-HIM-

"What were you thinking?" Lars asked me after we were back from dinner. Judging by the tone of his voice, he was surely surprised by my behaviour at the dinner. I took a deep drag from my cigar and looked at the clear night sky visible from the patio of my temporary wing here.

In this calmness of the night, I could hear the sea in the distance and imagine the ships lining up, waiting for an empty harbour. I took another drag from my exclusive red cigar and sighed deeply before confronting the invasive feeling that had haunted me since the morning.

"I was thinking..." I tasted the words I was going to speak in my mouth, "How convenient it is that Theoron's sister is alive again at such an odd time,"

"Very convenient," Lars agreed darkly, "He's trying to mend his tarnished image,"

"More so than that," I told him, "How much more convenient is it that I feel the mate pull with her,"

"What?" Lars shot up from his chair and faced me. I took another long drag from my cigar and stared at the cloudless night sky twinkling with stars. I could feel his eyes burning on me, waiting for me to tell him that I was joking. "You aren't serious,"

"I am serious," I told him calmly, yet nothing inside me was calm.

"If Theresa is your mate, then what about the girl that goes by the name of Vittoria?" Lars probed.

"You tell me,"

"This isn't making sense,"

"Unless I'm blessed to have two mates," I joked.

"No one can have two mates," Lars reminded me darkly, not in the mood to joke around. "I think Theoron is playing with you. He wants to get to you through that girl whom he claims to be his sister,"

"Tell me, Lars," I breathed, "If that girl isn't Theoron's sister, then what do you think happened to his real sister?"

"I am certain she is dead, and this girl is an imposter. I don't feel anything regal about her," Lars shot immediately, making it clear that he wasn't willing to make it more complicated than how it was already. "Theoron's real sister has her grave in the mountains there," Lars added, pointing to the shadows of mountains in the distance.

"But the rest of her family is buried in the royal cemetery, isn't it? Then why do they put her there?"

"They told the people it's to contain the disease that she got in her final days. It was very infectious,"

"That's a good reason but didn't the Queen die the same way? Then why isn't she buried along with her daughter in the mountains?" I pondered. Lars' silence answered this time.

"Nothing is making sense!" Lars said, pulling his hair in frustration. "But what about you? You can surely tell who is your real mate?"

"I'm certain Theoron's sister could never be my mate, but at the same time, something tells me it is too early for me to be sure about this,"

"So what are you going to do?" He asked.

"I am going to test the bond with Theresa and see if it's real or not,"

"And what if it's real?" Lars asked the very thing I was growing to be scared of. He sighed deeply and took his seat when I remained answerless. I took a deep drag from my cigar and closed my eyes.

"There's more to this than what meets the eye," I told him.

"That's for sure," Lars agreed. "But what have you thought? We need to do something,"

"Yes," I breathed, taking my last drag from the cigar with my eyes fixed on the mountains, "We need to do some digging,"

~

"Where's your lovely sister?" I asked Theoron the next day when I met him for breakfast. It was only the two of us. The breakfast was arranged in one of Theoron's lavish gardens that overlooked the city and the rest of the sea.

It was a pleasant morning with the sun out in the clear sky, accompanied by a gentle cool breeze, ensuring that the sun didn't heat us much. The blueness of the sky could make anyone cheerful, but despite all these, a light tension buzzed in the air.

"She likes to spend the morning alone in her garden," Theoron answered me politely, but I could see that he almost had to grind his words out.

"I've heard your sister has exceptional knowledge of plants," I told him.

"Yes, she is exceptional," Theoron agreed. His dismissing tone didn't go unnoticed by me. "Khazar and Nanda will be arriving today," He informed me before I could bring up anything else. "We can get down to discussing about the Zuncans in detail then"

"Yes, that's a looming issue," I replied, matching his serious tone. "How much prepared are you against them as of now?"

"Currently, my only strength is the dam on our northern river of Somaya. If I see his army coming, I can open the dam to flood their lower regions,"

"That's a good one, but not enough to hold them for long," I commented. He nodded.

"My army could fight them for a week, but apart from that, I am not that prepared,"

"What about the priestesses?" I blurted out without thinking much, "I've heard that they have extraordinary powers and have played decisive roles in wars since the beginning of time,"

I saw him clench his jaw and straighten up a bit, but apart from that, he didn't show much of his emotions.

"The Priestesses are a great asset for us," The pauses in his words suggested that he was choosing them with immense care, "But they have their mind of their own," I could hear the despise in his putridly flowery voice. "I'd say Mages are more dependable,"

"Mages are good," I agreed, "They can do all kinds of magic... but that's their very weakness. They can only do magic like changing someone's appearance, casting a love spell on someone... you know what I mean," I told him darkly. Theoron gave me a long and hard look. I could see how his body was tensed up.

Though before he could say anything, Theoron's sister arrived to join us for the breakfast.

"Good morning, everyone," She chirped. She cast me a polite smile, but I didn't fail to notice how her eyes lingered on Theoron for a second longer, as if she was looking for some kind of validation from him.

Though he completely ignored her.

"We were talking about you," I told her as she sat beside Theoron.

"Oh," Theresa breathed, her cheeks instantly flooding with warmth before she looked between us.

"Your brother told me that you possess exceptional knowledge of plants and medicines," I claimed. Theresa smiled briefly, but she looked uncomfortable as she shifted in her chair a bit.

"Why don't you show him the new flowers you've been working on?" Theoron offered.

"Erm, the new flowers? Oh, yes, the new flowers that I've been working on!" Theresa remembered suddenly and gave me a polite smile. "I'll love to have some guests in my nursery,"

"It'll be my honour," I told her. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. I could see the anxiousness building up in her.

"Also, why don't you show him around the capital?" Theoron suggested next. "I'd have loved to take him myself, but I must overlook some preparations. I'm yet to receive more guests," Theoron said with a short, fake laugh.

"Sure," I smiled, "I would love to spend some time with your sister,"

_