Chapter 7

Lyra's POV

I found myself in a small room, alone with Keto. He had dragged me down here at Orion's command. 

This time around, the only thing on my mind was the way Keto had betrayed me after he had agreed to help me escape. 

 We were alone now, and I couldn’t keep the anger anymore.

“You betrayed me!” I shouted,  “You said you’d help me escape, and instead you led me straight to the drilling pit!”

Keto’s face didn’t look like he was feeling any atom of guilt. 

 He crossed his arms and leaned his back on the wall like he is enjoying the whole show. “Would you have had sex with the men instead, huh?" he asked.

I scoffed at him, “Stop acting like you did me a favor, you bloody coward!”

 I moved closer to him and raised my finger at his chest. “You’re just Orion’s errand dog, too weak to even be called a man. But you know what? I’ll tell him you’re my mate. Let’s see how he is going to react.”

Keto’s eyes widened, and I could see fear spreading across his face.

He looked around the room, like he was watching out for prying ears, then he leaned in.

“I don’t know what you want, but you’ll be making a terrible mistake if you think telling Orion something like that will save your life.”

I cut him off. “At least I won't be dying alone.”

He scowled, his jaw tightened. “Die? Who says you’re going to die? Have you forgotten you’re Ravenna? You’re as strong as Nikki. I’m more worried about her death than yours.”

I blinked my eyes, “I can’t fight,” I protested, and my voice sounded cracked.

 I wasn’t Ravenna—not really. I was Lyra, trapped in her body, with none of her strength or skills.

Keto laughed, a short, mocking sound that made my cheeks burn. “Stop pretending,” he said. “I know about your exploits, Ravenna. Defeating Nikki will be easy for you.”

The urge to just tell him the fucking truth was strong, but no words came out.

 How could I make him understand? I wasn’t the warrior he thought I was. 

Ravenna might’ve been a legend, but I was just Lyra, scared, weak, and completely out of my league.

If I told him the truth, would he believe me? Or would he drag me back to Orion?

I pushed the panic down and clung to my anger instead. “I’m still telling Orion about our bond,” I said, “Let’s see how you squirm then.”

Keto’s eyes flashed with anger, and he stepped closer, his voice rising. “You think you’re clever? I know about your affair with Kevin. If you tell Orion about me, I’ll make sure he knows about you and Kevin. Good luck surviving that.”

Kevin? My mind blanked for a second, confusion swirling. 

Then it clicked, Kevin was Jacob. My Jacob, the one who’d jilted me, who’d kissed me in the gym and dragged me into all this mess.

But an affair? I didn’t understand how it all connected. Was Ravenna involved with him, too?

 A strange headache disturbed me as I tried to piece it together, but I didn’t have time to think.

I heard Footsteps outside the door, and Keto heard it too; he swallowed his words immediately.

He turned to face the door as it opened.

 Jacob—Kevin—walked inside, and his familiar face sent a jolt of rage through me.

 Keto said something about resting for tomorrow to me, but I was too focused on Jacob to hear him.

He walked past Jacob and greeted him with a nod.

Through the open door, I saw two guards stationed outside, their eyes fixed on me like hawks. 

My stomach twisted. No escape.

Jacob closed the door behind him, and I wanted to scream, to demand why he kept showing up to ruin my life.

 But I stopped myself. I was in Ravenna’s body, and as far as anyone knew, I was Ravenna.

 If I acted like Lyra, I’d blow my cover and probably get myself killed. 

So I bit my tongue, my hands clenching into fists.

He stepped closer, his eyes softening like he was about to kiss me again. 

My skin crawled at the thought, but he glanced at the door, wary of the guards, and kept his distance.

Instead, he leaned in and whispered, “Nikki might be strong, but you’re stronger, Ravenna. Stick to the plan.”

I nodded, forcing my face to stay neutral, but inside, I was burning. 

The plan? What plan? My mind screamed with rage. 

This was the man who’d betrayed me, who’d left me for another woman and shattered my heart.

 If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be trapped in this body, in this nightmare. 

The urge to lash out, to jump on him and kill him, surged through me, but I held it back. Barely.

He kept whispering, “Once you’ve seduced Orion and you sleep with him, we’ll kill him, take his money,

 and run away together as lovers.”

My eyes popped wide, shock hit me like a slap. Seduce Orion? Sleep with him? Kill him? And then run away with Jacob? The man I wanted to strangle to death? 

My stomach churned, and I had to clench my jaw to keep from gasping. This was the plan? Ravenna and Jacob—no, Kevin—had been plotting to murder Orion and escape as lovers?

 I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Was this why Jacob had kissed me in the gym? Did he think I was still part of his twisted scheme?

I nodded again, my throat tight, but my mind was a chaotic storm.

I am not Ravenna. I didn’t know her plans, her strength, or her love for Jacob. All I knew was that I hated him—hated him for breaking me, for dragging me into this, for thinking I’d ever want to run away with him. 

And Orion? The idea of seducing him made my skin crawl. 

He was a monster, a predator who’d called me a whore and thrown me to his men. Killing him might sound good, but I wasn’t a murderer. I wasn’t even a fighter.