Chapter 44
My breath hitched.
I stared at Eliza, waiting for her to say more. To clarify. To explain.
But she didn’t.
She just stood there, her expression unreadable, her cold eyes steady on mine.
Something inside me coiled tight.
“What do you mean, her?” My voice was quiet, but it carried through the room like a blade.
Eliza didn’t flinch.
Then, finally-
“I did it.”
The world tilted.
I took a step back, my mind racing, my body already bracing itself for something–anything–to make this make sense.
Eliza.
It was Eliza.
My maid. The one who didn’t care about me but didn’t outright hate me either. The one who treated me like a walking corpse, like someone whose time was limited, someone she didn’t need to bother with because I wouldn’t last long anyway.
“You,” I whispered.
Eliza exhaled slowly. “Amira paid me.”
Of course she did.
I let out a sharp, humorless laugh, but there was no amusement in it.
“She paid you,” I repeated, voice hollow.
Eliza nodded. “She offered a good amount. Not enough, though.”
My hands curled into fists. “Not enough for what? To betray me? To set me up?”
She didn’t answer.
Because we both knew the truth.
Eliza never cared about me.
She never hated me, but she never gave a damn, either.
I was just another pawn in this game.
And when Amira waved money in her face, she made her choice,
I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palms. “And now you’re telling me this why?”
Eliza’s lips twitched into something too bitter to be a smile.
“Because I want more.”
I stared at her, my mind still catching up to what she had just said.
She wanted more
She had already betrayed me once, already set me up to take the fall for something I didn’t do, and now she wanted more?
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Chapter 44
The audacity.
The sheer, unbelievable audacity.
0
0
I exhaled slowly, forcing my hands to unclench. “Let me get this straight.” My voice was eerily calm, considering the storm raging inside me, “You’re admitting to working with Amira, betraying me, planting poison in my room-
“Syrup,” she corrected.
I blinked. She had the nerve?
20
“Syrup,” I repeated flatly. “And now you’re telling me this because Amira didn’t pay you enough?”
Eliza nodded once, like this was a normal conversation, like we were discussing laundry schedules and not outright treason.
I let out a short, sharp laugh. “You’re unbelievable.”
Eliza shrugged. “I do what I need to survive.”
“Survive?” My brows shot up. “I’ve barely spoken to you since I arrived. No one is threatening you. No one is ”
Exactly,” she cut in smoothly, “You’ve barely spoken to me. You barely notice anyone beneath you.”
I stilled.
She tilted her head, watching me like she was sizing me up. “You don’t see the people who keep this castle running, the ones who listen, the ones who hear things long before you do. You think you’re fighting this battle alone, but you’re not.”
I frowned. “And you? What, you see yourself as one of those people?”
Eliza smirked. “I see myself as someone who understands how the game is played.”
She stepped back toward the door, her movements unhurried, casual.
I watched her closely, still on edge, still waiting for something more.
She reached for the handle but paused just before opening it.
Then she turned back to me.
“The next time someone comes offering money,” she said, “I’ll listen to the highest bidder.”
Something cold slithered down my spine.
A warning.
A challenge.
Eliza wasn’t on my side.
She wasn’t on Amira’s, either.
She was on her own.
And if I wanted to win–if I wanted real revenge–I couldn’t ignore the people like her. The ones who lurked in the shadows, the ones who whispered, the ones who knew more than they let on.
I had a decision to make.
I could let her leave, let her walk away and wait for the next opportunity to sell me out again.
Of
I could buy her loyalty first
Tliza.” My voice was quiet, but firm
- hd.
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Chapter 44
Turned slightly.
I lifted my chin. “How much do you want?”
She smiled. A real smile, sharp and knowing.
And without another word, she left.
I stood there, my body still, my mind spiraling.
I felt like an idiot.
How had I not seen it coming?
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Eliza was right about one thing–I had been focused on the battles in front of me, the ones with Amira, with Brielle, with the nobles who whispered behind my back.
But I had ignored the ones in the shadows.
I needed to find Lucian.
If anyone would know how to deal with this kind of backstabbing, double–dealing mess, it would be him. He was calculated. Smart. He saw things I didn’t.
I turned to leave, but the moment I stepped into the hall-
I walked straight into a wall of muscle.
I stumbled back, nearly losing my balance, but hands caught my arms, steadying me before I could fall.
I looked up-
And groaned.
Knox.
Of course.
His silver eyes gleamed with amusement as he didn’t let go, his smirk growing the longer I stood there. “Well, well. Where are you running off to in such a hurry?”
I huffed, stepping out of his grip. “Nowhere.”
“Liar,” His smirk widened. “You look like someone just slapped you with a bad idea.”
I crossed my arms. “And you look like you enjoy being annoying.”
“It’s a talent,” he said smoothly. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or should I guess?”
I scowled. “I don’t need your help.”
“Right.” He nodded sagely. “Because clearly, you have everything under control.”
I gritted my teeth.
I really wasn’t in the mood for this.
But Knox was Knox–persistent, cocky, and somehow always where I least wanted him to be.
And as much as I hated to admit it–he wasn’t stupid.
1 let out a slow breath. “Eliza betrayed me.”
Knox blinked. “Huh Took longer than I expected
1 glared “You knew?”
He shrugged “Suspected”
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Chapter 44
I threw my hands in the air. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“Would you have listened?”
I opened my mouth–paused.
Damn it.
He grinned. “That’s what I thought.”
O
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay calm. “I need to find Alaric.”
Knox hummed. “Alaric? You sure you don’t want to ask me i
nstead?”
I sighed, exhausted already. “Knox.”
“Alright, alright.” He raised his hands. “But if you want revenge, princess, you don’t need Alaric?”
hesitated. “Then who?”
His smirk turned wicked.
