Chapter 3 - A daring plan

Callum blinked, a confused look on his face. "Lira of the Vale?" he echoed. "How do you plan to fool them when you have no powers?"

Lira nodded. "It is the perfect plan, Callum. The Vale family has the power of sight. To see visions. You know that Lady Lira of the Vale used to have dreams of the future. I can easily pretend to be her and lie that I see visions in my sleep. Nobody will suspect anything. The Crown also has no way of knowing that Lord Eaton's granddaughter has passed. And Lord Eaton's health... that will cover my entrance. I'll pretend to be her; nobody will question it. Besides, you will be here watching for me. This place is very far away from the capital. It will be hard for them to verify anything, especially with Lord Eaton's poor health. Besides, you are basically the one running things here. It's the perfect plan."

For a moment, Callum was silent. Then he leaned back in his chair, his lips pressed into a thin line. "This is madness, Lira. But..." He paused, letting out a long, slow breath. "But I can't stop you. I know how much you want this. But you know how dangerous this is. Promise me you won't stay long enough until the dragon trials. If the dragons notice you have no powers, you know they will burn you."

Lira nodded.

"Of course. Don't worry. The dragon trials only happen at the end of the Selection. I would have destroyed the royal family before then."

Her eyes glinted with an intensity that made Callum uneasy. "I'm going to make them all pay, Callum. The royal family will regret ever killing our father."

The fire in her voice made Callum's chest tighten with a mix of pride and concern. He knew his sister was capable of great things—when she set her mind to something, there was little that could stand in her way. But this... this was different. She was playing a dangerous game, one that could cost her everything.

"Fine," he said, his voice rough. "I will help you. But we'll need to be careful. If they find out who you really are, it's over. And if you fail..." He paused, his eyes dark with warning. "You will never get another chance."

Lira's lips curled into a determined smile. "Then I will make sure I don't fail."

........

The morning light filtered through the cracks in the wooden shutters, casting faint lines of gold across the small room. Lira stood before the mirror, her fingers brushing over the rough fabric of the dress she had carefully chosen. It was not her own, but rather the late granddaughter of Lord Eaton Vale, the very woman whose identity Lira had decided to steal for her mission.

The dress was elegant, a deep forest green velvet trimmed with gold thread, worn by the Vale family's daughter in her final days. Lira had retrieved it from the late Lira's room in the dead of night, slipping into the dusty, abandoned room as if she belonged. She knew that Lord Eaton's failing health had left the house in disarray, and nobody had paid attention to the condition of the estate after the tragic death of his granddaughter. Nobody visited; nobody came by. Lord Eaton had stopped attending court three years ago due to the long distance, but he sent generous gifts to the crown. Lady Lira had never been properly presented at court because she was not of age yet. No one would ever suspect that the girl wearing it now was an impostor.

She took a deep breath, adjusting the delicate lace sleeves. The weight of the fabric felt foreign, as did the delicate style that didn't match the rugged life she had led up until that point. But she had to play the part. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Behind her, Callum stood by the door, watching her with a furrowed brow. His eyes, dark and sharp, studied his sister carefully, as if trying to gauge whether this would be the day she broke. He had always known Lira to be strong-willed, but this... this was dangerous. The stakes were higher than ever.

"Are you sure about this, Lira?" Callum asked, his voice quiet but filled with concern. "You're walking into the dragon's lair. The royal family won't just sit back and let you infiltrate their selection. If they find out who you really are..."

Lira turned to face him, her eyes burning with determination. "I don't have a choice, Callum," she said, her voice steady. "If it weren't for the King and Queen, we wouldn't have lost everything. Father will still be alive. Mother..." Her voice faltered for a moment, the pain of her mother's death, so sudden and heartbreaking, creeping up on her. "She died of a broken heart after losing Father. And you..." She stepped closer, her expression hardening. "You wouldn't even be here, Callum. They took everything from us. They think that because they have magic and dragons, they can treat the rest of us like trash. But we have to let them know they won't get away with this."

Callum's jaw clenched as he processed her words. He hadn't thought about it like that in a while—the endless ache of their family's downfall, the ruin their lives had become because of the royal family's decisions. The weight of it all had been too much to bear, but now, standing before his sister, he understood. She was right.

Lira had always been the strong one, the one who never faltered in the face of adversity. And now it was her turn to fight back—not just for herself but for everything they had lost. He had to help her. He couldn't stand idly by, watching his sister throw away the last chance they had for vengeance.

"You are right," Callum said, his voice rough with emotion. "The royal family owes us. Everything we've lost, every bit of suffering... they're responsible. I'll help you, Lira. You won't have to do this alone."

Lira's lips curled into a small, appreciative smile. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. For the first time in months, she felt the strength of her resolve strengthened with his support. The betrayal they'd suffered, the scars left by the royal family's cruelty, now had a tangible path toward redemption.

Callum stepped forward, his hand resting on her shoulder with a quiet sense of finality. "Just be careful. I want the royal family to be punished just as much as you want, but I don't want to lose you in the process."

"Please don't let me lose you Lira." Her brother pleaded.