Chapter 252: Of Masks Torn Away, Shadows That Speak Truth, and Children Who Should Absolutely Not Be Here
Chapter 252: Of Masks Torn Away, Shadows That Speak Truth, and Children Who Should Absolutely Not Be Here
Elyn’s POV
I did not move.
I did not blink.
I simply stared at Aurelixa.
Or... at least, the person standing in Aurelixa’s place. It was a stupid thought, but it almost felt like she was someone else.
But even at that, something was wrong.
I had felt it the moment I stepped out here. The unease. The slight misalignment in everything I was seeing. Like a puzzle where all the pieces fit—but the picture was still wrong.
My gaze shifted toward the gargoyle stationed near the wall.
Then back to Aurelixa.
Then back to the gargoyle again.
There it was.
That flicker.
That not-quite-still presence.
I tilted my head slightly.
"Aurelixa," I said calmly, my voice even, measured, "is there perhaps something behind that gargoyle?"
I was met with silence.
A pause that stretched just a second too long.
Aurelixa swallowed again, this time the sound audible.
Instead of replying to me, her eyes darted quickly to Zorathys in fear.
Then, just as quickly, she shook her head.
"No, Your Highness."
Zorathys sighed, disappointed.
"You will have to practice more," he drawled, his voice carrying that familiar lazy weight, "if you intend to be the best trickster in the realm."
I blinked.
Once.
Slowly.
My gaze snapped to him.
He was looking directly at Aurelixa.
"You’ve grown bold," he continued, "but not nearly clever enough."
There was a shift in the air.
A subtle one.
"Just because you managed to trick your territory years ago," Zorathys went on, "does not mean you can attempt the same with my wife."
I stared at him.
Then at Aurelixa.
Then back at him again.
Something wasn’t adding up.
"Zorathys," I said carefully, "you know who you are talking to, right?"
"Yes, I do, Firefly. He’s right there."
He?
Was this demon okay?
"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" I asked him.
He looked at me and, yes, he was completely serious.
"Yes," he said.
I paused.
"...What?"
"I am sleepy," he said. "And you refused to go on a picnic with me. The rejection has affected my eyes, it seems."
I gave him an unimpressed look.
"You know that is not what I am talking about."
He said nothing.
So I continued.
"You are referring to Aurelixa as male."
He nodded.
"Yes."
I waited.
He did not elaborate.
"Zorathys."
"Yes, Firefly?"
"Why," I said slowly, "are you calling her him?"
His gaze shifted back to Aurelixa.
And then, with absolute calm, he said—
"Because the Aurelixa standing before us is male."
Um... what?
"And," he added lazily, unaware of my inner turmoil, "he is not the real Aurelixa."
Everything stilled.
The air.
The space.
Everything.
I stared at Aurelixa again, a frown on my face. I know I had joked that someone else was being Aurelixa, but I did not mean that. It had been a stupid thought.
But who would dare pose as the Duchess of—oh. I knew who it was.
I exhaled slowly.
"And," Zorathys continued, as though this was all mildly inconvenient to him, "it should be of note that the snake hiding behind that gargoyle is also part of this... elaborate scheme."
His gaze flicked briefly toward the wall.
"...though I must say, it is quite a stupid one."
I closed my eyes for half a second. I was not even surprised. Not even a little bit. I sighed and then opened my eyes.
I turned my head slightly toward Zorathys.
"Is the person posing as Aurelixa," I asked carefully, "her son?"
Zorathys gave an amused smile.
"Yes," he said, and then he snapped his fingers.
And his shadows shifted softly, as if peeling away the surface of reality itself.
I watched as Aurelixa’s face... changed.
No—
That wasn’t the right word.
It didn’t change.
It unraveled.
Like threads being pulled loose. Like a painting being wiped away to reveal something beneath.
The same thing happened to the others.
Caleth.
Faelyra.
Draeven.
Guilidern.
And then they were gone. Okay, maybe not gone in the sense that they left, but rather they were replaced by their true forms.
Five children stood where five powerful demons had been moments ago.
I stared.
Three of them I did not recognize.
But two I did.
Zayrion and Velira.
The same children I had played with just the previous day. The same ones I had laughed with.
The same ones I had—oh.
Oh, this was bad.
I blinked slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Five children stared down at the floor. Zayrion’s ears flopped down, Velira’s wings didn’t stand as high as they normally did either.
I inhaled.
Then exhaled. I had to be calm about this.
Zorathys stepped forward slightly.
"That," he said, gesturing lazily toward them, "is not all."
I didn’t even have time to process that statement before—the shadows moved again.
They were faster and sharper this time.
They slid across the ground like living things, and then they wrapped around something behind the gargoyle I had been looking at minutes before.
There was a yelp.
A very familiar yelp.
And then—a child was dragged out into the open.
And what do you know, the very snake that I already knew was part of this elaborate scheme was right before me.
The shadows released him immediately... quite roughly too.
He stumbled forward slightly, then straightened, brushing himself off like that would somehow restore dignity to this situation.
Zorathys looked at him.
"Not only," he said, his voice calm and mocking, "do you steal sweets..."
Azerion stiffened.
"...but you also join other children in attempting to trick the Queen?"
Azerion huffed.
Actually huffed.
Like he was offended.
"We were not trying to trick her," he said as he crossed his arms, while I just stared, reminding myself to be calm. "They wanted to meet with the Queen so they could also know her, so I just helped."
Really?
Then he turned to Zorathys. "And it would have worked well if it wasn’t for your meddling."