Chapter 25

Rae

My heart nearly stopped as I noticed Landon’s eye was still on me. I waited for him to act. But he didn’t move.

He just stood there, staring.

The silence between us stretched unnaturally long, and I knew he suspected something.

I felt like running away, but instead, I smiled wearily, trying to hide the fact that I had just heard everything he said.

“I thought Von was here!” I said coyly. “I’m sorry for interrupting you.”

I didn’t wait for him to reply. I forced myself to walk at a steady pace as I took steps backward.

I kept glancing over my shoulder, expecting him to be right behind me.

But he wasn’t.

The fact that he didn’t come after me was weird. Maybe he was planning to do something even worse or maybe he thought I didn’t overhear him.

My thoughts kept racing and at some point, I managed to tune it down. I continued my search for Von, turning down another hallway.

I arrived at his study and I realized he wasn’t there and as I made my way downstairs I nearly collided with one of the guards.

“Where’s Von?” I asked, trying to keep the urgency from my voice.

The guard glanced at me before answering, “He left the palace about twenty minutes ago.”

I clenched my jaw in frustration. Damn it. Of all times for him to be gone, why now?

There was no point in searching further, not if he had left.

I exhaled sharply, trying to control the uneasy feeling spinning in my gut. With no other options, I turned back to the room. I was hoping Anna was still there. I was sure she would be angry that I had just stormed off like that.

I focused on the words I was going to say to her when I returned to the room but as I got closer my eyes landed on Von’s room.

The smell of smoke filled my nostrils and I found myself reliving the past.

“Get a grip of yourself!” I said inwardly, forcing myself to take steps forward.

I forced myself to focus on the words I was about to tell Anna but the moment I stepped inside my room, my stomach dropped and the thoughts churning inside my mind died.

Anna wasn’t in the room.

And Landon was here, sitting on the bed with a bright smile on his face.

Every muscle in my body tensed, my fingers twitching at my sides.

Landon's smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

He took a step forward. “Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?”

I fought to keep my expression neutral, but my pulse was hammering wildly.

I knew if I showed any sign of fear, he’d see right through me. I forced a small scoff, shaking my head. “I just wasn’t expecting company.”

He hummed as if considering my words, but his sharp gaze didn’t waver from my face.

Then he moved closer.

The air in the room felt suffocating as he towered over me. I forced myself to stay still, to not shrink away.

“You need to be very careful where you step girl,” he murmured.

So he knew I heard him. Of course, he did.

“Do you know what happens to people when they play with fire?” He asked in a stern voice and I shook my head.

“Don’t act like you don’t know!” He said with a sly smile. “You almost experienced it.”

“I don’t get what you’re saying.” I pretended to be lost. To be clueless but he saw right through me.

Landon took a step backward. “A closed mouth will save you from trouble and an open one would lead to a death you can’t escape.”

My breath hitched. That wasn’t a warning. It was a threat.

As I stared back at him. I saw his expression shift as if he had suddenly remembered something else. “Where’s Von?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.

I stiffened. “I don’t know,” I said. “He’s not here.”

He stared at me closely as if trying to analyze if I was lying. He was about to speak when the door swung open.

Von walked in.

I felt relieved at the sight of him, but I quickly masked it, not wanting to draw any more suspicion. Von’s gaze flicked between me and Landon, his brows furrowing slightly.

“What’s going on?” he asked, in a firm tone.

Landon was the first to answer. “I was just checking up on her,” he said smoothly. “I heard the maids whispering about the fire incident she was involved in. I came to confirm if it was true.“

Von nodded, his expression unreadable. “It was.”

Landon’s gaze flickered toward me briefly before he smirked. “I feel so bad. I was sleeping so deeply that I didn’t know what had happened until I came outside my room.”

Von sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was a horrible experience.”

“I’m just glad no one got hurt,” Landon added.

“Me too,” Von said, and suddenly his face became serious.

“I actually have something I want to talk to you about,” he told Landon. “Let’s go.”

Landon gave me one last lingering glance before following Von out of the room.

The second they were gone, I collapsed onto my bed, pressing a shaking hand to my chest. My body was trembling from fear.

Landon had threatened me. It was clear he was waiting for me to slip up so he could end me.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I needed to be smart. I needed to get ahead of him before he could do anything worse.

I needed to warn Von.

Before I could even sit up, the door swung open again, and this time, it was Anna.

She crashed into me with a tight hug, her arms squeezing my shoulders as she pulled back, her face full of worry.

“Where did you run off to?” she demanded.

I swallowed hard, touched by her concern, but my mind was too occupied to focus on that. I forced a small smile, trying to reassure her. “I wanted to thank Von,”

“Here you go lying to me once again.” She said with a frown on her face. “Why do you keep doing this Rae? Why do you continue keeping things from me? I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends and I’m not keeping anything from you.” I lied.

“You keep saying this but I can see through your words. You’ve been trying to cover up something and I’m not going to stop pestering you until you speak up.”

I sighed, realizing I was cornered. There was no execution or words I was going to say to Anna to distract her from this situation.

She wasn’t going to buy her act.

“It’s about Von,” I admitted.

“What happened to him?”

I hesitated, glancing toward the door, which was slightly open. I couldn’t say it here. I didn’t know who might be listening.

I turned back to Anna, lowering my voice. “I can’t say it here,” I whispered.

Anna’s face darkened. “I know the perfect place where we can talk.”