Chapter 163 The scent of vengeance

Chapter 163 The scent of vengeance
..........The man's face. She had known it before the spell. Had seen it clearly in the forest. Had recognized him.

But now, even in the nightmare, his features would not resolve. Would not come clear. The spell protected him. Hid him. Made him invisible even to her own memories.

Lila woke gasping. Bolt upright in bed. Her heart hammered so hard it hurt. Sweat soaked through her nightdress.

The room was dark. Silent. Empty. But the nightmare clung to her skin like oil.

Not a balcony. Never a balcony. That had been a lie. A story created to hide the truth.

Celeste had been murdered during a royal hunt. Her horse poisoned. Her death deliberate. And Lila had witnessed it all while hiding in the forest, having disobeyed her confinement to try to protect her sister.

The faceless man. The workshop supplies tied to his horse. The chemicals on his hands.

She had known him. Before the spell, she had seen his face clearly. Had known exactly who murdered her sister.

But the spell had stolen that knowledge. Left her with fragments. With nightmares that showed everything except the one detail that mattered most.

Who.

A knock at the door made her jump. She grabbed the blanket, pulling it around herself.

"Who is there?"

"Maya." The voice was muffled. "I heard you scream. Are you alright?"

Lila opened the door. Maya stood in the corridor, a shawl thrown over her nightdress, her face creased with worry.

"Another nightmare?" Maya entered without waiting for invitation. She saw Lila's face and her expression turned grim. "A bad one."

"I remembered." Lila's voice was hollow. "Maya, I remembered. The hunt. Celeste's death. You were there. We snuck out together. We watched it happen."

Maya went very still. Her face drained of color. "You remember me being there?"

"Yes. You were my lady in waiting. You helped me escape my confinement. You tried to stop me from revealing myself when Celeste fell." Lila's hands shook. "Maya, you saw it too. You saw the man inject her horse. You saw him murder the Queen."

Maya sank onto the bed. Her hands covered her face. "I hoped you would never remember that. Hoped the spell had taken it from both of us."

"It did not take it from you? You remember everything?"

"Everything except his face. I saw him clearly that day. Knew who he was. But when the spell was cast, when your memories were altered, mine were too. Anyone who witnessed became unable to identify him." Maya's voice cracked. "I have been living with this knowledge for four years. Knowing the Queen was murdered. Knowing I saw it happen. But unable to tell anyone because I cannot remember who did it."

"His workshop. His supplies. The chemicals." Lila grabbed Maya's hands. "You worked in the palace then. You knew the staff. The craftsmen. Whose workshop would have those supplies?"

"The weapon master. The head craftsman. The royal physician. Any of them could have the equipment and knowledge." Maya met her eyes. "But the weapon master's workshop was always the most extensive. Blades. Chemicals. Poisons for treating metal. Everything needed to create the compound that killed that horse."

"Gerrit." The name tasted like ash.

"I cannot be certain. The face will not come clear even now. But the evidence points to him. The journals Marcus found. The chemical samples. And now your memory of the murder itself." Maya's voice hardened. "He killed the Queen. Framed you. Stole both our memories to protect himself. And he has been free for four years while you suffered."

Lila stood. Paced the small room. Her mind raced.

"We need proof. Real proof. Not just nightmares and blocked memories. If there was a royal hunt that day, there would be records. Documentation of who attended. Reports of the accident."

"I can search the archives again. But Lila, this is dangerous. If he realizes you are remembering, if he knows the spell is failing—"

"Let him know." Lila's voice was cold. "Let him realize I am coming for him. That his secrets are surfacing. That justice is finally catching up."

"That will make you a target."

"I already am a target. Have been since the moment I witnessed my sister's murder." Lila turned to face Maya fully. "But I am not the helpless prisoner he made me anymore. I know how to fight. And I will not hide from the truth any longer."

Maya nodded slowly. "Then we do this carefully. We gather evidence. We build a case so strong even the blurred face cannot save him. And we make certain when we strike, we do not miss."

"Agreed." Lila's hands clenched. "Find those records. Prove there was a hunt that day. Prove Celeste died in the forest, not from a balcony. Prove the entire story the kingdom believes is a lie."

Maya left to begin her dangerous search. Lila remained in the small room, the nightmare still vivid in her mind.

A forest. A hunt. A sister who would not listen to warnings. A confinement she had violated out of desperate love. A murder she had witnessed but could not name.

All of it real. All of it true. And all of it hidden behind spells and lies for four terrible years.

But the truth was coming. Memory by memory. Piece by piece. Soon the final barrier would fall. The face would clear. And then there would be a reckoning.

Lila touched her hands. The same hands that had covered her mouth to stifle screams as her sister died. The same hands that now knew how to fight. How to defend. How to attack.

Those hands would find justice. Would make the killer pay. Would ensure Celeste's death was finally avenged.

Soon. Very soon. The nightmare would end and reality would take its place.

And with it, vengeance for the Queen who had died alone in a forest while her killer walked free.