I couldn’t answer the prince immediately because I had to make sure Polly stayed still enough for Kamuel to dress his wounds. I also had to twist Kamuel’s arm to actually perform the task, insinuating that my ‘divine’ self would be very displeased if he refused.

  It was a little shocking that [Virtuous] didn’t trigger at the lie, but I suppose the act was for some form of good, however my ‘divine’ self rationalized it.

  Watching Polly get worked on really drove home how insanely powerful [Seduce] was. Here was a towering, muscle-bound beast, with razor-sharp claws and teeth, built to savagely tear apart people. Yet, he sat docile as a puppy while Kamuel stitched together his wounds. Only a few whines escaped his lips.

  This spell had no duration cost, so I could maintain as many seduced creatures as I wanted, and given what I had seen with the giant cat, the effect seemed to last forever. Over time, one could easily build an army with this.

  No wonder it’s in the forbidden section of the library.

  I tried to get some distance from the camp for privacy, but Zadina was a constant shadow. She refused to leave me alone, even when I tried the ‘divine’ displeasure line.

  “It’s my duty to keep you safe, My Lady,” she insisted. Her icy eyes roamed over the giant stone blocks of the wall and down to the gray slabs on the ground. “Nowhere is safe here.”

  I sighed. There was no helping it.

  Raising the messenger ring, I mentally brought up Tomas’s contact image. It was a snapshot of him standing in the garden that day, hovering in the air before me with a glowing “connect” button below.

  I pushed the button.

  The connection was immediate. A living, breathing Tomas appeared in my view, with his grand bedroom in the background. The warm, golden light of his room washed over my vision, blinding compared to the gloom of the dungeon.

  He swung around, looking startled. “Oh, Jo! I didn’t realize you could actually use the ring as well.” After a moment’s hesitation, he quickly added, “But that’s a great thing.”

  One corner of my lips lifted. Did he really think he had more [Mental] than me?

  Regardless, the sight of him as a moving image staggered me. For too long, I had been staring at still images of textured pigments. To be assaulted by motion and sound after all this time jarred loose memories: the flashes and booms of movie explosions, and colorfully rendered game characters fighting on a flat display.

  “So it seems, Your Highness.”

  Tomas’s yellow eyes drooped. The corners of his mouth fell as he picked at his ring. “Jo… I thought we agreed to be less formal with each other.”

  “I’m not alone. I can’t disrespect you in front of others, Your Highness.”

  Interestingly, Zadina stiffened the moment I uttered his title. I was certain the display only appeared in my mind—just like all other UI elements—so I knew she couldn’t see him. But she had definitely heard me speaking. She didn't react that drastically though, merely glancing at my raised ring.

  Perhaps she’s used to others communicating this way.

  Tomas’s eyes flickered past me to the background of dark, stone block walls. It made me wonder how the ring achieved its perspective. Is there some invisible magical camera floating in front of me?

  “Jo, where are you? It doesn’t look like a nice place. And what’s that black thing you’re wearing? It’s moving!”

  I glanced down at the shadowy, writhing sleeve encasing my arm. [Shadow Shroud] was still active. My hand swiped over it, and the shadows sprang back up in its wake.

  Thankfully, my hood was down, else it’d be an even more disturbing sight.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Jo, I thought we promised to be truthful to each other.”

  Reciprocity was never agreed upon, but I knew better than to bring that up. It’d break the spirit of our agreement. I wasn’t on rails this lifetime, no voice from above directed me, and even with the [Virtuous] condition, I had room enough to play the game a little smarter, be a little more conniving so that fate wouldn’t ensnare me once more.

  “I’m in a dungeon, and with me is a guardian hired by my family. She won’t leave my side.”

  “I get it… so you have to be careful about what you say?”

  I nodded at him. It’s a good cover if I don’t want to give away too much.

  He leaned in closer, as if that’d somehow keep things between us. “But why are you in a dungeon? Isn’t it dangerous? It looks dangerous.”

  “There is something I want to investigate, and… I want to help our town.”

