Sold To The Cruel Pr Chapter 95: Who is She?

Chapter 95: Who is She?

Kael stood in his father’s study, head bowed, his mind racing faster than he could keep pace with.

"As I told you, Father," he said carefully, "we found the woman His Highness was looking for in Aurelmont. But on the way here, in the forest, she was attacked by monsters. His Highness went feral and used an Aurelion Lattice, killing half the creatures there."

He paused and looked up, gauging his father’s reaction.

Edric sat behind the elaborate desk with his hands folded before him, his expression unreadable. He looked at Kael the way a man might look at a blade to see whether it had been properly sharpened.

Kael swallowed.

Should he continue?

He had never in his life thought this much before speaking.

"And this woman..." he went on, choosing each word with care, "I found her in the forest. She is feral. She has not lived in civilized society for at least a decade. She is malnourished. Scarred."

It was not entirely a lie.

The people who had treated Aveline so cruelly were hardly people at all. In that sense, she truly had not lived in civilization for years.

Edric kept staring at him, as though waiting for the falsehood to surface.

Kael pushed on.

"When I t her..." He hesitated, then his eyes sharpened. "She nearly killed Noctyrr."

That finally shifted Edric’s expression. "Noctyrr?" he repeated, leaning forward slightly.

Kael nodded.

"She snapped its limb off just as it was about to stomp on His Highness. And..." he paused and his eyes got sharper as he looked at his father. "...it did not grow back."

Edric’s brows drew together.

"She bends shadows in ways I have never seen before," Kael said, lowering his voice. "And she does not seem to know she is doing it."

Edric leaned back in his chair, letting out a slow breath.

He had clearly expected so romantic entanglent to be the cause of the King’s interest. But this was sothing else entirely.

"She is not the Willowgrave orphan?" Edric asked.

Kael narrowed his eyes. "You know about the Willowgrave incident, Father?"

The question lingered in the air longer than it should have.

Edric cleared his throat. "You are saying she is dead?"

Kael paused. Then he nodded. "Buried in the forest."

He said it with more certainty than before, because the more he thought about it, the stranger everything beca.

Edric’s gaze did not leave him.

"This girl you are taking care of," he said at last. "What is her na?"

Kael did not hesitate.

"Ava."

He had chosen the na too quickly for soone who was telling the truth, but Edric said nothing. Kael continued, forcing his voice to remain steady.

"We do not know much about her lineage. She has an Aurelmont accent, so she may have grown up there. She does not have many qualities of a lady, and she speaks whatever cos to her mind. She can’t keep quiet for the life of her. She is... a bit annoying."

He stopped for a beat, then added, almost reluctantly, "Except that her shadow lattice is the sharpest and most defined I have ever seen. And she did not even use a rune."

Edric’s brows lifted. For the first ti, surprise touched his face.

Kael leaned a little closer over the desk.

"Father..." he said quietly. "Could she be a wild seed sown by one of ours?"

He had been wondering that for so ti.

The Vantaris family were, to his knowledge, the only shadow-benders in Greenvale. For soone from Aurelmont to possess such an ability, when no one there was known to bend at all, was suspicious enough on its own.

And if she had appeared under these circumstances, with these powers, and at this ti...

Edric was still.

Too still.

Then, very slowly, his fingers tapped once against the desk.

That was never a good sign.

"Who brought her here?" Edric asked.

"I did," Kael said.

It was the truth. And it was the version his liege wanted everyone to believe.

For her protection, Kael needed his father to accept that story first. Theron could not do it openly, not with the King watching his every move. So Kael would have to be the one to carry it through.

After all, the girl had saved his family once already.

And now, his family’s future might depend on her.

"She needs to learn the basics," Kael added. "I am enrolling her in the Arcanum as one of ours. Maybe they will be able to tell what she is."

Edric studied his son in silence.

Then he tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, once, twice, the sound asured and unhurried.

"This is your final statent?" he asked.

Kael held his gaze and nodded.

He could tell his father did not believe him entirely. But he would not give an inch.

"Yes, Father," he said. "And if necessary, this will be my death confession too."

Edric was quiet for a mont after that, his expression turning inward, thoughtful.

"If she were ours..." he murmured.

His eyes darkened.

There were exceptions to every rule. Rare ones. Unfortunate ones. The kind no one spoke of unless they had to.

And if she was who Kael said who she was... he needed to talk to soone. Soone who might know more about this than him.

His gaze returned to Kael, sharper now.

"Keep her close until I find a way," Edric said at last. His voice was not loud, but it carried. "Do not let her be seen. Do not let her be tested."

A pause.

Then, more quietly, he added, with the concern of a father etched in his tone. "And Kael..." His tone softened by a fraction.

"Do not grow attached to sothing you do not understand."

Kael’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

Too late. It was far too late for that.

But all he did was bow.

"As you command, Father."

-----

anwhile, in the room, Aveline looked around. Everything seed normal, everyone acted normal around her. Her view from the window was good.

But... sothing was not right.

Sothing... distorted was around her and she could feel that.

What was that?

She walked to the window and looked out. Outside, hidden in the trees, there was soone. Not moving. Not hiding—just... watching. He was there, staring in her direction rather deeply.

Aveline waved her hand.

And that man... was still staring at her, as if he was seeing though her.

Her heart pounded.

What is that? Am I seeing things?

She placed her hand on the window sill, and she felt it... sothing bursting... like a bubble.

She yelped and walked back...

And now...

That man was looking right at her. His eyes widened, and he leaned forward... as if he had found her.