Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 338

Chapter 338 Twin Secrets

The fire crackled, warm and steady.

Flowira and Zachary were twins, so alike they looked like mirror images of each other.

The same deep–set eyes. The same straight nose. The same dark, curling hair. The same green eyes passed down from their mother.

Unless you knew them well, you would never tell them apart.

But if their faces were alike, their temperaments were nothing alike at all.

Zachary was sly and irreverent. Flowira was steady and cautious.

From childhood, Zachary had secretly loved the swirl and shimmer of fine skirts, and he had no patience for books or lessons.

Flowira, meanwhile, loved to read.

So they had become the perfect team, trading places whenever it suited them, with only their mother knowing the truth.

And this embassy to Avenlor–vital for peace at the border and Nordia’s trade–needed Flowira in charge. If Zachary had been left to handle it, everything would have gone off the rails.

So after some planning, they had switched roles again.

Now warmed through, Zachary stepped back from the fire and sprawled into a more comfortable position. “She is a complete idiot. She’d never notice.”

Flowira’s brow shifted only slightly. “So? What did she want today?”

“She wants to use me against Elowen.”

Stretching out on the couch, Zachary began reenacting the scene, copying Daphne’s gestures with uncanny accuracy.

Flowira listened in silence, her frown deepening.

“Daphne can’t be allowed to get what she wants,” she said at last. “And Elowen needs to know.”

At that, Zachary’s laziness vanished. He sat upright, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Should I go tell her myself?”

“No.” Flowira’s answer was immediate, stern and firm. “Not right away. If you leave the palace

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and then immediately appear at Duskmoor Manor, someone will notice. And if word gets back to the Crown Prince’s Wing, Daphne will realize you’re not as clueless as you look. Daphne may be stupid, but her mother has survived in the palace for years. She isn’t someone to underestimate.”

She added, “Besides, that isn’t the real reason you want to see her. Don’t forget what your actual intentions are.”

Zachary grinned. “I just like her. And honestly, the Duke of Duskmoor isn’t good enough for her.”

Flowira’s face remained calm. “Really? Because even you wouldn’t be good enough. Neither of us is of royal blood, and we don’t truly belong at court.”

They should never have become Nordia’s heirs in the first place. That had been the work of fate and a chain of accidents.

Zachary gave a soft laugh. “Flowira, you’re always brutal.”

“I’m truthful,” Flowira said. Then, after thinking a moment, she added, “In a few days, I’ll come up with an excuse to visit Duskmoor Manor.”

“I’m coming too,” Zachary said at once.

Flowira’s expression hardened. “Absolutely not.”

He started to object, but Flowira cut him off, her voice dropping until it carried a weight that filled the room. “If you insist, and news of your recklessness reaches Nordia, she won’t be pleased.”

At the mention of her, the mocking look disappeared from Zachary’s face. He fell silent and leaned back stiffly against the couch.

After a while, he muttered, “Then you go.”

For two straight days, snow kept falling over Vanelle. At Duskmoor Manor, the underground heating chased away every trace of cold, and the air carried the faint scent of calming incense.

After lunch, Elowen lay curled on the couch in thick furs like a sleepy kitten.

Cassian sat at the edge of it, carefully massaging her calves and feet.

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