Chapter 177: 177-A deal with the devil
Maisa’s breath stopped. The suspicion in Addessa’s voice was no longer tentative. It was an accusation waiting for a name.
’Stop. Please don’t put this blame on me. I had no clue that the medicines had this side effect,’ she cried inwardly.
She wanted to scream at them to stop talking because they were getting too close. Too close to the truth Maisa had buried beneath her silence.
The mysterious benefactor had promised to help her. They had offered something she desperately wanted, something that might change her life and free her from the pain of being powerless to the bond’s backlash. And Maisa, like a fool, had accepted the help without questions and for a moment she even believed that she was winning.
She had told herself she was making a sensible decision, that whatever the price, she could handle it. She hadn’t understood that the price might be the very thing connecting her to the people she loved.
Now, standing before them, she could feel the consequences tightening around her throat. It was like a chain wrapped around her neck and it was choking her.
"Maisa," Varitreya’s voice was quiet when she called her. Too quiet.
Maisa looked up at her. The princess had noticed her reaction. Of course she had, she was observant, intelligent, and far more perceptive than Maisa wanted her to be.
She could read the smallest changes in a person’s expression, catch hesitation between words, and notice fear someone tried desperately to hide. It was part of the training she received growing up.
Now she looked at Maisa as though she had discovered another piece of the puzzle.
"Do you know something?" Varitreya asked. "Is there something you want to come clean about?"
Maisa’s lips parted. For one terrible second the truth rose to the tip of her tongue. She could tell them everything: that she had received help, made a mistake, and was frightened without knowing how to undo it. She could ask them to help her recover what she had lost.
But what if they hated her? What if Addessa looked at her with disappointment? What if Lumi accused her of recklessness? What if Zolani laughed at her foolishness?
And Varitreya...? Maisa couldn’t bear the thought of seeing that gentle concern disappear from the princess’s eyes. She could already imagine the warmth leaving them. The careful hand withdrawing and the bond’s silence becoming something chosen not something that was happening to them.
So she swallowed the truth. "No," she whispered. "I don’t know anything."
Varitreya stared at her. Maisa stared back, desperately hoping the princess would believe her. For several heartbeats in staring contest, Maisa felt as though the princess could see through to her soul.
Then Varitreya released her hand. The loss of contact was immediate. Her palm went cold. "Alright."
The word was simple and it carried no reassurance. Maisa’s chest tightened as she could see that the princess had something more to say but chose not to.
Varitreya stepped away and her expression was unreadable. "If you remember anything, tell us."
"I will."
Another lie flowed out from her parted lips. This time, Maisa could barely stand hearing herself say it.
Addessa moved closer to Varitreya, her gaze lingering on Maisa with concern and suspicion. Lumi remained silent, clearly unconvinced. Zolani, meanwhile, studied Maisa as though she were a fascinating riddle whose answer had been deliberately hidden.
The others had stopped trying to awaken the bond but they hadn’t stopped searching for answers. Their suspicion had hardened into something deliberate, and Maisa could feel them silently comparing every hesitation, every lie, every frightened glance. She knew that that was far more dangerous.
Because sooner or later, they would discover what she had done and when that happened, the silence between them might not be the only thing she would lose.
"Can I go now?"
Varitreya stepped aside and strangely enough, the others didn’t stop her either. They all stepped out of her way and watched her leave.
That walk out was long and felt unending even though it had taken her seven steps to enter. Maisa clasped her fingers tightly at her dress and held herself together.
’Forgive me. I never meant to fall into this trap and worry all of you.’
Zolani and Lumi felt like extras in the room. As it stood, they had come over only because of the bond and now, they had no more reason to stay put.
"I’m leaving. I have schoolwork to get started on," Lumi excused herself.
"I’ll come with you," Zolani joined her.
After the three left, the bathroom door opened and Taratoya stepped out. Varitreya met her eyes and the coldness those white eyes held was enough to freeze the room over.
"Now do you believe me?" Taratoya asked, walking in. "I was telling the truth."
"Spare me the fake morality, Teetee."
Taratoya inched closer. "I am alot of things, cousin. I keep secrets, holding information, misguide people and scheme my way into everything I want but I don’t lie with words. I omit when I need to and avert the subject to suit me but I never use words that are false."
Varitreya grabbed a vase from the table and smashed it into the ground.
Smash!
The pieces scattered across the ground with loud noise. The princess stared at her cunning cousin, her eyes were bloodshot red and the veins in her body seemed close to exploding.
"I want the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. Give me that or get lost with your half-truths!" She demanded from Taratoya.
"Vari..."
"Step back, Addie. I am talking with my cousin and I don’t need you to interfere between us," she stopped Addessa from coming between them.
"I can give you the truth you want. Not just about Maisa but about aunt Kheamossa and her visit to Felor," she said.
Taratoya knew well that to catch a shark, one shouldn’t use bait but they should charm the water with blood. Since she needs Varitreya to help her accomplish the task given by the master so that she gets her late mother’s belongings, she’d first get the princess hooked.
When Varitreya heard about the truth of Felor, she took the bait despite knowing Taratoya was playing her. "What do you want from me?"
"Simple, I want you all to fall madly in love with Maisa and in return... Not only will I give the truth, I will add a gift that neither of you will be able to refuse."
Varitreya scoffed. Truly of her wicked cousin, there wasn’t a soul that Taratoya wouldn’t manipulate to satisfy her agendas.
"I never thought I’d see the day that you would play your little games with me," she spoke. "But tell me one thing, how is the four of us falling in love with Maisa useful for you. What do you intend to gain from all it this?"
Taratoya stilled but didn’t say a word of response. Her agendas and goals were for her to know about, it wasn’t anyone else’s business.
"You are benefitting from this. Just focus on what you are gaining and don’t trouble your head with what I am getting, alright."
Varitreya didn’t like the sound of that at all. She hated having to be at the mercy of her cousin. But she also couldn’t deny that she desperately wanted to know what her mother had compelled her to forget so despite her displeasure, she gave in.
"You have yourself a deal. I will comply and the others too," she agreed to the deal with the devil out of desperation. "But tell me, what are you going to do about Maisa not feeling us in this plan of yours?" She asked. "You can’t expect us to handle that. I tell you now that I won’t clean up someone else’s mess."