Freya and Vic made it back to the mansion by the wee hours of the morning. Both exhausted, they scrambled back in through the servants' door and rushed to their respective room only minutes before the staff awoke. Vic was stealthier than Freya had first thought, making her feel more sure of her abilities. Unfortunately for Freya, Naja was already awake and obviously rather annoyed with their escapes, even if she didn't know exactly what had happened on the bridge.

"Where have you been?" Naja exclaimed, glaring daggers. Freya just stared, unable to process what was going on due to sheer exhaustion. "Is this a joke to you?" More staring. More confusion. A yawn. "Lupine!"

Her tone was enough to snap Freya out of her trance. "Naja, I'm...sorry."

"For what?" Naja demanded. "Sneaking out to faff around with Victoria Ambermore or for plotting to take down the Kingdom?"

"W-what?" Freya said, genuinely shocked. "W-why would I do that?"

"You tell me," she demanded. "Corvus will be hearing of this immediately!"

"Naja please—" Freya tried.

"Please what?" she snapped. "I don't owe you anything. Get out of my sight before I call Corvus!"

Freya rushed out of the room and ran up the servants' stairs as fast as possible, making a beeline to Vic's room. Her feet pounded up the stairs, caution and subtlety thrown to the wind. If she was lucky, Vic would have chosen to sleep after their return and Freya would be able to tell her what happened.

"Victoria!" Freya shouted, slamming her door open, only to be left face-to-face with Corvus.

"Freya," he said calmly. "I wasn't under the impression that you were on a first-name basis with our target. Why is that?"

"I uh—" Freya searched for an excuse. "To build trust! She'd never suspect that!"

Corvus shook his head. "Do you take me for a fool?" The calmness in his voice was eerie and threatening. Freya felt the immediate desire to bolt out of the room and leave it all behind. The anger and shouting Feya could handle, but this...control, she could not.

"No, sir," she said, a sinking feeling forming in her gut.

"Then why on earth would you lie to me, Freya?"

"I—" she tried.

"You what, Freya?" he interrupted. There it was again. The calmness. "You didn't mean to sneak out with the Ambermore girl and plot to destroy me and my Agency? You didn't mean to lie to my face? You didn't mean to lie to Naja's face on multiple occasions? I am quite aware of how my business operates. It is not up to you to be aware of that. Nothing has changed. You are still my employee, and you now have the chance to be forgiven. Now, what exactly did you mean to say to me?"

Freya was silent, processing everything he had said. How were Corvus and Naja so aware of what was going on? Had someone followed her? Freya mentally cursed herself. A repeat of the same thing that got her caught in the first place.

"I have nothing to say, sir," Freya said, spinning a lie as fast as possible, using what she was certain he wanted to hear. "Everything I said—everything I did—was for the good of the Kingdom, I swear. It has all been to gather trust and information. I was searching for the whereabouts of our prize when I came across the information of your...methods. It was never my intention to go digging through them."

"I see," Corvus said, clearly unconvinced, though seeming to take the bait for now. "And why were you in such a rush to speak with...Victoria?"

"I..." Freya said, stumbling over her words as they tumbled out of her mouth. "Wanted to give her a fake date for our heist and to have her move the prize to an easier-to-access location under the guise of extra security."

"Mhm," Corvus murmured. "Good. I will be leaving now, Lupine. I expect you ready on the day of the heist. As a reminder, that's next Tuesday, when the Ambermores leave for vacation. I expect that there will be no other hiccups?"

Freya nodded, not trusting her voice. Corvus left the room and walked down the main stairs as if he owned the place. Freya was slightly surprised by his boldness, and then remembered that Kenneth was fully aware of his schemes and wouldn't likely bat an eye. It was odd all the same though to see her boss—who ran an illegal business—to be casually walking around the Ambermore mansion. She watched him travel down and towards the servants' quarters, where Naja opened the door, glanced around, and closed it behind them. Freya knew instantly that she needed to hear what they were discussing. She rushed down the servants' stairs and hid at the base of them, straining her ears to hear their hushed tones.

"—believe her one bit," Naja was saying. "She's a fraud, no doubt about it."

"I have no doubts either, though there is no need for Freya to suspect a thing." Freya clenched her teeth. The other members knew her name! It was meant to remain confidential between her and Corvus and that was all! "She's not stupid." Corvus continued. "She'll suspect that something is up. We need to strike now. Forget the vacation. We need to act before Freya has a chance to gather reinforcements. This will be our only shot. With Freya out there, the Kingdom will crumble. I'll send Inia to replace Freya and Vulpes to...take care of her. It wasn't what I wanted for her, but she has made her decision. All actions have consequences."

"Freya will be none the wiser." It was one thing to hear Corvus use her name, but it was another entirely to hear Naja say it. From her mouth, it sounded like the worst insult that could possibly be created by human speech. It took all of Freya's strength not to lash out. "Now, I had better go make sure that she isn't warning our dear Ambermores. You'll inform Kenneth of the spy?"

Footsteps neared the stairs, causing Freya to silently bolt up the stairs, just making it into Vic's room as Naja appeared from the stairwell. She tried her best to catch her breath before leaning down and checking under Vic's bed. With some luck, Naja would think that she was searching for the diamond. Though she knew exactly where it was, Freya made an effort to display the contrary. Naja stepped over the threshold, her toes tapping in annoyance, arms crossed over her chest. Her eyebrow was raised so high that Freya was surprised that it hadn't been floating above her head like in cartoons.

"I assume that Corvus has spoken with you?" Freya nodded without turning around, hoping that Naja would be none the wiser. "If I were him, I wouldn't have allowed you to participate in the heist tomorrow but then again, it isn't up to me is it? Well, you'd best prepare. With how easy you've been to track, you've got something to work on." She barked a laugh and turned on her heel. "Now get out of here before you're seen. And fix your blouse while you're at it."

Freya glanced down and realized with embarrassment that her uniform's blouse had fallen off one shoulder, exposing some more of her chest than usual. The only explanation would have been during her mad run up the stairs to Vic's room before she saw Corvus. She blushed and set it back properly but Naja had already left. 

I'M BACK BITCHESSSSS

Hope that you enjoyed this brand new (*cough cough* not really, it's been in my drafts for a year *cough cough*) chapter. 

I currently have up to chapter twenty-five pre-written but I'm kind of stuck at the beginning of twenty-seven so you may have to wait a little bit to see more. 

If you are interested in reading this story as I write it, rather than as I publish it, leave a message on my account (since PMs are gone. Grrr) or DM me on Instagram (alleyandmisha, same as this account) and we can sort out access to my google doc. 

I think I do questions for this story, right?

- Do you think Corvus buys Freya's lie?

- How do you think Kenneth will react to Freya's indiscretions?

- Of course, what do you think will happen next?

Thanks to everyone who has stuck by me as this story takes ages to finish. I think when I'm done I'm going to do back and do a mass editing (I was rereading chapters and there's some little bits of info that I included that I don't think really apply anymore) to clear up inconsistencies and streamline the whole plot. Honestly, I would consider cutting this chapter entirely. But for now, it's here for y'all to enjoy. 

Enjoy your July!

~Alley