Samantha didn’t even blink. She cut straight to the chase, her voice sharp and determined. “Look, I don’t care about anything else. Just tell are where Raven is. I’ll track her down and drag her back to Deariton before you can blink.”
Janelle’s hopes crumbled like a house of cards. His face went ghost–white with fury, but he was backed into a corner. Swallowing his rage, he forced out, “She’s in my hometown, Frihamen City. But it’s a haul from Deariton, and the selection event’s right around the corner. You better hustle, Samantha Na pit stops.”
“Got it,” Samantha shot back, eyes narrowing. “You’re sure Raven’s in Frihamen City?”
Janelle’s sly smirk was barely hidden as he nodded. “Yup, she’s there. Go get her, Samantha. No detours.”
“Fine. I’m on it.” Samantha didn’t waste another second. She spun on her heel and bolted.
Back at the alchemy room, she rattled off instructions to her team, barely pausing for breath. Grabbing her bag, she threw in the essentials and hightailed it out of Deariton, her mind racing.
But the moment she was gone, Janelle’s cool facade shattered. In a fit of rage, she smashed a line of cups, shards flying everywhere. “Why the hell is Raven Valor so damn lucky?” she snarled, pacing like a caged animal. “She’s nobody! What makes her special enough for Mr. Brown to give a damn?“
She kicked a chair, his voice dripping with venom. “When did that little nobody get the chance to cozy up to Mr. Brown? She’s got no business dreaming of a future that big!”
“Samantha Mathis, if you want to find Raven Valor, you’ll never be able to find her in your next life! Only my sister can successfully obtain selection event’s final spot and become trusted aide beside Scion!
“So what if you’re Mr. Brown’s most valued disciple? If you can’t complete the mission Mr. Brown gave you, you won’t be able to escape punishment either!
“Who do you think you are? Next to our glorious Scion, your pathetic lives aren’t worth a dime!”
Janelle’s lips curled into a scheming smile as she leaned back, her mind racing. “If my sister can cozy up to the Scion and become her right–hand woman, the Larsson family will rise again. Let’s see who dares sneer at me then!”
Lost in her glittering daydreams of power and prestige, a sudden thought jolted her. ‘Raven might be gone from Frihamen City, but what if Samantha Mathis crosses paths with her on the way there?
‘Worse yet, what if that sneaky little vixen Raven somehow stumbles into Deariton for the selection event, banking on her dumb luck? All of my carefully laid plans would go up in smoke.‘
No way. She wouldn’t let Raven set one foot in Deariton.
Janelle paced the room like a caged animal, her heels clicking against the floor. Her mind churned, desperation clawing at her.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, an idea struck. Her anxious frown melted into a wicked, triumphant grin.
‘Raven Valor,‘ she thought, “as long as I’m breathing, you’re not stepping foot in Deariton alive.”
The air in Forlunda City buzzed with tension, like a storm waiting to break.
After Raven’s visit, the heads of the city’s powerful families were on their best behavior, playing nice white secretly sweating bullets. They were all holding their breath, waiting for the spies they’d planted in Raven’s inner circle to come back with some juicy intel.
Cassian, sharp as a tack, had seen through their schemes from the get-go. That was why he kept that pretty–boy hustler—the one who’d batted his lashes and tried to charm Raven–close.
1/2
Mon, 23 Jun
Chapter 952
Having just planted their flag in Forlunda City, Cassian and Raven knew the local heavyweights weren’t about to roll over for a couple of outsiders.
