Dylan was watching him, her gaze steady, patient. Sir Pennel never fully explained his intentions, and that fact alone was enough to make her stomach feel funny. She knew better than to trust people like that. She was one of them, after all.

Sir Pennel flashed her a sly smile, then made his way to the front of the room. He regarded her with an arrogant look in his eyes. The look on his face said it all—he was vain, irritating, and even annoying enough to make Dylan nauseous.

'How can such an anomaly be eliminated?'

The judge said again, "Please state your name."

The man smiled mischievously as he ran a hand through his perfectly cut hair. "Norman," he said. "My name is Norman Pennel."

Dylan gritted her teeth, staring at him. His calm stance and relaxed attitude bothered her. Just what was he planning? She wasn't the only one annoyed with his behaviour. The judge frowned from his podium at his casual attitude.

"Raise your right hand," he sighed, his frown deepening. "Do you promise that the testimony you shall give in the case before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

Sir Pennel gave a large, oily smile. "I do," he said.

Seeing his expression, the judge slowly shook his head. He shuffled through the papers on his desk, and at last extracted one. "Sir Pennel," he said, reading the parchment. "You claim that Lord Axil is being framed. On what basis do you make such a claim?"

'No way.'

Dylan felt her stomach drop and her heart start to race. How did he know? Both her and Caspian were extremely meticulous and secretive about their plan. There was no way he could've linked the forged evidence back to them.

Sir Pennel cleared his throat loudly. "Can I present my evidence to you?" he asked.

The judge glanced up from the paper, annoyance in his expression. He put the paper down and leaned back in his chair, nodding vaguely.

Sir Pennel put two fingers to his mouth and whistled, as if to signal someone or something. Behind him, the courtroom doors burst open, and a man was dragged into the room by several Imperial knights.

"Stop moving!" a knight cried, trying desperately to keep hold of the man as he thrashed violently upon the floor.

The man's hands were bound in front of him and his mouth was covered with a cloth to prevent him from speaking. His wavy, dark hair was dry and unkempt. His clothes were dirty, and his shirt had been ripped.

"I don't think this can be brought to your desk," Sir Pennel laughed, gesturing to the man on the floor. "Should we try?"

Dylan rested her elbows tiredly on the table as the courtroom erupted in fierce whispers. Why did the man look so familiar?

"What is the meaning of this?" the judge yelled, slamming his gavel. "Order in the court!"

Then Sir Pennel turned to Dylan's table and smiled arrogantly. Intense fury bubbled inside of her.

'The fuck?'

"This is the man who Captain Aurelius spotted frequenting the casinos," he announced, loudly. "It wasn't Lord Axil."

In that moment, seeing the sharp lines of the man's face, she realized why he looked so familiar. He reminded Dylan of Axil.

'So you chose a lookalike to take his place? Ha, how infuriating.'

"Your Honour, I object!" the member of the Senate yelled, standing up from his seat. "This man could be a fake for all we know. What proof do they have other than a lookalike?"

"Overruled," the judge retorted. "Please continue."

Dylan glanced at Sir Pennel in a way that caused him to smirk, and adjust his collar with an air of vanity.

"After investigating the matter myself, I found that this man has been frequenting the underground casinos almost every night," he explained. "It is entirely possible that he was mistaken for Lord Axil."

The judge took a moment to take in his words.

At his silence, Sir Pennel continued, "Here are his casino memberships as proof of his involvement."

The documents were presented to the judge. He read them carefully, turning the papers over with his fingers. "Then," he said, "how do you explain the transactions made by Lord Axil?"

"I believe someone else may have used Lord Axil's name to hide their true identity."

"A guess is not valid as proof," the judge sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Is that all you have to present?"

"Your Honour!" the Duke said with alarm, rising from his seat. "I have records of my son's purchases made with his own money. I implore you to look at them!"

Dylan clenched her fists under the table. She burned all of those records the night she drugged the Duke. How did he get another copy of them so quickly? She shook her head. There was no way he could have. The records were clearly forged.

"Let's have a recess," the judge said, rapping his gavel smartly. "I'd like some time to go over the documents."

***

Dylan stomped her feet, pacing back and forth in one of the rooms intended for resting. The thought of having to continue to endure Axil's abuse and fury made her stomach churn.

Deeply absorbed in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the door open and close.

"Nervous?" a voice asked gently.

Dylan turned abruptly. "C-Cas," she stuttered, clearly frightened. "You scared me."

"Don't be nervous," he whispered to her in encouragement. "It'll be okay, just trust me."

'Will it really be okay? How can you say that so calmly?'

Before she could respond, she found herself being pulled into the warm embrace of Caspian. As if her mind had been possessed, her arms automatically lifted and wrapped around his neck as she sank into the warmth of his body. Within the circle of his arms, she somehow felt better.

He nuzzled his face in her hair and enjoyed the soft aroma of flowers. Dylan's existence in itself was confusing to him, but her touch and scent brought his mind to peace.

"I missed you," he whispered, his breath hot against her head.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, and said nothing. She should let go. She needed to let go. But his warmth was addicting.

"I want more." His voice was husky now. "I want more of you."

She tried to pull away from his embrace but he was reluctant to let her go, his grip tightening.

"Please," he murmured. "Don't push me away."

He relaxed his hold, but as he let her go his hands moved down over her tingling bare arms. He wondered how he had ever been able to function this long without touching her. The feeling of her skin was like ecstasy.

"Cas," she called, and he shivered at hearing his name fall off her lips. "You shouldn't be here right now. If someone sees—"

"I know," he interrupted her. "I couldn't control myself. I needed to see you."

'This is really bad. How can I divert his affection to Grisa?'

Dylan frowned, thinking about Grisa's face while she was dancing with Lucas. Did Grisa like Lucas? Would she even be interested in Caspian?

"Why are you thinking about something else when we're together?" asked Caspian, running his fingertips up her arm. "Don't you feel the same way?"

"The same way?"

"Excited," he whispered into her ear. His warm breath sent shockwaves rippling through her.

Holding her breath, she brought her hand up and rested it on his firm chest. "I—"

A knock on the door interrupted them. Dylan sighed, wanting to ignore the intruder, but knew she could not .

'Wait, what am I thinking?'

Dylan stumbled backwards, away from him, thinking of an escape plan. "Who, who is it?" she asked.

A voice on the other side of the door said, "Milady, I'm here to inform you that court will resume momentarily."

"You may go without me, I'll head there on my own."

Dylan waited until the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door faded. Then, turning to Caspian, she said, "I should go back now."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek as softly as he could. She turned away, a flush creeping up her cheeks. He reached out with his hand and gently turned her face back to his.

"Dylan," he said, "don't ever hide your face when you're with me."

"Why?" she asked, blushing. Her cheek still tingled. "Why do you like me so much?"

She felt awkward looking straight ahead but was afraid to turn her head knowing that his face was so near. She softly took a breath and her gaze fixed on his lips. They found their way to her own and softly brushed against them.

"Not enough," he murmured against her mouth.

She slowly drew her fingers through his hair, their kisses deepening. Each kiss and touch intensified their desire until it burned like wildfire. For some reason, she didn't want to pull away. Slowly, he pulled away, raining more kisses over her cheeks.

"Let me love you," he murmured in her ear. "Even if you don't want me to, I'll wait until you're ready."

Then he left.

She felt her heart beating out of her chest as she smoothed out her clothes. She didn't even have a chance to dwell on what had just happened. In a moment, Axil's final verdict would be announced.



AUTHOR'S NOTE:

AHHH!! IS DYLAN FINALLY BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND HER EMOTIONS?

Will she be able to differentiate between love and infatuation?