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"I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that," Lila answered, causing both Daisy and Ivy to groan in disappointment. Although Violet had already made peace with the idea that she wasn’t the one, the truth still stung more than she cared to admit.

"Why tell us all that if you’re not going to reveal the identity of the princess?" Ivy wailed. "I don’t do well with suspense!"

"You don’t understand the situation here," Lila told her with a grave tone. "There are people who want the princess dead. The fact that you already know about the missing Fae princess makes you enough of a target."

Ivy and Daisy tensed, exchanging uneasy glances. It seems the matter wasn’t as simple as they had thought.

Violet wanted to keep her mouth shut, but she couldn’t rest, not until she confirmed what she needed to know.

"So... I’m not the princess?" She finally asked.

But Ivy let out a small laugh, unable to help herself. "Come on, Violet. Just because you’re an orphan and have that unnatural purple hair doesn’t mean you’re a faerie princess. Right, Lila?" She turned to the fae, waiting for confirmation.

However, Lila’s calm expression betrayed nothing and it made her frown. Ivy asked again. "Violet Purple isn’t the princess, right?"

Instead of answering, Lila posed a question of her own. "What do you think?"

"Oh, fuck," Daisy muttered, eyes wide with realization. She turned to Violet, her expression shifting as if seeing her in a new light.

"You’ve met her." Violet’s breath hitched as she recalled Lila’s words, reading beneath the line. "That’s me." It dawned on her.

"That’s why you’ve been following me around and wouldn’t leave me alone. You were sent to protect me."

"If you say so." Lila’s response was cryptic, but the truth was glaringly clear now.

Violet’s legs gave out from beneath her as if the revelation was too much for her to bear. She slid down against the wall, her mind spinning like crazy. She was a Fae? Not just any fae, but a princess? How was that even possible?

Ivy spun toward Lila, her voice demanding answers. "But you just said you can’t reveal the princess’s identity. What is this now?"

"I was spelled not to reveal information about the princess," Lila explained calmly. "Violet Purple figured it out on her own. She exploited the loophole."

Violet was not even listening to their conversations, her pulse roaring in her ears while her breath came in shallow gasps as she tried to process everything. Just moments ago, she had wished she was the missing princess, and now, the wish had come true in the most unfathomable way.

She had a family out there. She wasn’t a freak. She was just different. Not human. Instead, she was a Fae princess. Just as she had argued with Alaric. Goddess help her, this had to be a joke.

"Wow," Ivy breathed, still grappling with the truth. "Violet Purple is a fae princess."

The hint of jealousy in her tone didn’t go unnoticed.

Although their relationship had grown less hostile, Ivy still carried her aristocratic pride.

She relished the fact she was the richest in their group.

But now, Violet—the orphan girl adopted by a prostitute—was beyond her league.

She was a creature of legend and Ivy didn’t know how to feel about that.

"This has got to be the craziest night of my life!" Daisy exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief.

Ivy, still skeptical, asked, "If she’s a Fae, why doesn’t she have pointed ears like you?"

"I’m sorry," Lila replied, "but I can’t reveal certain information about the princess."

"Then how are you sure she’s a Fae? Maybe you’re mistaken or something—"

"Ivy," Daisy warned, but Ivy pressed on.

"No, seriously! What if you’re giving her false hope?" She continued, her words tumbling out faster now.

"Ivy! Shut it!" Daisy’s voice cracked through the air like a whip, silencing her.

Ivy blinked in surprise because this was the first time Daisy had ever snapped at her like that. Usually, she was the one doing the shutting up. And it was usually on Lila. Being on the receiving end for once didn’t feel so good.

But Daisy wasn’t finished. She stepped forward until she was nose-to-nose with Ivy. "I get that you have some superiority complex. But guess what? This is the reality now. And someone in this room is bigger than you. So get over it!"

Ivy’s cheeks burned crimson as she stiffened, her pride wounded.

"I think I’ve had enough for tonight," she muttered with anger.

Then Ivy spun on her heel and marched toward her bed. Without another word, she yanked the blanket over her head, and turned her back to the room.

In the silence that followed, Violet already found her bearings. Rising shakily to her feet, she approached Lila and touched her face gently.

Lila lowered her head slightly, her posture humble, as Violet traced her fingertips along the smooth contours of her cheeks, feeling for something—anything—that might explain the connection between them.

"My mother...the real one... " Violet whispered, her voice so small it was almost lost in the air. "Is she alive? Does she know I’m here?" She swallowed hard. "Is there... is there any chance I can meet her?"

"The Fae Queen is alive," Lila answered.

"She knows of the princess and waits for her return. But... the princess cannot meet Fae Queen yet. It isn’t safe.

Until the time is right, the princess must remain alone as she has until now.

" Her words, spoken in a reverent, almost ceremonial tone, struck Violet like a bittersweet lullaby.

A thousand questions were at the tip of her tongue, but Violet guessed this was enough for now. And Violet knew deep down, she wouldn’t sleep a wink this morning.

"Fine," Violet swallowed hard. "We’ll talk more in the morning."

"Yes, please," Daisy groaned, stretching with an exaggerated yawn. "I don’t think my brain can handle any more revelations tonight. Too much shock for one night."

"I’m not going anywhere," Lila promised. "We’ll talk tomorrow."

"Oh, thank God." Daisy groaned.

As they began to drift toward their beds, Violet hesitated. Then, on impulse, she turned and wrapped her arms around Lila in a tight hug.

"Thank you for looking after me, even when I didn’t know and was a bitch about it."

A radiant smile broke across Lila’s face. "It is an honor to serve the princess."

With that, they parted and headed to their respective beds. But then, sleep wouldn’t come easily, so they spent the rest of the hours thinking about the newfound truth.

And thanks to that, they forgot about their new unsettling reality.

They were rogues now.