Chapter 29


    ASHER


    Chapter 29 Her secret


    Why did I trust Cas sandra Keller?


    That was a great question. But I waspletely surprised when the healer asked it, and even more


    surprised when I realized her question had a point.


    I hadn’t told anyone about my ailment apart from Lancel. My most trusted guard had been attempting to


    investigate the mark for me, but it hadn’t been going well. Besides him, no one else knew I had the


    disease. Not the royal healers or even Adalyn.


    So, why was I willing to entrust this secret to a healer from a mostly forgotten


    Pack on the border?


    In all honesty, I didn’t know why, but something in my gut told me she could be trusted. When I’d shown


    her my mark back in Alpha Gareth’s meeting room, I hadn’t thought about it twice. Trusting her felt


    natural as if she were someone I’d known for years.


    But in reality, it was unnatural, strange even.


    Why would I trust a vige healer?


    So, I reached into my mind and crafted an answer for Ca ssandra Keller that seemed passable. I told


    her it was nothing, just a calcted choice. I hated to lie, but I needed to do so to cover for myself.


    My father, thete Alpha King, once told me that the king should trust no one. I’d never believed him


    until I myself became king and realized that Anemond was full of traitors and liars who sought to sway


    me in their favor. They smiled at me and treated me favorably, but their reasons for doing so only came


    down to one thing.


    Power.


    Everything would change if I wasn’t the king, and the Moon Goddess only knew there were plenty of


    others who wanted to rece me.


    My stepmother and stepbrother, Adalyn’s family, the malicious Northerners… they all wanted my


    power, and that was all. I was alone.


    Ca ssandra Keller considered my answer for a moment, and then she tucked her long copper hair


    behind her ear and nodded.


    “I see,” she said simply. “I’ll do my best, Your Majesty.”


    I


    “Good,” I replied, and for a moment, I continued to study her. Something about her was familiar, I just


    knew it.


    Again, I was reminded of Cora, though I couldn’t ce why. Though Ca ssandra was impossibly lovely


    as well, they looked nothing alike. They hadpletely different faces and their demeanors were


    entirely different. Cora was lively and outgoing, while Ca ssandra was calm and thoughtful. Still, there


    was something there that made me like Ca ssandra, along with her son.


    I looked at the boy. “How old is your son, Healer Ca ssandra?”


    For a moment, the healer looked panicked, but I couldn’t figure out why. Despite her quiet nature, she


    was prone to fear and it made her seem suspicious.


    “I’m five years old,” Finnick spoke up before she could answer, and Ca ssandra’s deep green eyes


    widened as if he’d said something he wasn’t supposed to.


    “Yes, Finnick is five years old now, Your Majesty,” she managed. Uneasiness painted her features, and


    she appeared as if she wanted to run away.


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    What was it about this woman? Why was she so scared? Was she simply ufortable with me


    because of my station? Or was it something further?


    Ca ssandra plucked one of the small teacups from the silver tray and then carefully picked up the


    teapot. She streamed steaming hot tea into her cup and then gently set the teapot back down. She


    passed the cup down to Finnick, who epted it quietly and then filled another for herself.


    I waited until they were finished and then continued with my questions.


    “Did your father have gray eyes, Ca ssandra?” I wondered. “Or perhaps your husband? Emmett, you


    said his name was?


    I wasn’t sure what inspired me to keep pressing further, but I was still a little curious of Finnick’s eye


    color. Was there something in his bloodline that made the pair familiar to me?


    Ca ssandra’s hand suddenly twitched, causing her teacup to crash to the ground. It shattered upon


    impact and the pieces flew everywhere, all over the floor. Hot liquid sprayed me, and I hissed


    instinctively in response.


    “I’m so sorry, Your Majesty!” she apologized profusely, and her big eyes shed in horror. She rose to


    her feet in a sh and started collecting the shards from the floor. Meanwhile, I reached forward,


    grabbed a napkin, and began to dab at my shirt. Luckily it didn’t leave a huge mark, but my skin was a


    little warm.


    “It’s ok


    I grumbled as I dried myself off. “It was an ident.”


    But something in my mind wondered how much of an ident it was. The timing of Ca ssandra


    dropping the cup seemed a little convenient. Had something about my question flustered her so greatly


    that she slipped?


    One thing was for sure, Ca ssandra Keller had something to hide.


    Was it a plot or some kind? An attempt to bring me harm? Or something else.


    My mind didn’t want to consider the possibility, but I was also no stranger to odd plots and attempts to


    seize my power.


    Years ago, my wicked stepmother had once tried to drag me from my crown. She’d hired a young


    maiden with simr features to impersonate Cora in an attempt to seduce me. She had wanted to find a


    way into my heart and my secrets, so she could use them against me at ater date. My stepmother


    had hoped that she could use the girl to infiltrate Pack meetings, but unfortunately for her, the maiden


    she’d hired was a lousy imitator. I’d seen right through her disguise and knew at once that she wasn’t


    my Cora.


    Was Ca ssandra an imitator as well? Did she have a secret to hide, a reason to act so suspicious and


    afraid of me at all hours?


    As the healer flittered about and tried to clean up her mess, I studied her son


    and was surprised to find the small dark-haired boy was studying me as well. His gaze was far more


    intelligent than a normal boy of five years and his aura struck me as strange, familiar somehow. I


    couldn’t ce my finger on it, but there was


    something about the boy that raised my eyebrows.


    Finnick’s gray eyes, a simr shade as my own, blinked at me innocently enough, but his posture was


    straight and polite as if he were much older than his years. His hands were folded neatly in hisp and


    he didn’t fidget even once.


    He was nothing at all like Prince Marco. My curly-haired son was restless, attention-seeking, and had a


    bit of a temper issue. But not Finnick. He was calm, cool, and collected, something I admired greatly. In


    some ways, the young boy reminded me of myself when I was his age. I had always been the quiet one


    in my group of friends as well.


    How could this mild-mannered boy be Ca ssandra’s son? Sure, their faces shared some simrities,


    but their natures seemedpletely different. She shared his kindness and politeness, but the healer


    was constantly on edge around me.


    Something more was going on.


    Whatever it was, I would figure out her secret eventually.