Chapter 115 – A Secret No Longer

Levisia was thinking about how to ease the tension as she dipped into a low curtsey.

“Prince Lidan, Prince Siaphyl. It has been a long time.” She said, acting as though she hadn’t already bumped into Lidan before.

“Levisia? What are you doing here?” Siaphyl asked, tilting his head in confusion and pointing to her.

“Indeed, Levy. Fancy seeing you here. I thought I would be seeing you back at the palace.” Lidan said, looking down at his nails. “So, who dragged you along for the ride? Was it dearest Merril, or our very own Elizabeth?”

He moved his head to gaze at the two sisters. Levisia left incredibly small standing between them as they exchanged glances between themselves and their brothers.

“I didn’t have any say in this.” Merril said, holding her hands by her head. “I only found out after we left the manor on the first night. It was Elizabeth who decided this. The only way she could buy my silence was to allow me to travel in her carriage.”

Elizabeth sharply inhaled through her nostrils, causing Merril to shy away from her. Lidan smirked and sauntered over to her, staring directly into Elizabeth’s eyes. Levisia stepped away from the two just in time for Siaphyl to grab her by the arm.

“How could you not tell us, Levy?” He said, clamping his hands around hers. There was a clear look of hurt in his eyes, like he was the last to know a secret that everyone was aware of.

“Oh… I…”

Levisia thought back to all the times Elizabeth made a huge fuss about her remaining hidden, and how the one time she disobeyed that order, she had bumped into Cassian and his bird. As well as the time she dragged Pel into her carriage to avoid Lidan. How could she tell Siaphyl that? She tried to come up with an excuse, but in the end, decided to come out with the truth.

“Elizabeth decided that I should remain hidden. Merril found out early, but she still wanted to keep my presence a secret. Only Elizabeth and the Emperor were made aware of this. I swear I had nothing to do with this.”

Siaphyl’s eyes shook. It was hard to stare into his eyes, so Levisia turned her head. From that point, Cassian was seen approaching. Her heart sank as she pulled her hands away from Siaphyl and waited for him to notice her.

As he made eye contact with her, she checked that Harrol wasn’t around and greeted him respectfully. Once their eyes met, there was nothing she could do. All she could hope was that he would not give away the fact that they had already met on the trip, thus rendering Elizabeth’s plans to keep her secret moot. Though, her being there in front of the Kraidens had already meant that the whole plan was already useless, and only left a lot of questions as to why Elizabeth went to such drastic levels to keep quiet about her presence.

“Good morning, Prince Cassian.” She dipped into another low curtsey. “Is Harrol out hunting?”

Her eyes widened as soon as she finished speaking. No sooner had she hoped Cassian wouldn’t give their meeting away, she opened her mouth and spoiled it for the both of them. She slowly stood up straight to find all five Kraidens looking down at her.

Cassian merely rolled his eyes and glared at her, as if he was disappointed in her for being so careless. Siaphyl’s jaw had hit the floor, and Lidan’s eyes were as wide as saucers. Merril opened her mouth as if to speak, but Elizabeth, who had closed her eyes, cut her off.

“Levisia.” She said, with a heavy sigh. She opened her eyes and stepped towards Levisia. “I was under the impression that only Merril knew about me bringing you along. It had not been brought to my attention that you and Cassian had met. I didn’t even know the two of you had met before.”

“Of course we’ve met.” Cassian rolled his eyes. “She lives in the same palace as us. How can I have not met her? It’s not like you don’t drag her around and force her to go wherever you want her to.” He folded his arms and stared directly at Elizabeth. “And you failed to keep an eye on her, because she stumbled upon me when she was out for a walk. Maybe, if you were that intent on keeping her hidden, you shouldn’t have let her walk around unguarded.”

Levisia stepped out in between them, eager to break up the fight that she could sense was brewing.

“Let’s all just… Calm down, shall we? We’re here to see the Emperor, are we not? Let’s go see him, instead.” She said, with a fake smile on her face. Things would have been so better had she not been invited.

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