"He’s too much like her," Lucian murmured. "Like his mother."
Luther inclined his head slightly. "That’s not entirely a bad thing now, your Majesty, or is it? We both know Queen Althea was strong. Determined." A pause.
"But she let her emotions dictate too much." Lucian’s expression darkened. "And now he does the sa."
Luther sighed, stepping forward. "Let him stew over it. "Let him grasp the gravity of what is at stake."
Lucian didn’t respond imdiately.
Then, finally, he nodded. "He’ll realize, in ti."
Luther smiled faintly. "They always do."
With that, the royal advisor gave a polite bow and turned toward the door. "I’ll take my leave for now, Your Majesty."
Lucian waved a dismissive hand. "Go."
Luther strode out of the chamber, the sound of his polished boots echoing against the stone floors.
The mont Luther stepped into his personal chambers, he locked the door behind him.
The air inside was warm, the dim glow of the fireplace casting flickering shadows along the dark wooden furniture. He let out a slow exhale, rolling his shoulders as he loosened the high collar of his coat.
His mind, however, was nowhere near at ease.
Evelina.
She was proving to be more of a disruption than he had anticipated.
His fingers brushed against the fabric of his sleeve as he walked toward the bathing chamber. The idea of Arcadia gaining an alliance with OakenShaw should have happened already.
Not today, but maybe days ago.
If the river poisoning had gone well, that is, without Evelina quickly whipping up an antidote.
That was a variable he never saw coming, never calculated as a part of his equation.
But from nowhere, she had ruined the plan without even knowing.
Her interference had beco a nuisance. A growing thorn in his plans. And yet... it wasn’t just that.
It was her.
Her thods, her mannerisms—there was sothing undeniably familiar about them.
And now, with the cure she had crafted, his suspicions were no longer just idle thoughts.
The way she had formulated the antidote. The precision. The process.
It was too similar.
Too much like soone he once knew.
Luckily for him, OakenShaw had acted on instinct and ca to claim Evelina. This should have been a mont of celebration. A seamless arrangent. A deal that benefited them all.
And yet, Evelina had ruined it... again.
Or perhaps, she had ruined it the mont she arrived in this world.
Soone he had lost.
Or rather—soone he had thought he lost.
Luther’s jaw tightened.
No. Not Evelina.
Evelyn Matthews.
The realization settled in his chest like cold steel.
He had known there was sothing about her that felt familiar. Ever since the prince had saved her from execution and them becoming mates, he had known sothing was off.
But not this off.
The way her personality and behaviour changed, the way she interfered, the way she got involved in matters she shouldn’t. It was all the sa, just like before.
Just like Evelyn Matthews.
His hands curled into fists at his sides.
He had spent years thinking he was the only one. The only one who had woken up in this world after that day in her lab. The only one who had adapted, thrived, and taken what he wanted.
But now?
Now, it seed she was here too.
And her presence was ruining everything.
A flicker of frustration ran through him, but he forced himself to remain composed. He needed to be sure. He needed proof.
Luther’s gaze flickered to the large mirror near his bathing chamber. He reached up, tugging at his collar with a sigh. He needed to clear his thoughts. A bath. A drink. Sothing to—
His gaze flickered toward the side of his chamber where a small glass bottle sat atop a shelf.
A thin tube connected it to a hidden chanism beneath his chambers.
Luther’s sharp eyes caught the color shift inside the bottle.
The liquid inside had turned green.
It should have been blue.
aning only one thing—
The other end, where it connected, had received oxygen.
Which in turn, ans... Soone had been inside the tunnel.
His fingers twitched before he turned sharply, moving toward the farthest bookshelf in his room. He pressed his palm against the carved edge, triggering a chanism hidden beneath the wood.
Click.
The shelf shifted, revealing a dark passageway beyond.
Luther didn’t hesitate. He stepped inside, pressing another lever to seal the entrance behind him.
The tunnels beneath the palace were ancient—older than even the royal bloodline itself. Most within the palace didn’t know they existed. Those who did? They never spoke of them.
Luther’s footsteps echoed faintly against the stone as he moved with quiet precision. His golden eyes scanned the walls, his senses sharp.
He turned left.
Then right.
Then—
He stopped.
A disturbance in the dust.
Luther crouched down, his gloved fingers brushing lightly over the stone floor.
Footsteps.
Not old.
Fresh.
His expression remained unreadable, but a slow exhale left his lips.
So.
Soone had been here.
And there were only two possible culprits.
Evelina and Jasper.
Luther straightened, his fingers flexing at his sides.
This was going to be a problem.
Luther inhaled slowly, his sharp golden eyes scanning the dimly lit chamber.
There were several entrances into these tunnels but the most likely one they would have co in is through the wine bottle deposits. And there’s only one reason anyone would have ventured this deep into the tunnels.
The wine bottle.
His jaw tightened.
If Evelina had been here, if she had sohow discovered this place... then she was getting far too close to sothing she shouldn’t.
His pace was calm but quick as he moved toward the farthest wall of the underground chamber. Ancient stone shelves lined the clearing, so still holding forgotten relics of the past, untouched by ti.
But, Luther’s focus was on a very particular crevice carved into the wall, just above an old wooden chest.
His fingers brushed along the edge, feeling for the small indentation hidden beneath the dust.
There.
With a slight press, a barely audible click sounded, and the concealed compartnt opened.
Luther’s breath remained steady as he reached inside.
His fingers wrapped around the familiar glass surface.
And when he pulled it into the torchlight, the sight of it confird everything.
The missing bottle.
The one Evelina had been looking for.
The one that had been used in the prince’s poisoning.
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