It had been days, and I hadn''t heard anything more about Darren. I waspletely focused on solving the brainwashing in the kingdom. We now had some suspects and detailed descriptions of methods that were used. Lyle and I were going over the evidence when Milo burst into the room.


    "Is it true?!" he growled, putting Lyle immediately on the defensive.


    "Is what true?" Lyle nced at me and I gave him a small shrug. I had no idea what he was talking about either.


    "You''re sleeping with your brother''s mate!"


    Milo yelled, and I spit the tea I was sipping all over the ce. Lyle quickly moved behind me and began patting my back.


    "What the hell, dad?!" Lyle growled as he looked at my face. "Are you okay?"


    "Not really." I looked at Milo. "Lyle has fallen asleep on the couch a few times, but I would hardly call it sleeping in my room. But you didn''t mean just sleeping, did you?"


    "Are you cheating on Darren?"


    Someone hold my crown, because I''m about to explode. Me?! Cheating on him? That wasn''t the evidence that I was given. It


    was quite the opposite! Though, I had chosen not to believe it. I was going to trust Darren until he gave me a reason to rip his heart out. However, I was quite offended at being used of being the one cheating.


    "How could you-"


    "Dad, do you honestly believe it?" Lyle interrupted me. His voice sounded more annoyed than anything. He grabbed a towel and began cleaning up the tea I had spit out.


    "It isn''t true then?" Milo let out a breath, and I snapped.


    "Of course it isn''t true! Honestly, Milo, the usation is appalling. How could I ever betray Darren like that? I love Darren, and-"


    "I have pictures.” Milo lifted his hand out, revealing a stack of photos. My eyes immediately widened, and I thought about the images that I had received of Darren and the mystery woman.


    Lyle was in front of him in an instant, plucking the pictures from his hands. He brought them to the desk and spread them out. There was an image where Lyle had his head leaning in close, his hand on my cheek.


    "That is when you were getting the eysh out of my eye." I clicked my tongue, moving on to the next. Each of the pictures that were taken were of a moment that waspletely innocent. They were real pictures, and without context, it looked as if I was cheating on Darren. Just like the pictures we had received of Darren


    which put me more at ease, until I realized someone Chapter 90


    was taking these pictures. And one of them was taken in the royal wing. It was a picture of Lyle holding my arm while we walked into my bedroom. I was exhausted. The baby was really draining me and I almost fell. Lyle said he would escort me all the way to the bed. Once again, it was innocent, but the pictures. were damning.


    Lyle flipped to another photo. "And here," he continued, pointing to an image that feigned intimacy, "they captured at moment of her consoling me. I was feeling like a failure, and that I was letting Darren down. Every photo here is nothing more than innocent reactions between a brother and his sister."


    "I assure you, these pictures may look bad, but it was because of them being taken at an opportune moment. I didn''t tell you about this, but we also received photos of Darren with another woman." Lyle looked at his father. "And they made him look as if he was cheating on Issy. We talked it over, and Issy reminded me that things were not like they seemed. She decided to believe in him. And I hope, if he receives these pictures, he will do the same. However, we have someone in the kingdom moving around undetected. Someone who is getting past security."


    "I''m sorry." Milo let out a breath and looked at me with apologetic eyes. "Please forgive me. I saw the pictures and jumped to conclusions. But if someone is taking these pictures, then they are using very advanced magic and are fully cloaked."


    "Could it be like before, when I was pushed?" I asked, and Lyle nodded his head. "I was already thinking that might be the case. These are not Chapter 90


    cheap parlor tricks. To be undetected... but they have their limits. Like this office and the bedrooms... they arepletely warded. They couldn''t enter... maybe we should ward all the halls as well. Maybe the entire kingdom-''


    "We can''t! What about the fairy messengers? I don''t want to do anything that could stop them from traveling freely. Those messages are our lifeline to Darren."


    "Agreed," Lyle nodded, his voice firm. "But we must be tactical. Whoever is behind this would know that we would put this together." His brows furrowed. "Why would they send these photos to my father? I understand sending them to Darren, but why Milo? They would know that we would know immediately that magic is involved."


    "Think, Allissa, think!" I muttered to myself, running a frustrated hand through my brown hair. I stared at Darren''s desk as if it had the answers. "Wait..." I started sifting through the papers on the desk until I reached one of the evidence sheets. It had devices on it called moon lenses. They were conduits of magic that could be used to see in different locations. Like an undetected camera with an invisible lens. "This might not be the same thing at all from when I was pushed, but something entirely different." I handed the paper to Lyle.


    "Damn, we''ve been blind..." he began, the realization dawning upon him. "Moon lenses were used to spy on the Waiting, and of course they could be used to spy on us."


    I grabbed the photos and held them up. "Look. These were pictures of the screen they used. You can tell by the minor glow


    from the sh. I didn''t even pay attention to the slight light streaks before, but now they make sense. These weren''t taken in person, but through the lens.”


    "All these years... I never knew." Milo pursed his lips, shaking


    his head.


    "It changes now. Tonight, we take back control," I looked at Milo. "Tonight, we arrest every noble involved and ce them in holding cells for questioning. We strike at the heart of this treachery and do what has to be done."


    Lyle nodded in agreement. "I''ll gather the special soldiers. We''ll need them to strike at the same time and capture everyone in a coordinated attack, leaving no room for error."


    Darren, this is one less thing you''ll have to worry about. We have everything we need, and it''s time to put an end to brainwashing. It''s time to hold the traitorous nobles responsible for their actions. I''m going to protect our kingdom and clean out the infestation of deception. Our kingdom will be a better ce when you return. I''ll hold our love in my heart and remember to trust in you and our bond.


    Darren, today, your queen will be fierce. The people will learn that, even in your absence, the kingdom is well taken care of. This will be my first real act... not just as your queen but THE queen. I''m


    ready and I''m going to make you proud.