Chapter 27 Alliance
Margot leaned back in her chair, studying Lila with the calculating gaze of a predator assessing prey. The candlelight cast sharp shadows across her face, making her beautiful features appear almost cruel.
"You want access to Prince Theo." Margot's voice was thoughtful. "And you're willing to trade information about Celeste's plans to get it. That's quite a shift from the passive little sister who used to hide in towers."
"People change when they're pushed far enough." Lila kept her voice steady despite her racing heart. "So tell me, Margot. What do you really want? What's your endgame in all this manipulation?"
"Power." The answer came without hesitation. "I want a position at court that can't be taken away. Influence that doesn't depend on who I'm sleeping with or who likes me this week. Real, permanent power." Her eyes glittered. "And I want Adrian to see me as valuable. Essential. Someone he needs at his side."
"You want to be Queen."
"Don't be absurd." Margot's laugh was sharp. "Adrian will never look at me that way. The mate bond ensures that. But I could be his chief advisor. His closest confidant. The woman who helps him rule when his actual mate is locked away being useless." She gestured at Lila's chambers. "No offense."
"None taken." Lila forced herself to remain calm. "So you're using Celeste's situation to position yourself as indispensable to Adrian."
"Exactly. When Celeste inevitably leaves with Garrett, someone needs to fill the void. Someone needs to help Adrian navigate the scandal, manage the fallout, maintain stability." Margot smiled. "That someone will be me. And Adrian will owe me everything."
"Except Celeste isn't planning to leave for months. Maybe longer." Lila played her first card. "She's waiting for leverage. Real leverage that ensures Adrian gives her exactly what she wants."
Margot's expression sharpened. "What leverage?"
"Letters. Between Adrian and Miriam the healer. Discussing the mate bond. Discussing strategies to keep me alive without claiming me." Lila watched Margot's face carefully. "Proof that could destroy Adrian's rule if presented to the High Court."
Silence filled the room. Margot absorbed this information, her mind clearly racing through implications and possibilities.
"Where are these letters now?"
"Celeste has them. Hidden somewhere in her chambers. She plans to use them to blackmail Adrian when she's ready to leave. Force him to give her wealth, independence, guaranteed custody of Theo, everything she wants." Lila leaned forward. "And when she gets it, she disappears to the southern kingdoms with Garrett. You get nothing."
"Unless I find those letters first." Understanding dawned in Margot's eyes. "If I had that evidence, I could control the situation. Use it to force Celeste out sooner. Position myself as the one who saved Adrian from scandal."
"Or you could destroy the letters entirely. Eliminate the threat. Make Adrian grateful for your loyalty." Lila kept her voice neutral. "Either way, you get what you want. Power. Position. Influence."
Margot stood, pacing across the room. Through the bond, Lila felt Adrian's distant presence. He was still awake, buried in correspondence, completely unaware of the alliance forming in Lila's chambers.
"Why tell me this?" Margot stopped, turning to face Lila. "You could have gone to Adrian directly. Warned him about the letters. Let him handle Celeste himself."
"Because Adrian is trapped by propriety and duty. He won't move against Celeste without absolute proof of wrongdoing. He'll wait and plan and try to find perfect solutions that don't exist." Lila met Margot's eyes. "But you're not bound by his constraints. You can act in ways he can't. Do things he won't."
"You want me to be your weapon." Admiration colored Margot's voice. "You really have changed."
"I want my nephew safe. I want access to him restored. I want Celeste's hold over this family broken." Lila's voice hardened. "How that happens doesn't matter to me anymore."
"And what about Adrian? The mate bond? Your grand tragic love story?"
"That's not your concern." The words came out sharper than intended. "My arrangement with you is about Theo. Nothing else."
Margot smiled slowly. "Fair enough. So here's what I propose. I find Celeste's hidden letters. Use them as leverage to expose her affair with Garrett publicly. Force the council to strip her custody rights based on adultery and abandonment." She moved closer. "In exchange, you provide me with information about Adrian's schedule, his moods, his vulnerabilities. Help me position myself as his most trusted advisor."
"No." Lila shook her head. "I won't help you manipulate Adrian. My alliance with you is about removing Celeste's power, not about giving you access to my mate."
"Your mate who you can't have." Margot's voice was sharp. "Your mate who's married to your sister. Your mate who's slowly dying inside because he can't claim you. What exactly are you protecting, Lila? A bond that brings nothing but suffering?"
The words cut deep because they were true. But Lila forced herself to stay focused. "Different terms. You expose Celeste's affair. I help you find the letters. We work together to force her hand, make her leave sooner rather than later. But Adrian remains off limits."
"Then what do I get in return? Why would I risk Celeste's wrath without significant reward?"
"Because I have something else you want." Lila played her final card. "Information about Lady Margaret's embezzlement from the southern province treasury. Records. Proof. Evidence that could destroy one of your biggest rivals at court."
Margot went very still. Lady Margaret was indeed her primary competition for influence. An older noblewoman with connections throughout five kingdoms, she'd blocked several of Margot's advancement attempts.
"You have proof of her crimes?"
"I know where to find it. Celeste discovered it months ago, planned to use it eventually. But she shared the location with me during one of her more vulnerable moments." Lila kept her expression neutral. "Give me that proof, and Margaret falls. One less obstacle between you and real power."
Margot considered for a long moment. Then she extended her hand. "Deal. We take down Celeste together. You get access to Theo. I get the letters and Margaret's evidence. Adrian stays off limits for now."
"For now?" Lila questioned.
"I'm pragmatic, not stupid. Eventually you and Adrian will either complete the bond or one of you will die from rejection. When that happens, I want to be positioned to pick up the pieces." Margot's smile was cold. "But until then, I'll respect your boundaries."
It wasn't perfect. It wasn't safe. But it was the best alliance Lila could forge. She took Margot's hand, felt the weight of the deal settling between them.
"How do we start?" Lila asked.
"We start by gathering real evidence of Celeste's affair. Not rumors or observations. Actual proof." Margot pulled out a small notebook. "I need you to tell me everything you know ab
out her schedule with Garrett. When they meet. Where. How discreet they are."