(Cherry’s POV)
For a moment, no one breathed.
The throne room held a tension so sharp it could have sliced skin.
The Flame stood there shoulders relaxed, expression soft but dangerously aware and the air around her vibrated with raw magic.
The broken glass on the floor glittered at her feet like fallen stars.
Her strange eyes drifted... and landed squarely on Cherry.
Cherry felt the look like a slap.
The mage tilted her head slowly, knowingly as if she could smell the magic leaking from Cherry’s very bones.
Damn it.
Cherry forced her mind inward, shoving every trace of magic deep, deep, deeper into the recesses of her core.
She sealed it behind mental walls, tightening them until her temples pulsed from the strain.
Just a little more for her to contain it from any foreign attack.
The Flame opened her mouth as if about to say something.
But Cherry cut her off immediately.
"What I want to know," Cherry snapped, stepping forward, "is why Rose would allow someone with magic into the pack when we banned it long ago."
She was not going to give this mysterious woman the space to speak.
Rose opened her mouth. "Well Cherry this lady here is-
But The Flame spoke first.
"Oh I’m not just someone with magic," she said sweetly. "I was the presiding mage of this royal pack. Many years ago. In the era when mages were still allowed to work in packs."
Cherry stiffened.
"I was here the day the royal princess went missing," The Flame continued, eyes flickering with memory and disdain. "I worked beside your mother. I watched the tragedy unfold. I searched for answers when everyone else cowered."
Cherry felt heat crawl up her neck.
"And I," The Flame added lightly, "was the one who found evidence that Princess Scarlett had survived her disappearance. That she bore a daughter."
Cherry’s throat closed.
She’s the one.
She’s the mage who made Rose abandon the search for Scarlett... and start searching for the child instead.
The mage who pointed Rose in the right direction.
The mage who could ruin everything.
The Flame’s smile sharpened as she watched realization flood Cherry’s face.
"I received word," the mage said, turning to Rose, "that you found the Princess. So of course I came to see her for myself."
Cherry’s blood ran cold.
She can’t see Auburn.
She must never see Auburn.
Cherry forced a smile that trembled at the edges. "That is good to hear but, I should go check something outside and-
But before she could take a step, the throne room doors flung open.
Auburn. Belle. Coral.
All rushing in.
Auburn hurried to Rose with forced concern, her acting so overdone Cherry wanted to claw her face off.
"Grandmother!" Auburn said breathlessly, hugging Rose. "The glasses in the palace shattered. I grew scared are you alright?"
Coral’s eyes widened immediately.
She knew.
Cherry saw it on her face the realization, the dread.
Coral looked at Cherry with a silent accusation that made Cherry’s stomach twist.
Rose hugged Auburn tightly. "I’m fine, darling."
The Flame’s gaze slid to Auburn.
Slow. Sharp. Studying.
"So," The Flame said softly, "who is this?"
Auburn flipped her curls proudly. "I am the heir to the throne, of course."
Cherry subtly tried to push a ripple of magic through the floor anything to create a distraction.
Nothing.
Nothing stirred.
Nothing twitched.
Nothing moved.
Her magic was dead.
As if the mage’s very presence suffocated it.
Cherry’s heart hammered. Damn her. Damn her magic.
The Flame turned slowly to Rose. "Your Majesty... I have seen your granddaughter before."
Auburn’s smile faltered.
"This," The Flame said, gesturing at Auburn, "is not her."
Auburn went paper-pale.
Belle actually covered her laugh.
Rose snapped in confusion, "What do you mean? This is my granddaughter! We saw her shift her power was so strong that she shattered the glass in the castle."
The Flame reached into her cloak.
Cherry’s heart dropped into her stomach.
"Stop." Cherry whispered, too late.
The Flame unraveled a scroll.
A sketch unfurled.
A face.
A girl with long lashes. Soft eyes. Violent curly hair. A gentle face that carried the blood of Scarlett like a mirror.
It was none other than Jasmine.
Coral gasped.
Belle grinned in triumph.
Auburn choked on her breath.
Cherry felt the world tilt.
The Flame lifted the scroll higher.
"This is the true daughter of the late Princess Scarlett," she announced. "This is your heir."
Rose’s hand flew to her chest.
"No..." Rose breathed. "But Auburn her power she..."
The Flame swung her gaze to Auburn.
"And that...." she said coldly, pointing.
The moment her finger landed on Auburn, Cherry’s magic drained from her like water from a shattered bowl.
Auburn’s body jerked.
Her wolf whimpered.
Her pulse spiked.
And in the blink of an eye
Her vibrant red hair lost all color
It faded, drained, collapsed until all that brown strands fell over her shoulders.
The room went silent.
Auburn reached up, grabbed a fistful of hair, and stared at it in horror.
"No," she whispered. "No no no NO!"
Cherry stumbled backward, breath trembling.
She couldn’t help her.
Not now.
Because The Flame had exposed everything.
Auburn was no princess.
Auburn was an impostor.
And Cherry’s entire world was slowly falling apart.
And then Rose turned to look at the scroll again, she pushed Auburn away and walked to the scroll the flame held up high.
She slowly collected the scroll from the flame and her finger traced the pages.
Tears filled her eyes.
"This is...." She sniffed again. "This is Jasmine".
The flames eyes shown. "Yes! That’s her name Jasmine."
Rose’s eyes went white.
"You know her?" The flame asked.
Rose began to vibrate.
"She came to me looking for her family and her wolf." The flame expressed. "It was after a while and research I added two and two together."
The flame paused and the looked at Rose. "How did you accept this imposter? Jasmine has the emerald necklace what does this imposter wear?"
Rose turned to Auburn and gave her a dirty slap her eyes blazing red.