would be the one not harmed, he didn't say anything about Azriel's protection. Plus, Wylla doubted he just wanted a chat with the shadowsinger.

What to do... What to do...

Wylla imagined herself as Manon again. Deadly confidence washed over her, "Do you understand exactly where we are?"

He blinked, going along with what she was saying, "We're outside the castle."

She shook her head with a light humorless chuckle, "Right now, I'm inside your head. I can see your weaknesses, desires, insecurities, and all the other little things that make such a pathetic king."

He no longer looked amused with her. He swallowed something in his throat and sneered his nose as he listened. She had definitely picked a nerve. Best of all, he believed her. Guess she wasn't as bad a liar as he said.

"You see, Caius," she smiled. This was her dream and in her dream, her mouth was filled with long ironteeth. Caius sat up straighter as she took a step closer, his dark eyes had widened. "I'm a monster in a little girl's skin and if you want to make a deal with me you'll have to do better than that."

His breathing was stiff. She could almost taste his fear; it brought a satisfying smile to her face. That was, until he stood up. He towered over her, stalking towards her but she refused to move an inch. She stared him down.

"You see, Wylla," he crouched down to her level. "I'm a monster as well. Would you like to see who is the worst between us two? Because I'll retract my deal right now and slit Raisa's throat as soon as I wake up. No one would even care, it's like she's dead anyways. And then I'll have Harani's head removed for helping you."

She wanted to punch him in his stupid face.

"Does that sound like a deal or do you like the first one better?" He smirked.

Wylla wished Azriel was there. She needed his help, but since she was all alone, she had to put on her brave face and decided for the both of them. At least until she could get back to Azriel and warn him.

"No one is harmed," Wylla said sternly. "Me and Harani go to the mirror, no one lays a finger on either of us and Azriel will meet you in Raisa's chambers at the dinner bell."

Caius looked smug with her answer.

She wasn't done though. Anger was pumping through her, "But if anything happens to Raisa or Azriel, I promise you will see what kind of monster I am and you will never rest peacefully again."

A/N: Hey guys! So I just had a funny question, which way do you pronounce Raisa? I've been pronouncing it one way and I looked it up the other day and saw a few different pronunciations of the name. It made me interested to see if any of my readers said it differently. There's (Ray-Suh), (Ra-EE-Suh), and (Rie-Suh).