bChapter 123 /b

    Lana’s POV

    Hleaned against the cool stone of the cave, watching the thick frees sway in the breeze, my nerves prickling. Thorne and i had told the maids the market–usible enough, given how often we spent time in town for trivial things. But nothing about this felt trivial, I could feet the bweight /bof what we were about to do pressing down on me, and I wasn’t sure if the nerves were excitement or dread. Either way, it was happening.

    “Do you think Andre’s going to show up?” Thorne’s voice broke through my thoughts, tight with frustration. His arms were crossed, his stance rigid, clearly not sharing the same optimism I had been trying to muster

    1 shifted, my hand instinctively reaching for the pouch at my waist, “He’ll be here. He’s reliable.” I didn’t believe it, not entirely, but infused to let the doubt in his eyes make me falter.

    Another fifteen minutes passed before Thome snapped, “He’s going to bail. I knew it was a bad idea from the start.”

    I rubbed his shoulder, trying bto /bshake some calm into him. “Patience, Thorne. We need to trust him.”

    He shot me a dark nced, one that held more than a hint of disapproval. “Maybe it’s time to rethink all this. Maybe this n is going south from the beginning.”

    Before I could respond, I caught a flicker of movement in the distance. My heart leaped. “He’s here.”

    Andre emerged from the trees, his face flushed, sweat streaking down his forehead. He was panting like he’d run a garathon, and when he saw bus/bb, /bhe staggered a little, his breath catching in his throat. “Sorry… bgot /bcaught bup/b…” he said, voice urgent.

    “You’rete,” Thorne growled, clearly annoyed.

    “I know, I know,” Andre bsaid/b, wiping his brow. “Danton had me pinned down. Couldn’t find the right moment to slip away” He hesitated, and then his voice dropped, lowering with tension. “There’s been a change of ns.”

    Thorne and exchanged a look. “What do you mean?” I asked, my heart skipping ba /bbeat at the uncertainty in his tone.

    He took a deep breath. “The King’s here

    My stomach dropped. “Lance?” I barely whispered, the name hanging between us like a weight I couldn’t h

    “Yeah,” Andre muttered, his voice bstrained/b. “I don’t know why, but he’s here. I saw him with bDanton /bas I snuck out. The whole thing’s thrown off now

    Silence fell, heavy and thick. Then Thome snappedb, /bhis fingers digging into my wrist. “Abort the n

    jerked my arm out of this bgrasp/b. “Wait a second,” I said, my voice cutting through the tension. “We can’t back out now. We’vee this farb.” /b

    Thorne was already shaking his head. “No. Lance changes everything. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I told you to stay out of this

    I shot him a sharp look. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Thome. We already talked about this. I can handle it.”

    We stood there, ring bat /beach bother/b, until Andre shifted ufortably. “We need to decide. The girls are already out there, waiting. It’s now or never.”

    I didn’t hesitate. “We’re going through with it. No tracking out.”

    Andre nced at Thome, who was still grim–faced but didn’t argue. “Alright,” Andre saidb, /bhis voice low but steady. He handed me a small bag “Here Everyone wears the same thing tonight. You’ll blend in”

    I took the bag, ncing back at Thorne. He said nothing, but his eyes tracked me as I turned to bhead /binto the cave. I didn’t need to lool was still watching me like I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

    o know he

    Inside the bcave/b, I changed quickly. The outfit Andre handed me was tight, revealing, and not at all practical. But it was what I needed. I could feel the

    Chapter b123 /b

    fabric clinging to me, the sequins catching the dim light. My hair fell in soft waves down my back, flowers woven into

    the lower half of my face. When I emerged, Andre looked me bover/b, his eyes lingering more than they should have, before he quickly looked a expression shifted from admiration to nervousness as Thome’s gaze tumed y

    “Done staring?” Thorne’s voice cut through the air like a knife

    Andre snapped his head down, his face flushed. “Sorry… Sorry, I just… I’m worried about you.

    You look too good. Too much of a target

    I didn’t say anything. Instead, I loosened the flowers from my hair and let it fall freely. When I stepped toward Thorne, trested my hand on his cheek, a simple gesture that meant more than words could say, “I’m going. I’ll see youter,”

    Thorne took my hand, kissed it softly. “Don’t do anything reckless. I’ll be close.”

    With ast look, I turned away and followed Andre. The forest was darker now, the bair /bthick with the scent of damp earth. We walked in silence, and tried not to focus on the sinking feeling in my gut. After what felt like hours, we finally heard the distant sounds ofughter and shouting. The camp was

    bahead/bb. /b

    The first thing I noticed were the girls. They stood together in a tight group, their faces pale with fear. Some of them were crying, their eyes red and swollen. I joined them, trying to look inconspicuous, but the weight of the situation settled heavily on my shoulders.

    I nced around. The camp was bigger than I expected, heavily guarded. Every few steps, a patrol circled, ensuring no one sneaked in. My stomach churned. This was no ce for us to be.

    But Thorne would be nearby. I trusted him. I had to

    After a while, the group grew still, the sound of footsteps drawing closer. It wasn’t long before Danton and Lance appeared. My H

    “Are these the tributes for tonight?” Danton’s voice boomed, sending a ripple of unease through the girls.

    “Yes, Father,” Andre replied casually, as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

    “Good job,” Danton said, his voiceced with dark humor, “Pick one and have fun tonight.”

    Theld my breath. Lance didn’t hesitate. He looked over the girls, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You’ve got some nice ones, Danton.”

    My heart pounded harder. Lance was choosing tonight? None of this was part of the n.

    Danton chuckled darkly. “They’re all virgins, fresh and ready. If any of them pleases you, I can send her to your pce.”

    Lance’s voice was cold, uninterested. “I don’t need anyone’s permission.”

    I couldn’t breathe. This was it. Lance was going to pick one of us. And if he picked me… Everything would fall apart,

    yheart raced

    bI /bcould feel my hands tremble as I stood in the crowd, eyes cast downward. My heart thudded in my chest, each beat louder than thest. Would Lance choose me? Would everything fall to pieces before it even started?

    Danton’sughter echoed in the air, but I barely heard it. All I could hear was the rush of my pulse in my ears as Lance’s gaze swept over us, his hand hovering in the air, ready to point.

    The