Page 115 of Fallacies

The man smiles, amused by my question. “No,” he says, coming to a stop inches from where I stand. He lowers his head, closing some of the height difference between us, and those bright blue crystals stare straight into my soul. “Let’s talk about who you are first.”

The words crawl over my skin, stealing my breath.

Spine digging into the paneled wall behind me, I strengthen the steady stream of magic powering my illusion and clear my throat. “My name is Ales–”

“Don’t lie to me, Lucina.”

If my heart were made of glass, it would have shattered with how fast it drops to my stomach.

His smile grows. “Parading around as Alesi clearly hasn’t done you any favors. So, why don’t you drop the illusion, hm?” Standing to his full height, he flashes open palms, showing me his empty hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I strengthen my illusion with such force that magic spills into the room.

“Seriously?”

“Who are you?” I ask again, pressing further into the wall.

I’m running entirely on adrenaline, my body sluggish from whatever he used to get me into this room. Whatever he drugged me with.

The man rolls his eyes, casually tucking his hands into his pockets. “I’m not your enemy, you know.”

“That’s exactly what my enemy would say.”

He shrugs. “Actions speak louder.”

I know what he’s insinuating. That he saved me from whatever that guard would have done to Alesi. But he did so by drugging me and tying me to a chair, which, in my opinion, negates the intention behind⁠—

No. Wait.

I glance at the empty chair beside me, finding no sign of any restraint. He…set me in a chair?

When I look back at him, a smirk ghosts his lips.

Panic flares in my chest and I dart to the side, preparing to make a break for it, but he—too easily—steps into my path, anticipating the movement before I’ve even made it.

“Hold on, now,” he takes a step closer, and I flinch back. “I can help you.”

“Help me?” I breathe, my heartbeat wild in my ears. “Help me with what?”

The man nods to the door behind him—to the Estate beyond it. “Freeing them.”

My grip on my illusion falters, but I slam it back into place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The energy rippling off him darkens, swallowing up all the breathable air between us. “I hate liars,” he hisses, flicking his chin at my clothes. “Drop the illusion.”

With all the Sol magic I gave up in the dungeons, keeping Alesi’s appearance is becoming strenuous, but I’m not giving up on it that easily. This disguise is all I have.

I find the strength to reinforce it, lifting my chin in a false display of confidence.

The movement pulls his attention, his gaze locked on my face and not my hands as I slowly reach for the knife in my waistband.

And when my fingers brush over a whole lot of nothing, my chest caves in.

He senses it—my panic—dark brows lifting in a silent challenge. His eyes never left mine, but maybe it was obvious in my body language, in the way my arm stiffened. Somehow, he’s reading my emotions before I’m even aware that I’m displaying them.

I shift against the wall, inching farther away, and he makes no move to stop me. Not concerned in the slightest that I have a chance of making it past him.

“I saved your life,” he mutters incredulously. “You do realize that, right? If I wanted to hurt you, I would have left you down there.”