Sorayah froze.
Arata's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she leaned in slightly, her lips curving into an almost teasing smile.
"I trust you already know that it wasn't His Highness, the Beta Lord, who gave the order," she murmured, her tone silky yet sharp. "Someone else sent your dear sister on that fateful errand to heaven."
She tilted her head, studying Sorayah's expression like a cat toying with a mouse. "Surely, you don't believe you can unravel the truth on your own? Without help? Without power?"
Oh, she knew. She had suspected it from the start. But before she acted, she needed to be certain. The truth was a weapon best wielded only when sharpened to perfection.
And besides, no one could be trusted. Not Arata. Not Dimitri. No one in this wretched mansion. The only person Sorayah could trust now was herself. She would handle things her own way, on her own terms.
But if she outright refused Arata's offer, she might as well be signing her own death warrant.
