Seize the Day

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

All my life, I thought a living nightmare was going outside my home and interacting with rambunctious human beings. Two months ago, that definition changed to being unwillingly summoned to a castle and blackmailed to tutor the duchess’ daughter.

I had underestimated what a living nightmare truly was. A nightmare is something you should only experience in the realm of dreams. And the terrors of dreams should never be lived in reality.

But now, as I thought of the heinous plot the duchess’s emissary was planning, I realized that I was in a living nightmare.

I sat on the floor of my study room, staring hopelessly at my mother’s pendant. Cicero Rauch, a trusted member of the royal household and Odelia’s royal emissary, was plotting to destroy the royal family. As much as I detested the old man, I wasn’t happy about this revelation. Why would he do such a thing? Cicero had worked at the castle for years—far longer than my mother had. He had a life. A position. He lived in luxury compared to many citizens in Aria. He was a respected and well-educated man. Why would he want to conspire against the crown?

Unless Odelia…

I recalled the time when I saw them speaking in hushed tones to one another. No, I thought, desperately trying to vanquish the thought. But it was too late; the idea was like a spear in my chest.

What if Odelia is plotting against the royal family?

My blood ran cold. I clung to my pendant. If Odelia really was plotting against everyone…

She had every reason to plot against Philippa. It all made sense now. Odelia wanted Clarice to marry Titus so her daughter could become queen. Cicero had told the Orandine to bring the prince to him. Keep Titus alive so that Clarice could marry him and Odelia would be in a position of far greater power than she was now.

With the Orandine’s help, what would Odelia do? Kill the queen and king? Take over the entire castle?

Were these even viable thoughts in the first place? I didn’t have direct proof that Odelia was plotting against the Royals. She was a Royal herself, for goodness sake! And she had a daughter, at that, so why would she want to plot against them? She would risk her position and her life. My mind drifted to the Orandine and Cicero. Unless she has others to do her dirty work, I thought grimly to myself.

From my experience, Royals like Odelia tended to be ruthless. They would do anything in their power to get what they wanted.

I stood and exited the study. When I entered my bedroom on the other side of the hall, I immediately spotted the dress that Clarice gave to me lying on the bed in all its crimson glory. If someone tried to execute a mass murder during the ball, I wouldn’t be able to escape. I’d be stuck in that stupid, frilly excuse for a garment.

The combined forces of Odelia plotting and my forced attendance to the ball officially signaled the end to any remaining sanity I possessed.

I rubbed my hands over my face. It was only yesterday that I overheard Cicero and the cloaked man’s conversation. Now it was the day of the ball. Cicero had told the Orandine that he wanted the Royals dead at his feet before the ball was over. That meant something terrible would happen tonight.

I had to stop it before it happened.

But what could I do? No one would believe me if I told them that a trusted Royal and her emissary were plotting to kill the other Royals. Odelia was supposedly plotting to kill, Clarice had anger management issues, and Lucan never stopped smiling. The royalty in Nor had some serious problems. Then again, Titus wasn’t so perfect either.