  “But you’re my betrothed. You could get hurt down there!”

  I gazed into those yellow eyes on the other side.

  He’s five, really five. I could lie to him and assure him everything will be fine. But that would undermine what we had built. I need to trust he is smart enough to understand.

  “Can you respect that this is something I need to do? I will try to avoid getting hurt.” I tried to catch his wandering eyes. “Sometimes you need to let something go and trust that it will come back.”

  His shoulders slumped, and his eyes stopped avoiding mine. “Is this for the hero’s quest that Anthony mentioned?”

  “That’s one of the things.” When he sank lower in his seat, I reached toward the screen. “Do not worry My Prince. You can still talk to me anytime through this. Now, was there a reason you contacted me?”

  “Oh that… I just wanted to talk to you. Today was awful. All these priests kept pestering me about the new temple that’s being planned. They all wanted it for their own faith.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  I frowned, but gently prodded, “Why would they come to you about this?”

  Tomas sighed, sulking again. “Father hailed it as my coming of age present, and left the choice of deity up to me. It’s such a pain,” he groaned, clutching his head.

  A temple as a coming of age present… Royalty is at another level. But leaving the choice of deity to a five-year-old seems strange… unless…

  “I’m sure your mother has strong opinions on the matter.”

  “She’s been pushing Isolde, the harvest goddess, but her priestesses aren’t very nice. They think it’s already theirs. The priests of Lumus are nicer, but Mother doesn’t like them.”

  “Is it a pain because you feel powerless in the matter?”

  An uncomfortable silence answered me; Tomas’s eyes averted mine again. He looked almost embarrassed.

  “Do you wish to try?”

  He slowly nodded.

  “I suggest you engage with these priests—ask questions, visit their temples, and try to get them on your side. Then even if you were to pick the one your mother chose, they’d feel indebted to you.”

  “I think… I understand…”

  “Do this for your attendants as well. Find the useful ones and talk with them; even just knowing a name at first will do. They will be your best source of information, and the first line of defense. Think of it as a board game: you need to get pieces down before you can make moves, and positioning is paramount.”

  I tilted my head, watching him. “Did I say too much, Your Highness?”

  He shook his head vigorously. “No, please keep guiding me. I feel so helpless here.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you sense everyone has ulterior motives. You just need to make that work for you. To do that, you need to understand your surroundings. Do not be deceived by first appearances.”

  It was laughable how little I understood my situation at court even after so many lifetimes. I refused to be caught that way again.

  “That includes me. But, for better or worse our fates are entwined, so it benefits me for you to be stronger.” I watched his boyish face for hints of panic. He was far too young for this. A twinge knotted in my chest for pushing him this way.

  But what I found in his eyes was a flicker of resolve.

  A good sign.

  After gathering himself, he sat up straight. “I need to be stronger to protect you.”

  The words struck me at first like an accusation—that I was using him. Which I was. But the innocence and fervor in his eyes spoke otherwise. I wasn’t quite comfortable with that either.

  “I believe that gift from the king is a test. Let’s show him you can step out from under your mother’s thumb and actually come of age.”

  I gave Tomas a few more pointers on how he should interact with his guards, followed by some words of encouragement to keep him going. Then the screen blinked in and out, an indicator that our time together was running out.

  Just as we said our goodbyes, he dropped another explosive on me. “Be careful back at home Jo… I overheard Mother mentioning she wants to ‘make an example of that ungrateful harlot.’ I think that might be your stepmother.”

  His face dissolved out of view, leaving a cold shudder to crawl down my spine.

  I need to warn everyone back at the House. There was a lot of collateral damage last time the Consort made a move. Mama, Beatrice and the maids are at risk!

  “I couldn’t hear the other side, but was that the second prince, My Lady?” Zadina’s voice pulled me back to the corner of the dark chamber. Warm voices rose from our camp close by.

  “And what if it was?”

  “I wish to commend you on how gentle and kind you are with your betrothed.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Was that not expected of me?”

  Zadina lowered her head. “No, My Lady. You’re always proper, just in surprising ways.”

