In the quiet of her chamber, Athena pulled off the white shawl she'd worn for the council dinner—chosen specifically to wash her out beneath the candlelight.
"I saw her," she said, turning to Lucas and Cassius. "She whispered to the Southern Ridge Alpha."
"Too obvious?" Lucas asked.
"No," Cassius replied. "She thinks she's cloaked in brilliance. That's the trap."
Athena pulled a scroll from behind the dresser. "This is the decoy report she planted about my loss of control. We'll 'accidentally' find it in her assistant's quarters tomorrow."
"And when the Alpha comes to speak to you—"
"I'll show him a mirror of his own conversations. Let him think the palace listens to everything. Let them all think that."
Lucas leaned forward. "This only works if she still thinks she's three steps ahead."
"She will," Athena said softly. "Because I'm letting her."
Marcella
By morning, the palace was humming. Marcella sipped her tea with satisfaction as two guards rushed past her.
