Hermes.
After leaving Lienna, we went straight to the throne room, our footsteps echoing off the stone walls. We found Veronica already standing there, waiting for us, flanked by soldiers who stood at attention beside her.
“Good morning, your majesties.” She greeted, her voice warm and respectful as she Executed a deep curtsy the second we walked in, her movements fluid and calculated. But I could catch a faint tremor in her calm demeanor, a slight quiver of her lips that betrayed her true emotions. She wasn’t as calm as she appeared.
Neither of us barely returned her greeting, our nods curt and dismissive, as we went on to seat ourselves on our respective thrones. The tension in the room was palpable, the air thick with unspoken questions..
A soldier rushed up to Caspian, a rolled-up parchment clutched in his hands. Caspian accepted it, his expression unreadable, and opened it up. I watched as his gaze hardened, his eyes scanning the contents of the parchment with growing intensity. The temperature in the room seemed to drop slightly, as if the very air had grown colder.
Veronica’s eyes flickered to the parchment, her gaze darting back to Caspian’s face. For a moment, I thought I saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but it was quickly masked by her usual composure.
“If I may ask, your majesties… I would like to know why I’m here,” Veronica spoke up in a honeyed tone, keeping up the bravado, but her voice trembled slightly.
Caspian glared at her, his eyes piercing, and she turned pale, her hands balling into fists as she maintained eye contact with us. The air seemed to vibrate with tension, the silence deafening.
“Let’s cut to the chase, Veronica,” Caspian began to speak, his voice sharp as a blade. “Did you or did you not try to poison me?” he asked, his words dripping with accusation, jumping straight to the point.
Veronica stiffened, her mouth widening in a gasp of shock. “No, your Majesty,” she protested, her voice rising. “There’s no way I would ever do such a thing to you. What would I gain from it?!” She said, sounding shocked.
Caspian’s expression remained skeptical, his eyes narrowing. “Really?” he asked, his voice filled with distrust, as he leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together.
“Yes, your Majesty,” Veronica insisted, her voice growing more desperate.
“Do not dare to deceive us, Veronica,” Caspian warned, his voice having an edge to it, like a sword’s blade. “The consequences would be dire.”
Veronica vehemently shook her head, her eyes darting between us. “There is no way I would try to harm the grand rulers of this realm,” she said, her voice filled with confusion. “Perhaps there is a mistake somewhere.”
Even I began to grow confused. Was Lienna lying about Veronica’s involvement? She had seemed so sure.
“Guards, did you find anything suspicious during your search?” Caspian asked aloud, glancing at the soldiers beside her.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances before one of them spoke up. “No, your Majesty. We didn’t find anything suspicious in her chambers.” They revealed, lowering their heads afterwards.
Caspian’s brows furrowed, his expression deepening in thought. Adonis stood to his feet, his movements fluid and deliberate, as he walked towards Veronica. He stopped in front of her, his eyes narrowing as he sniffed the air around her. Then, he pulled her close, his face inches from hers, and took several lungfuls of her scent. Finally, he let her go, his expression unreadable.
“She doesn’t smell strange either,” he said, glancing at Caspian. “I don’t think she’s the one.”
I felt a surge of confusion in me.. It was either Veronica was telling the truth, or someone between them was a perfect liar. But we couldn’t just dismiss what Lienna had told us, now and during the manifestation of the moon goddess’s powers. She had made it clear that the person responsible for Caspian’s poisoning was close to us, we were just blind to see it.
What were we going to do now?
“It’s alright, you’re dismissed,” Caspian suddenly said, waving his hands in a gesture of dismissal.
Veronica’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly composed herself, curtsying deeply before turning to leave. The second she had her back to us, Caspian pulled out something from his robes and threw it directly at Veronica. She screamed out in pain as the object made a cut through her arm, blood spilling out of it before getting stuck at a wall.
But the most bizarre thing happened afterward. Whenever her blood dripped to the ground, it would dry out and disappear, leaving a trail of dark smoke and matter behind. The air was filled with an eerie, acrid scent, like something was burning from the inside out.
Caspian’s lips twitched, but didn’t quite form a smile at the action. He looked like he had found what he was looking for.
“You are a witch,” he announced, standing to his feet as he slowly made his way to the terror-stricken Veronica, who was still bleeding profusely.
“But not just any witch,” he continued, his voice dripping with venom. “You’ve made a covenant with dark powers, and just like Lienna, you’ve become a vessel for them.”
Veronica’s eyes went wide with fear as she tried to deny the accusations, but she snapped her mouth shut when she saw the rage coming off Caspian in waves. She began to stagger backwards, but Caspian caught up to her, his movements swift and deadly.
With a flash of his elongated claws, he tore off her dress, revealing the gnarly scars that marred her skin to everyone. A collective gasp broke out from the people present, their faces filled with shock and horror.
The scars seemed to pulse with a dark energy, like they were alive and feeding off Veronica’s blood. I could feel the air grow colder, the darkness in the room deepening, as if the very presence of evil was manifesting before us.
Veronica’s eyes darted wildly, searching for an escape, but she was trapped. Caspian’s grip on her arm was like a vice, his claws digging deep into her skin. She winced in pain, but Caspian’s expression remained unyielding.
“This definitely happened from Lienna’s display of power,” Caspian growled, his voice unwavering. “Most of us left there unscathed, but if you received burns, it means my theory is correct. You were the one who tried to poison me.”
Veronica’s face contorted in a mixture of fear and desperation. “No… Please! It wasn’t intentional!” she cried out, her voice panicked, but it didn’t matter anymore. The truth was out.
Caspian let her go, walking back to his seat with a deliberate slowness. “You would be punished accordingly,” he declared, his voice cold and detached. “Not just for lying and deceit, but because you tried to harm a King and even accused an innocent person falsely for it.”
He raised his hand, and the guards moved forward, their faces expressionless. “Guards! Drag her to the dungeons!” Caspian yelled, his voice reverberating through the entire room.
Veronica struggled and kicked, but she was no match for the guards. “No, wait! Listen to me!” she cried out as she was being dragged away, her voice growing fainter until the door closed with a bang behind her.
The room fell silent, leaving just the three of us and the painful realization that had just dawned on us. We’ve made a terrible mistake.