Chapter 81: The ruse
For the next couple of days, Meliše did everything she could to get close to the king, but to no avail.
The guard, Hael, never left the king's sight. She clenched the fabric of her robes between her fingers, her long nails pressing into her palms. Each coy smile, each lingering touch—wasted. The king hardly spared her a glance. Her lips curled into a silent snarl before she smoothed them into a thin line.
"Am I not as beautiful as I once thought?" She wondered to herself, but when she brought a hand-held mirror to her face, she couldn't help frowning. She angled the mirror, tilting her head, searching for flaws she knew did not exist. Her reflection stared back, flawless as ever—dark curls cascading over delicate shoulders, lips curved in a practiced pout. And yet, the king remained unmoved. She let out a quiet hiss, snapping the mirror shut.
"I need to find a moment when he's alone, but that blasted guard is always by his side. What should I do?" She asked the baby in her arms, who cooed at her in response.
"If I don't complete this task, Dicaeus will take away my powers, and we can't have any of that."
She bit her lower lip as she contemplated on what to do before an idea came to mind.
Grabbing hold of the child's little hand, she shook it lightly with a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Looks like I'm going to have to borrow some of your power, little one." The baby cooed in response.
She then lifted a hand, hovering it over the child before using her index finger to create a pattern on the child's head. A pale glow seeped from her fingertips, curling like mist around the infant's form. The child let out a soft coo before its limbs melted into shadows, its body stretching and twisting into sleek, polished wood. The sound of whispering steel filled the air as the transformation solidified. When the glow faded, the child was gone. In its place, a staff hovered, darker than the night sky.