And yet—here she was, a healer, offering comfort to weathered hands that reached for hers in gratitude.
Two sides of a coin.
One who could mend—and one who could destroy.
Which was her true nature?
Or, more dangerously?—
Was she both?
“I have prepared you another concoction for your hands, and I hope it will last longer,” Elizabeth assured the older woman, her voice carrying a promise as delicate as the lace at her collar.“I promise I will stay in touch better next time.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.You’re such a powerful healer,” the woman praised, her voice warm with gratitude.She shuffled toward the door, stepping out into the creeping dusk, leaving behind a silence thick with implications.
Elizabeth sighed, leaning against the closed door, the moment’s weight pressing into her bones.
She never saw me coming.
I stepped forward, emerging from the darkness like a specter of truth, a shadow cast in flesh and intent.
Our eyes met.
Horror.
It flashed across her face, her blue eyes wide with the terror of being discovered.
She didn’t breathe.
She was a doe caught in a hunter’s sights for a single heartbeat—frozen, waiting, calculating her escape.
Then—
The sound of boots on the forest floor.
Elizabeth’s gaze snapped to the windows, her body rigid as the realization sank in.
My men had arrived.
They were an unrelenting force, surrounding the cottage like wolves closing in on their prey.
The net was tightening, and at its center was Elizabeth Alexander—vulnerable, exposed, no longer the enigma hidden beneath layers of secrecy.
“So, you took over my role in France.”
My voice was devoid of hesitation, betraying none of the inner turmoil being near her evoked.
Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak.
She knew what I meant.
“You’re the one who threw the poison.The one who wiped out the entire French Timehunter society.”
The accusation hung between us, as damning as the Noctyss flower she had wielded.
Elizabeth shook her head, her breath sharp and shaky.
“No!”she cried, her voice slicing through the tension.“I’m not part of my father’s twisted game.”
