(A bit of editing was done in previous chapters as directed by my editor, you can go back to read it. It takes nothing away from the progress of the story so far.)
Elias's jaw clenched. "Just speak," he snapped.
"God, relax," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Well, the last thing I remember, I was at my aunt's house. She's been missing for twenty years, and they finally declared her dead. I inherited her place, and when I was looking around, I found this weird mirror in the garage. No reflection. I touched it and voila... here I am, ruining breakfasts."
Elias raised an eyebrow. "You touched a mirror."
Lyra gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Yes."
Elias rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I have heard about relics that can do miraculous things.... But I thought those were lost during the Great Purge."
Lyra perked up. "The Great Purge?"
"Yes," he said, settling back. "It's in the history books."
He cleared his throat. "I can take you to the library later. We'll see what we can find."
"Thank you. Well, now that I've managed to ruin breakfast," Lyra began, attempting a sheepish smile. "Apologies for that, by the way…"
She tilted her head slightly, trying to come across as both remorseful and adorable.
Elias didn't miss a beat. "Oh, you apologise in your world? I thought it was a foreign concept to you."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Uh… am I missing something? Am I supposed to owe you any other apology aside from this?" She gestured dramatically at the battlefield formerly known as the breakfast table.
"I guess we can consider bumping into a man while stark naked the norm in your world, then?"
Lyra's jaw dropped in outrage, and she immediately slapped her palm to the table. "Bumping? You bumped into me! You were in the room without knocking!!! You wanted to see me naked!!!"
"Oh, speak a little bit louder," he said in a low, venomously sarcastic tone. "I don't think the entire castle heard you. Please, by all means—broadcast to the staff, the kitchen, the stables—that you, an unmarried lady… yes?... were alone in a room with a bachelor. Oh wait, naked!" He leaned in with a smirk. "That's not the scandal of the century. So go on… speak even louder. Maybe the bards will write a song about it."
Lyra narrowed her eyes at him. "You're an asshole," she said.
"You're a constipated… sad… pompous… asshole!!! You know that?" she shot back, rising to her feet.
Thaddeus, who had quietly been trying to clean up the spill without being noticed, froze in place. How is it that anyone could speak to the prince this way? And get away with it. Even Lady Lirae, whom he was head over heels in love with wouldn't dare.
"I wouldn't know…" Elias said, his lips twitching into a devilish smirk. "I have never peeked into an ass's hole before. Apparently, you have, seeing how you're being quite graphic. Tell me, Miss Lyra… what else did you find in there?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Lyra's eyes flew open, outrage bursting forth like a shaken soda can.
She sputtered, pointing at him. "You—! I—I cannot believe you just—!"
"I cannot wait to get the hell out of this place!" she snapped. She gave a very unladylike snort and stormed out of the room.
Goodness… he hadn't had this much of an internal laugh in ages. The things she did, the way she said them… Sure, she was a whirlwind of chaos and emotional carnage, but there was something endearingly unpredictable about her.
Thaddeus cleared his throat.
"Your Highness… I have a suggestion," he said cautiously, stepping forward.
Elias arched a brow. "You always do…"
"I was thinking," Thaddeus said, eyes glancing toward the door Lyra had just stormed through, "that you delay Miss Lyra's return."
Elias looked up sharply, his moment of mirth evaporating. "And pray tell," he asked, folding his arms with mild suspicion, "why the hell would I do that?"
"Well, she is a splitting image of Lady Lirae," Thaddeus said carefully, watching Elias's mood. "To keep you from prison—or worse… exile. Let her stand in as Lady Lirae's double while you carry out your own investigations."
Elias stared at him. "Thaddeus, I am not going to prison."
"You aren't the crowned prince anymore," Thaddeus reminded gently but firmly, standing a little straighter. "Your Highness, you've been stripped of your title and the king would've done worse if it wouldn't have caused a civil war. Lady Lirae's death is all the armour he needs to get rid of you permanently."
"You think the crown has a hand in her death?...to have me take the fall?" he asked.
Thaddeus hesitated. It wasn't easy talking about the woman who had once made Elias smile. "Lady Lirae's attachment to you earned her a lot of enemies," he said softly. "But in the days leading to her death… she was visiting the royal palace more often."
Elias turned sharply, his breath caught between disbelief and a rising knot of dread. "And you are just telling me this now?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Thaddeus said, stepping back just slightly in case a flying goblet was in his future. "But I never put all the details together until now. I only assumed the king wanted to know more about who you were suspected of seeing after that news in the gossip column."
"I'll think about your theory," Elias said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But be ready for Lady Gemma's wrath if I even consider this. I did promise her I would consider dating again once I return from the countryside."
At the mention of Lady Gemma, Thaddeus made a face that could curdle milk. "I can handle Lady Gemma."
"You say that like she's a raccoon in the attic. She is favoured by my family." Elias muttered.
"Please find a way to make our guest stay," Thaddeus pressed, adopting that overly calm tone that meant he was silently panicking. "She could be your salvation… if we teach her not to trip over everything first."
"I haven't agreed to it yet," Elias snapped, but the edge in his voice lacked venom. It was more a protest for protest's sake.
And then the thought struck him. "Do you really think this woman can pass as Lady Lirae?" He looked like he was chewing glass. "She has the social etiquette of a pig."