"Of course, Fae cannot be a witch. You cannot be both. It’s against the very nature of your kind. I just happen not to be your kind." Elena grinned sinisterly.
"What are you talking about?" Andre’s mind reeled, thinking of all the clues he might have missed regarding Elena’s identity. When nothing made sense to him, he shut his eyes and steadied his breathing.
He opened them and asked calmly, "If you are not Elena, who are you then?" Possessions were common with humans, not Fae. It was nearly impossible.
Elena pointed a hand to her chest. "You seriously don’t remember me?"
"I know Elena, not whoever you are claiming to be," he replied.
She told him, "You know, you were there that night."
"What night?" Andre was confused. "I have seen many nights since the day I was born. Perhaps you should specify which?"
Elena looked at him and laughed. "You might not have killed her, but you’re guilty as charged as the rest of your brothers."
At the mention of "killed her," Andre quirked an eyebrow, realizing he was in trouble. As a prince with a lot of responsibility to the kingdom, he had done some things he was not proud of for the sake of his family and kingdom. Not to mention, his own selfish needs.
Andre guessed whoever possessed Elena must have been a victim of his bad choices and wanted revenge. However, why was she after Islinda? The human had been her target from the very start. Neither was he and Islinda close enough for her to be used as leverage against him. But then, she did mention his brothers, and there could only be two idiots who could put Islinda in this situation. Valerie and Aldric. Oh great.
He schooled his expression, unwilling to give Elena the illusion that she had the upper hand even though the situation was not looking good for him. Never in his life had Andre had so much power but felt so useless.
Andre asked her, "What did I do exactly?"
"You covered up for him."
"Cover up for who exactly?"
"Your brother, Valerie, obviously!" She snapped at him.
"Oh." Andre then said, "In case you haven’t noticed, I’m usually the one cleaning up all of my brother’s messes, so if you will add a little detail to the crime I committed this time to be held hostage like this, although logically speaking, I walked right into this one. But the information would be highly appreciated." He tried his best to be polite, knowing how sensitive this must be for her to have come this far.
However, Elena’s face darkened and she asked in a low, tense tone, "You don’t even remember her? While she rots away in the earth, here you are ignorant of your crime and living the best of your life...." She choked. "It’s unfair."
"Elena, look—"
"It’s Lola."
"What?"
"The name of the witch now in possession of this body. Elena is gone forever." She introduced herself.
Andre swallowed as the hard truth was thrown in his face. Elena was gone. Her shell of a body was being controlled by a witch who has a vendetta against him, his brothers, and Islinda. Fear flickered in his eyes but it was gone as soon as it came. He was no coward.
"Tell me then, whose death did I cover up, please? This conversation has been going on and on without a clear direction, in case you haven’t noticed."
Lola began, "Valerie hired a witch for a soul swap for his beloved Islinda. He wanted them to be together, but without the confines of her human skin. How sweet..." She said sarcastically.
Andre finally remembered but said nothing as Lola continued, "He knew the risks involved. Knew that it was forbidden, but then, who could punish him, he was the beloved crown prince? So he went ahead to involve my sister Dorcas in his plan, even knowing the chances of provoking his mad brother. And sure enough, he did...." Lola laughed, almost sounding like she had lost her mind.
"A family of mentally unstable princes. The foolish brother got Dorcas under the radar of the psychopathic one. Do you know I saw it all? Took a lot to recreate the scene, but I did it. Saw the way Aldric took her life without even batting an eye. She never ever had a chance and I could only imagine how scared Dorcas must have felt staring death in the face. There had been no one to help her. She was all alone. All alone against a monster t—that took her away from me....." Lola’s voice began to break, unable to hold back the emotions as her eyes filled with tears.
"You loved her," Andre saw through her excuse of Dorcas being a sister. He had actually thought they were related biologically. But now it all made sense. Why she pursued revenge desperately. Love made people do crazy things.
"What do you know? You Fae with your twisted games. What do you know about love? Have you even properly loved a person?"
"I have."
"What?" Lola was taken aback, having not expected that answer.
"Or I thought I was."
"What?"
"Met her during one of my many journeys in the human realm. We were happy together. For the first time, I thought I had everything that I could ever want in my entire life. I could have given up my life, my future, everything I had here for her, but that clearly didn’t happen. She betrayed me the moment she learned what I was."
"And what did you do? Killed her to hide her secret?" Lola guessed, unsurprised. "I know your kind, everything you do is for your own selfish purpose!"
"I left and never saw her till the day she died of old age," Andre answered her.
"Liar."
Andre did not take offense, smiling in understanding. He did not blame her. His kind were not exactly good with forgiveness and Fae usually left nothing but destruction in their wake.
"I am Fae. I do not lie," he reminded her.
Lola opened her mouth to refute his words, having lied about Islinda until she recalled her "special situation." Fine then. He was telling the truth.
She stepped closer to the invisible barrier that could only be felt and was the only thing keeping Andre from reaching for her. She said, "And why are you telling me this? For me to change my mind."
"Exactly," Andre answered.
Lola burst into laughter. Minutes later, her face became a cold mask. "You must be kidding me right now."
"It is honestly for your own good," Andre told her. "You are not going to win."
Lola stared at him, speechless. She burst into laughter, saying to him, "I don’t need to win. I have already won. While you were cozying up in your little cell, I already took charge of everything. Right now, Islinda has been locked away in her tiny, pretty cell alongside her other accomplices for the murder of Lord Karle."
"What the hell?!" Andre let out a string of profanities. "What are you planning, Elena, no, Lola? What is your endgame?"
Elena’s eyes gleamed with a mixture of amusement and menace. "Didn’t you say that I wouldn’t win? Sounds to me like I have won. Also, don’t worry, I’ll tell you what I have in store for Aldric, Islinda and perhaps if there’s enough time, we would have a bit of fun as well."
Andre’s jaw tightened, his gaze hardening. "Aldric would make you regret the day you were born the moment he recovers from whatever spell you used on him. He would kill you."
"Really? Death?" Elena scoffed, unimpressed, "Is that what I should be scared of? I already saw my end coming the moment I took up this mission and that is why nothing deters me. And as for your celebrated villain, he would not do a thing, not when I have him tightly under my control. After all, I have great plans for him. And don’t worry, you’ll soon have him back to his senses, after he realizes that he killed the human he loves." She cackled wickedly.
"No, you won’t do such a thing!" Andre smiled knowingly, "Now it makes sense, you were the one who attempted to kill Islinda at the palace, right? I should have known." He laughed, "Your first attempt failed. Your second attempt would fail again. Islinda is more than what you think she is and I’m sure you know that considering you’ve tried already."
Lola chuckled. "Very well, then. We shall see who wins in the end. After all, even immortal Fae do die. Whatever Islinda is, I’ll find her own death. But for now, I suggest you save your strength. You’ll need it when I’m back for you."
With that, Lola in the form of Elena turned away.
"Come back here! Let me out of here, witch!" He shouted, hitting and kicking at the barrier all to no avail.
As she walked away, a smile split Elena’s face, her mind already racing ahead, plotting her next move.
She had many pieces to play and many enemies to outmaneuver. But for now, she allowed herself a moment of satisfaction. The game was in her hands, and she intended to play it to the very end.