Swan Song ❂ Killian Jones [1]

3

"Wait! I'm not him! I'm not James!"

"Sure, and I'm stupid. Is that what you're hoping for?" Odette asked with a glare in her eyes. Whatever game he was trying to play, she wasn't about to be foolish enough to fall for it.

She kept the dagger pressed to his throat. All it would take was one swift motion, and she'd manage to keep two of her promises. She'd keep the promise she made to the prince about killing him, and she'd keep her promise to King George. She'd sworn that one day she'd get free and take everything from him. His son and heir would be a good start. And vengeance for her own father.

"Please, just give me a chance to explain. You can take all my weapons. I promise, I won't harm you." James tried to plead. And Odette hid it from her face, but she couldn't help but be surprised by the prince's words.

She found it odd. James wasn't the type to plead for his life. No, he would have tried to intimidate her with threats. By now, he would have been fighting back, because they both knew she wasn't strong enough to keep hold of him for this long. And yet he remained still, his hands raised by his head where she could see them at all times.

And while she tried to keep her expression as composed as possible, something must've seeped through to the surface. He saw it. And it prompted him to speak again. "I won't hurt you. You have my word."

"Your word has never been worth much." Odette let her anger flare once again, pressing the dagger just a little bit further, but not enough to draw blood. Not yet.

"James' may not have been, but as I said, I'm not him. I'm his twin brother." He spoke. And it made Odette freeze. She remembered whispers. Discussions between guards during the change of shifts down at the cells. Before she never had all the information, she never knew what they were talking about when they mentioned someone with an uncanny resemblance to their prince. But now...

"If you're not him, then where is James?" Odette questioned. Had George remembered her threats? Sent in someone who simply looked like James to risk his life going after her while the prince was still safely tucked away in the palace?

"He's dead." The answer came as more of a surprise than anything he'd said before. "That's why I'm here. Because George needed an heir. He needed someone who could pretend to be his dead son. But while I look like him, I'm not him."

"You were still hunting me. Trying to kill me. You may not be James, but you're still George's lackey." Odette pointed out. She didn't care whether the man before her was the one she made her promise to. Killing him would still shatter George's plans. It would still bring her closer to her revenge.

"I thought I was hunting a swan. I didn't know." The impostor prince pointed out, and he seemed genuine. It only confirmed one thing to Odette. It couldn't be James. He wasn't that good of an actor. But it didn't ease her suspicion either. Whoever this man was, she didn't know him. She couldn't know if he was lying.