Chapter 249

Chapter 249

CASSANDRA

I was a little taken aback by Finnick’s serious request. His face appeared timid, yet his tone was solemn, much more sole than a child’s should have been. As I studied his expression, I felt ashamed of myself for borderline neglecting my son thes days. I’d been so immersed in this undercover business that I didn’t have much time to talk with Finnick, aside from our daily goodnight k*ss.

When I shifted my gaze, I realized I’d left Helene’s map on the table not too far away.

“Okay, honey,” I agreed. “I just need to do something really quick, okay?”

Finnick nodded politely, and then I moved forward and folded the map up. I stashed it aside, and once it was gone, I gestured for Finnick to join me.

“Come here, baby,” I urged him, and after I took a seat, I extended my arms out to him. “Would you like to sit in my lap?”

My son nodded and then gave me a little smile. He climbed onto my lap and I held him close. I ran my hands through his dark hair and then stroked his cheek affectionately.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you, Mommy,” Finnick apologized as he leaned into my touch. “Aunt Erika said you were busy these days, so I shouldn’t bother

you as much.”

“You could never bother me,” I insisted. “Ever. I’m always here for you, honey. Now, what did you want to tell me?”

I continued to pet his hair as he remained silent, and then he gathered the courage to speak.

“Is Lila going to die, Mommy?” he wondered quietly.

I was instantly surprised by this question as well as his saddened tone. “Why would you ask something like that, baby?”

“Lila told me her disease was incurable,” Finnick answered, and his sterling eyes fell downward.

I lifted his chin and shook my head. “That isn’t true, Finnick. Lila is getting better with every passing day. She was sick with pneumonia, which is extremely curable. She’s going to get better soon.”

But Finnick shook his head. “Lila told me that there was something else in her b*dy that she couldn’t get out, and it’s devouring her and her mother day by day.”

My eyebrows shot up as I tried to make sense of such words coming from my five-year-old’s mouth.

“When I told her we were going to leave this country and go back to Wegalla one day, she went quiet and didn’t want to talk to me anymore,” he continued quietly. “She didn’t want to be friends with me anymore because I would leave while she would just stay here and die. Mommy… I don’t want Lila to die.”

His eyes welled up with tears and his voice cracked at the end of his sentence. It was heartbreaking to see him get so worked up over something that likely wasn’t true at all.

“Oh, Finnick,” I soothed him gently as I wiped the tears from his cheeks. “Lila isn’t going to die. She doesn’t have any other serious illnesses and she’s going to recover soon. I know it seems scary, but she’s going to be okay.”

He hesitated and then spoke again “Mommy, are we going to leave this country?”

i nodded but felt a bit worried. “Yes. Finnick, do you not want to leave?”

Finnick frowned. “I miss my friends in Wild Crawler. Can we go back there after we leave here? Anemond isn’t fun and

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Chapter 249

Prince Marco isn’t my friend, I don’t like the palace at all. It’s too stuffy. I miss the trees in Wild Crawler. Can we please go back there and pretend none of this happened, Mommy? Please!

“It depends, baby” I answered honestly, though I knew the possibility was likely small. “I also miss Wild Crawle could go back there too. Who knows, maybe we can make it happen. But there’s no guarantee. I don’t know w happen just yet.”

A short silence lingered between us and then Finnick spoke again.

“Can we take Lila with us when we leave?” he pleaded, his voice more urgent than before.

I was surprised again by this insistence.

“Lila won’t want to leave,” I tried to say, but Finnick shook his head.

“She does,” he insisted with a firm shake of his head.. “It was her request, Mommy. She wants to leave with us. She said her incurable disease is caused by this country and she wants to leave for good.”

“I don’t think her mother, Ms. Benn, would agree to something like this,” I tried to say as I fought to understand what he was talking about. Children often had lofty imaginations, but something told me there was more to this situation than I thought. Something was going on here, though I wasn’t sure what yet.

“Lila has never liked her mother,” Finnick pressed. “She’s using her, and Lila hates being used, Mommy.”

I frowned at him. “Lila might just be unhappy because her mother is so busy, Finnick. But Ms. Benn loves Lila. She’s been worried about Lila’s condition. It was she who requested that I treat Lila-”

“Lila told me it wasn’t like that,” Finnick argued, his little voice fierce as he defended his friend. “She said her mother didn’t want her to die because she still wanted to use her. And if Lila died, her mother would be useless to this country.”

I was confused at once.

This seemed like such a strange thing for Finnick to say, but at the same time, I knew that he wasn’t one to tell tall tales. He was always such a truthful child, sometimes to a fault. I could trust him with my life, and I had the sinking feeling that he knew something that I didn’t.

Was Lila in trouble?

Would Finnick also be in trouble since he was so close to Lila and whatever was happening? The thought was terrible. I didn’t want my son to get involved in anything dangerous. We were already in such a precarious position here in Yurene. We couldn’t risk it getting any worse than it was.

Though I was nervous to figure out what was going on, I summoned my courage and maintained a calm demeanor.

“What do you mean, honey?” I wondered. “How does Lila make her mother useful to Yurene?”

“Lila has special abilities,” Finnick answered slowly. “Just like the black-haired woman who came to our room not long after we arrived. The one with the pretty eyes.”

I frowned again,

Was he referring to Raven?

“But Lila’s ability is different,” he continued before I could ask. “She can fetch a cup with a flick of her fingers. She can read minds. She knows what I’m about to say before I even open my mouth, and she can predict things.”

His face grew serious.

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“It’s a secret between Lila and me,” he explained softly, his voice practically a whisper. He reached out and tugged on the sleeve of my shirt, just as he had when he was much younger, and then his gray eyes stared deeply into mine. “But I though you should know about this, Mommy. Lila is special. That’s why Ms. Benn wanted you to save her.”

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