#Chapter 208: Schemes

Charles I waited and watched the emotions rolling across her face. Her lips trembled. She stared back at me, likely trying to figure out if I was bluffing, but it had been years since she had been able to read my expression. I didn’t even feel her reaching for me to try and get a glimpse into what I was thinking. The bond was there, but it was completely unresponsive. Decaying, if not dead, in all the ways that mattered. She pressed her lips together the way she did when she was trapped in a lie and had no answer for it. Looking back, I realized that I had seen that look on her face more often than not. It felt good to put her in a hot seat she and I both knew would benefit me. This wasn't about punishment, not yet, at least. I needed the answers to figure out what her father and the Council might be planning aside from the Choosing. The whole thing reeked of their involvement. I settled back in my chair, watching her grow more nervous by the second. She shifted in place and gl