Alpha King’s Lost Luna

CASSANDRA

My heart dropped suddenly in my chest as | stared at Lila in shock. Had | heard the little girl correctly?

“What does that mean?” | managed to ask as my belly began to ache from nervousness.

Lila shook her head and tugged at a strand of her hair anxiously. Her big eyes stared off in the distance for a moment and then

she turned back to face me.

“It could mean that Lady Helene doesn’t have any thoughts in her mind,” she mused, and then she took her head. “Sometimes

it's hard for me to read people’s minds when they have complicated thoughts. If there’s too much going on in their thoughts, the pictures | see are like a mosaic. But I’ve never seen complete darkness before, Miss Cassandra.”

| considered the information for a second and then a thought crossed my mind.

Mind control.

Ayear ago, | never would

that there concept any of my time. It sounded so preposterous, so

strange and fairytale-li ave given the

magic-users and heard the tales of possibilities.

was no reason to take it seriously. But now that I'd seen the orcerors, | knew that nothing was out of the realm of

What if Helene’s mind was being controlled by Ronald?

Was it even possible?

| took a brief pause to gather my ideas and concerns, and then | voiced them to Lila. The little girl thought about it for a moment and then spoke.

“Some of the books my mother keeps hidden away describe different psychic abilities and magical powers,” she explained as her eyebrows crinkled together. “She’s been trying to uncover what | can do. I’ve read a little about mind control in one of them.” My lips parted, and | nodded my head to urge her to continue.

Lila searched her mind and then spoke. “The

are two types of mind-controlling, but both can take away people’s wills. One is like hypnosis. By brainwashing, a person would act according to the new concepts they’d been introduced to. History books have mentioned that many great sorcerers could practice it. Another kind, however, is more like a legend. | read that with certain talismans, one could control another’s mind and make them do exactly what they wanted. But no one has practiced that before, at least no one that’s been recorded.”

I stood there, bewildered, impressed by the

amount of knowledge Lila had stored away. Though she was just a little girl, she was quite intelligent. Lsupposed she had to be in order to survive Ms.

Benn.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

“I've just spent a lot of time reading,” she said quietly, and she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Especially the books my mother has kept hidden from me. | want to fully develop my abilities and get away from this place one day, so | need to learn all | can.”

“That’s very wise of you,” | praised her, and then | shifted the subject back to the mind-control. “Now, I’m wondering if Lord Ronald used the first one-”

But Lila shook her head at once. “I don’t think so. I’ve heard that Lord Ronald doesn’t carry one of those great sorcerer’s blood. His mother was just a low-ranking witch who could play small tricks and illusions.”

My eyebrow shot up in surprise. | had never thought about the different rankings of sorcerers, but it made a great deal of sense. Thus far, | had only witnessed small acts of magic from Ronald, such as the business with the enchanted rose at the party.

Was it too much to assume he was capable of mind control?

Suddenly, a realization hit me and a small gasp escaped from my lips.

Raven.

| recalled the conversation I'd witnessed her having at the party with Helene and Ronald. Ronald and the sorceress were speaking quietly and closely with one another.

Could Raven have done this to Helene?

| didn’t want to think that the dark-haired young woman was capable of such a thing, but | recalled the sight of the prisoners in the tower... the “gui nea pigs” as she’d so cruelly and callously called them. | remembered the look of apathy in her blue-green eyes, her expression emotionless as she walked past them in their cells that day when she’d performed a health exam on me. The wretched, putrid stench of blood and death in the air hadn’t even seemed to affect her as she'd led me to her

lab and back.

While there was certainly a level of detachedness one would have to have as a scientist, | had to wonder how wicked she truly was beneath the surface. She had been kind enough to me, but her treatment of others had me questioning her character.

n

One thing was clear enough. Raven couldn't be trusted. Not right now, when things were so precarious and dangerous.

Though it was only an assumption that she was involved in this mind control business, | saw the risk behind it all. If Ronald had won Raven’s support and favor, his alliance with me would have been rendered useless. But at the same time, this was also an opportunity to exaggerate the conflict

between cousins.

What would happen if | brought this up to Kaleb? This had the opportunity to distract attention away from me, which might increase the chance of carrying out my plan smoothly. The more

chaotic Yurene was, the more time | could win for Wegalla and Asher.

The very idea excited and intimidated me at the same time. | was never a person of tactics, nor was my father and brother. The Felix family had always done everything in a clean, honest way.

But loyalty and honesty hadn’t saved them. It destroyed them entirely.

So now, | had to do anything in my power to survive. | owed it to my family to endure.

After Lila left my chamber, | asked Ms. Benn to escort me to Kaleb’s study. Though she seemed reluctant about it, she agreed to take me there.

Once we reached the corridor, she bowed her head and excused herself, leaving me alone. | quietly approached the door and lingered outside of it for a moment, taking in the grains of the dark wood. Part of me wondered if | was making the right choice. | wasn't fully convinced that | should do this at all. Kaleb may have already known about all of this, which would make it impossible to leverage things in my favor. He was much more cu nning than | gave him credit for.

There was also a chance that my words could bring up suspicion toward me. The king of Yurene might wonder why | would want to suddenly help him out, with good reason.

| summoned the courage to knock, but just as | raised my hand, | heard a woman’s voice from the inside of the room. | paused and leaned in closer.

It was Raven's voice.

“You're going to lose if you keep doing this,” she practically growled at him, and then she huffed. “You're getting boring, Kaleb. Weak, even.”

| waited to hear Kaleb’s voice, but Raven’s words were followed by a long silence. | leaned in closer, but | couldn’t hear anything. Either they weren’t speaking or they were whispering so low that | couldn't pick up on it through the door.

Suddenly, the door opened abruptly, and | jumped, completely startled.

Raven walked out with an unhappy expression on her pretty face. Her bluish green eyes glanced at me briefly and then she strode away in irritation.

What was that about?

What had they been speaking of?

Before | could think about it too much, Kaleb’s voice called out to me from inside the room.

“Enter.”