As we walked back into town, something caught my attention. The things that had disappeared earlier were reappearing. Lumera's house stood before us, exactly as it had been.
"Scarlette, look!" I pointed, and we headed toward it.
The same vacant, practiced smiles greeted us, their warmth as shallow as before. We returned the smiles politely before stepping inside.
Nothing had changed. Not a single thing was out of place.
Scarlette pulled open a few drawers, inspecting their contents before shutting them with a frown.
"This isn't an illusion spell, Veravos," she said, her tone matter-of-fact.
I frowned. "Then what's going on? Since you bound the Light Fairy King, does that mean his powers don't work anymore?"
"It appears so," Scarlette replied, pointing to the yellow dust on the floor and the windows left ajar.
Ah. The crime scene.
Even now, I couldn't make sense of it—how had she died? Which Dark Fairy had attacked her?
I raised my hand, letting the dark energy of the house seep into my skin. A wave of exhaustion hit me, lingering from my encounter with the Light Fairy King. That pompous, corrupt, arrogant prick.
"If the Light Fairy King's power is gone, wouldn't that mean everything he erased comes back?" I mused aloud. "Even the ugly parts?"
Scarlette moved to the window. "Look."
I followed her gaze—and there it was. Rubbish bins.
Not just that. New homes, too. Structures that hadn't been there before now stood alongside Lumera's.
"So these are the things he made disappear because they were inconvenient?" I murmured, scanning the town with new eyes.
Scarlette looked just as stunned by the sheer volume of what had been erased.
"You did this, you know."
The words slipped out before I could stop them. I turned to her, lips curling into a smirk, and clapped once—slow and deliberate. "Well done."
Scarlette shot me a look, but I caught the faintest flicker of satisfaction in her eyes.
Then, a new thought took hold. "Why did King Luxeron want the Baltimorean Emerald or the Scroll if he could just delete things from existence?"
Scarlette's expression darkened with understanding. "His power could only create illusions. The things he erased? They were never truly gone—just hidden. But a reality-altering spell…" She tapped the scroll in my hands. "That changes everything. No illusions. No restrictions. Pure, unfiltered change. That's what he was after."
A chill crawled down my spine. "So his magic only works inside his kingdom. But if he had the scroll and the emerald—"
"It would affect the entire world," Scarlette finished.
I exhaled sharply. That kind of power… It was beyond dangerous. And now, we had the pieces to make it happen.
"But the Light Fairies don't know their King Luxeron's magic is just illusions, do they?" I added.
Scarlette's smirk returned. "Exactly. And that's where we start the rumor."
A rumor.
Why hadn't I thought of that?
She was devious—but right.
"I'll leave the lying to you," she teased, her smirk widening. "You've accused me of being a bad liar enough times."
She was a terrible liar. Honestly.
Then, her stomach growled loudly.
Scarlette turned away, clearly embarrassed.
I bit back a laugh. "I'll go buy something to cook for us."
She raised an eyebrow. "What about the rumor?"
"What's stopping us from doing both?" I shrugged. "Isn't the marketplace the best place to spread it?"
She didn't argue. Instead, she grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door.
Then, as if realizing what she had done, she quickly let go, shoving my hand away like I had some kind of illness.
Hey, she held my hand first. I was just an innocent bystander here.
"Veravos! Hello? The market!" She snapped her fingers in front of my face.
I blinked. Right. The plan. We actually had to carry it out.
As we strolled toward the marketplace, we passed the ever-present, irritating smiles of the Light Fairies.
"Yes, yes, good day to you," I said, forcing cheer into my voice.
Once we were past them, I muttered under my breath, "Idiots."
Scarlette burst out laughing.
"You call them idiots, but you're heading to the market without any money?" she teased, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Oh, she had no faith in me.
I pulled out a tiny pouch, letting the light stones inside glimmer for just a second before snatching it away as she reached for it.
"Some might call me resourceful," I said, flashing a cheeky grin.
Scarlette didn't even flinch. With the same smug energy, she pulled out a small bag of her own, the sound of coins jingling.
"Oh, Veravos…" She raised an eyebrow, voice dripping with amusement. "You don't think you're the only one with money, do you?"
My heart stuttered.
She needed to stop doing that. Those impish cheeky grins. The way her entire face lit up. It was… well, it was doing things to me.
I cleared my throat. "Lumera's house?"
She nodded, looking just a touch sheepish.
"Same!" I nearly squealed before catching myself.
She had thought of the exact same thing.
Were we really spending this much time together? Was I rubbing off on her, or was she rubbing off on me?
…Never mind.