  She didn’t say it in jest. But I wondered how much of my [Virtuous] condition she could sense. “You were paying close attention to my words.”

  “My Lady. I swear by Lumus that I will keep them confidential.”

  “Is it true that Paladins can’t lie, Zadina?”

  “We take an oath to uphold the truth. Not all follow it strictly, but I do.”

  I rubbed my fingers against each other. Bits of Polly’s dried blood came off. “Good, then can you tell me who really hired you?”

  “Pardon?”

  “You are overqualified for this dungeon. Without the corruption, which no one knew was this bad, this would have been a breeze. Plus you seemed more focused on observing me than guarding me.”

  She pressed her lips into a thin line. “I was ordered to watch and report on you. Your peculiarities are well known, My Lady. Your grace and eloquence at your first birthday have been the talk of the aristocracy, and even spilled over to the commons.”

  My fingers tightened on the shadow fabric undulating over my chest. “I’m famous?”

  Another lifetime, and again word of me spread, whether I proclaimed it or not. No, I did proclaim it. I was just naive about the consequences; I didn’t think about how the world outside of the House would react. “That’s unexpected…”

  “There were also reports of your unusual magic, dark magic.”

  “By whom? Who would betray me?” A face and a name answered me. It was obvious in hindsight. “Kamuel.”

  “He did what he believed was right.”

  It’s always the religious ones who take up your cause the quickest only to be the first to denounce you.

  “You seemed to pay particularly close attention to my conversation with the prince. And you know quite a bit about our relationship for a cloistered Sister.”

  I traced a line along my jaw as I leveled my gaze at her. “Tell me, was it the Consort, or the Queen?”

  The slight flinch of her face told me all that I needed to know. I thought of what Tomas had told me: his mother didn’t like Lumus…

  “It’s the Queen.”

  Zadina grimaced, tightening her jaw. “I saw her talking to the head priest before I was given my orders. But she never spoke to me directly.”

  A burst of laughter drifted over from the flickering flame at camp. More tales from the campfire. My gaze bore into Zadina. “What would your report say?”

  “Just the truth. I will write of your extraordinary ability to command and lead. Your prowess in combat and magic. I won’t shy from reporting on the shadow spells and the mind spells that you are capable of casting.” She gestured to my shadowy robe. “But I will emphasize the goodness of your heart, your empathy for others… and the sense of the divine within you. What was that last power you used, My Lady?”

  I chose not to answer.

  Nothing good could come from revealing what I am to her. She’s too honest.

  I closed the gap between us. She backed away instinctively, but then looked into my eyes and straightened up. My hand reached up and clasped her right shoulder. “You and I both know that those with power can twist true words to their own ends—the more honest the source, the better.”

  Gazing back into those icy eyes, I thought of using [Seduce], I thought of firing a [Shadow Spike] into her heart, but [Virtuous] stood like a wall before those actions.

  Would my conscience stop me as well? How long has it been since I’ve acted without that condition?

  I was the first to look away. “I won’t stop you from reporting what you must. Just know that if you do, others, innocents, would be dragged into this as well. And I won’t hesitate to defend them.”

  One step toward camp, and the laughter from around the camp fire stopped me. “Can you promise me something? If you ever have to abandon me or turn against me, can you promise to at least save them? We are a party now, and I promise I will never turn them against you.”

  “My Lady, I would never do such a thing!”

  I shook my head. “Your faith comes first, does it not? At least that promise is one you can safely make, just humor me.”

  Her lustrous midnight-black curls shimmered against the dark shadows of the chamber. Those pale-blue eyes and deeply-tanned skin contrasted sharply with the pretty face of the Fair Duke—my Beau Duc—and yet, I couldn’t help but see them as one and the same.

  Would this one come galloping down the hill, and at the very least rescue my men?

  Zadina bowed her head. “My Lady, what are you?”

  The cold, dark air seeped into me, and the fire beckoned. “I’m still trying to figure that out. Maybe the answer lies at the bottom of this dungeon.”

  Whatever form the Donkey Master might take down there.