I'd Give Up The World For You

Alec didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Which made sense considering what they were about to do. 

"I'm sorry," he said lamely, his smile dropping. 

Juliet shrugged to bely how conflicted she truly felt about this. Daisy was the only person here from her world and now she probably hated her. That was a hard pill to swallow. They had gotten along so well initially for a reason and everything was ruined because her husband happened to be the villain of this novel world. 

"Don't worry about it. I did my best for her and I'm going to have to come to terms with that. I am concerned about how she's going to handle all of this though…"

"Understandable. I'm concerned about Ira too," Alec admitted. "Do you really think he'll be able to fight against his surrogate mother's husband? I think he cares about her too much to want to hurt her."

She looked ahead to where Ira was rolling his eyes in annoyance at Nico. It was entirely possible, though she didn't want to believe her beloved protagonist could become a turncoat. His allegiance to Daisy was strong. Would it be stronger than his sense of logic?

"I'm hoping we can avoid telling him until it's over. We need to attack quickly before he has the chance to recover. That might be our only shot at winning," Juliet said with a sigh. 

Alec frowned and looked like he wanted to argue but ultimately said, "Our reconnaissance will have to be perfect to avoid having him see her. I hope you've prepped Ciara sufficiently."

"I was planning on doing it on this trip. We'll have plenty of time on the road to talk." 

Looking ahead where Ira was now caught in the middle of an argument with Demetria, Nico, and Sarabeth desperately trying to slink away she wondered how they were going to make it through this little road trip. This team was even less cohesive than her original one had been and they had more time to work together since they got sidetracked by other mini quests on their way to the capital. 

That better not happen here. They only had a set amount of time before they needed to be back at the academy. 

Juliet didn't think it would but if she had learned anything from being tossed inside her own novel it was to always plan for the worst. It was highly likely that it would occur.

=== 

Ira hated being on the road. It hadn't been so bad last time traveling to the academy with Miss Veronica but dealing with Sarabeth and Nico at the same time was too much. Then there was Demetria to contend with. She was such a cold person both physically and emotionally. You could literally feel a chill emanating from her at all times. 

He thought he might completely lose his mind before they made it to the capital. The only thing keeping him sane was talking with Ciara. 

"When are you planning on seeing your mother?" she asked when they were less than a day away from the capital. "Are you still going to wait until it's all over? I know that was your original intention."

"I might run into her anyway while we conduct our surveillance. Or at least see her since she works in the royal gardens. She cut back her hours quite a bit and only works in the mornings now because of how far along she is in her pregnancy. She should be due soon. I hope she's taking it easy. She always pushes herself too hard," he said with a frown. 

He hoped Mr. Leo was holding her back now at least a little. She needed to take care of herself and his future brother or sister. She had already told him they had names picked out. Lukas for a boy and Roselia for a girl. 

Miss Veronica was a hard one to hold down though. She kept busy no matter what her situation was. Back on the farm if she felt sick she powered through it. 

"Do you want to see her at work?" Ciara asked curiously. 

"I…" Ira hedged. "As much as I would love to see her, I would prefer not to. I don't want to do anything to tip her off or potentially put her in danger before we have the full story. But I know this for sure: we can't conduct our strike on the palace while she's there. It'll have to be in the afternoon or at night."

"What if the professors want to do it in the morning?"

"Then I'll refuse. I won't do anything to put her at risk. They won't proceed with their plan without me. They need my water magic."

She furrowed her brow. "You're probably right but I still think you should at least try to warn her."

"What would I even say? 'Hi, Miss Veronica. We're here to kill the king that your husband probably works closely with so be sure not to be anywhere near the palace when it happens'? That would never work."

"If you think of her as your mother why do you call her Miss Veronica?"

Ciara really knew how to ask questions that cut right through to the heart of things, didn't she? She was the last person who would ever beat around the bush about anything. 

Ira rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "That's what I've always called her. I've told you before that I started out as her farmhand. The Krinzel brothers had worked there for years before I arrived and that's what they called her as a sign of respect so I did too. It became a habit."

"I see. I am sure she wouldn't mind if you called her differently," she said wisely. 

"She probably wouldn't. I suppose I can ask when I do see her."

"I look forward to meeting her. She must be amazing based on how highly you regard her. Earning your approval is no small feat."

Ira glared at Ciara and she laughed. "What? Am I wrong?" 

She wasn't. That was the problem. He didn't like being called out like that. She was quite talented at seeing right through him after months in each other's company and it made him uneasy at times. 

He didn't want her to ever see any bad sides of him. If she did, she might not want to be his friend anymore. 

Too many people had left him in his life. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else. Especially not Miss Veronica or Ciara. They mattered to him too much. 

Caring about people was somewhat terrifying—goodness knows he had been constantly on edge since he first found out his surrogate mother might be in danger—but he couldn't entirely regret it. He was glad he had people he cared about again even if it was stressful. 

"No. She's the best person in the world," Ira said quietly. "But you're definitely second."

Ciara beamed at him in that way that made his insides twist. "Such high praise! Thank you, Ira." 

He wished he knew exactly what she thought of him. She had wanted to be his friend specifically so that had to mean something in terms of her liking him. And she did seem pretty happy hearing that she was ranked so high in his estimation. 

But what did it mean? He didn't want to screw things up with her. He was nearly as afraid of losing her as he was the woman who had raised him after he lost all hope of having a family again. 

"I mean it," he told her seriously, looking up to meet her dark eyes. 

They may have been black as an abyss but they weren't cold the way Demetria's eyes were. There was something very warm about their inky depths. It had simply taken him time to see it. Ciara was a surprisingly caring person considering how quiet she was. 

"Ira," she said a bit hesitantly. "Would you…would you maybe want to visit Oxalis next summer? I could show you everything I've told you about."

Ira's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that kind of offer from her. Didn't that mean she didn't want to go a whole summer without seeing him? That was what it meant, wasn't it? His heart soared with happiness before crashing back to the ground. 

"That sounds wonderful but I already promised I'd spend the summer with Miss Veronica and the baby." 

It was hard to tell but he thought Ciara might have blushed. "Oh. Of course. Your family would be more important. Forget I said anything."

"No! I mean…what if you come back a little early? You could stop over in the capital for a day or two and stay with my family and we could go back to the academy together. Only if you want to though," Ira was quick to tack onto the end. 

She smiled brightly at him again and his insides turned to jelly. "That would be great! I'll talk to my parents. Are you sure she'll be alright with that? I don't want to put her out when she has a new baby to contend with."

Was she kidding? Miss Veronica would be so excited he had friends she wouldn't care about something like that. She had already mentioned wanting to meet them in her letters. 

"I really doubt that will be a problem," Ira said without going into embarrassing detail.