Lily
The palace courtyard shimmered beneath the golden haze of lantern light, their glow casting flickering shadows across polished marble and velvet gowns. Nobles and warriors stood in regal formation, listening intently as the Alpha King, Elis, stood tall above them all, his voice commanding as he delivered his speech.
I barely heard the words as I stood just behind Princess Zeena, eyes lowered and spine straight, the perfect portrait of an obedient maid. But inside? My thoughts spun like a storm. Something was wrong.
I didn't know how I sensed it. I just did. The air shifted and thickened. It buzzed against my skin like static before lightning. My stomach tightened, and my fingers curled into the folds of my skirt. Then I saw him. A figure cloaked in the shadows between the columns. He moved like mist, fingers tracing invisible lines in the air and his lips moving in silent whispers. My breath caught. No. Not here. Not now.
The power hit me before it touched anyone else. Something dark, acidic and wrong. A targeted strike. Not random. It was meant for…Elis. I didn't think. I couldn't. I flicked my fingers just slightly, weaving a subtle command through the air.
Then the force veered. It slammed into the Alpha standing beside Elis. I heard his gasp before I saw him fall, his body convulsing violently before it went still. The courtyard erupted in confusion. Gasps. Screams. And Questions.
Guards moved. People pushed forward. And Elis…Elis hadn't been touched. He stared at the fallen man, jaw tight and eyes burning. He knew. Who did it or how didn't matter at that point but he knew someone had just tried to kill him. And I knew I had just revealed more than I should've. My hand lowered to my side slowly. My breath was shallow and my heart pounded in my ears.
"Lily," Zeena hissed beside me, her tone sharp. "What just happened?"
I forced my expression to remain calm. "I… I don't know, Your Highness." She stared at me too long. But she said nothing more.
Elis's eyes swept the crowd and for the briefest moment, landed on me. I don't know what he saw. Recognition? Suspicion? But something unreadable passed between us before his gaze moved on. But the air still thrummed with danger. The attacker was gone. He just vanished. But I could still feel them. Watching. And I knew, without a shadow of a doubt…This was only the beginning.
The next day, the whispers began before the sun had fully risen. "Eunice, the king's trusted Omega, has collapsed in the kitchen."
"She has a strange ailment."
"She's cursed."
"The king has summoned a special healer. Said there's a reward for whoever saves her."
I paused with a half-folded linen in my hands, the words hanging in the air like ghosts. My pulse quickened. Eunice. The king's trusted omega. She had always been kind to me. Soft-spoken, with warm eyes that never judged. And now she was dying. Of something no one could name.
I swallowed hard. It wasn't my problem. And I wasn't a healer anymore. I buried that part of myself alongside my grandmother. That world; the herbs, the rituals and the responsibility, was behind me. But the voices didn't stop.
"She might not make it through the night."
"She's burning up, nothing's working."
My hands trembled as I tried to keep working. I couldn't do this. I couldn't watch her die when I might be able to help. No more hiding.
"Princess," I said quietly, stepping forward. Zeena glanced up, nonchalant. "I have experience with herbs. Before I came here, I was trained… as a healer."
Her eyes narrowed. "A healer?"
"Yes."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"I didn't want attention. But Eunice…she doesn't deserve to die when something can still be done."
"You think you can save her?"
"I can try."
Zeena studied me, silent for a moment. Then she nodded.
"Fine. You'll treat her. But hear me, maid, if she dies under your hands, I will personally make sure you regret ever speaking up."
I dipped my head. "I understand, Your Highness."
The walk to the king's chambers was suffocating. Each step felt heavier than the last. When we entered, I nearly faltered. Eunice, as she lay lifelessly on a bed in chamber, was pale as snow, her breaths shallow, her body barely responding to the voices around her. And then I looked up. Elis. He stood at her bedside, his back to us, but I could feel the weight of his presence before he turned. When he did, those amber eyes locked onto me with something deeper than surprise. He didn't look away.
The door clicked shut behind Zeena. I moved forward instinctively, ready to kneel at Eunice's side, but Elis crossed the room and caught my wrist. Not rough. Not controlling. Just… sure. "You're coming with me," he said, voice low and urgent.
I froze. "What are you…"
He didn't wait for me to finish. I didn't resist. Not really. Because whatever this was, I had a feeling we weren't going to be able to keep avoiding it much longer.
He led me through a side door into his private chamber, and as soon as it closed behind us, the silence pressed against my chest like a weight. I tore my arm from his grip and stepped back. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
He stared at me, something unreadable in his eyes. "You weren't going to come, were you?" he asked.
"No."
He didn't react. Not right away. "I figured as much."
I crossed my arms. "So you tricked me to come here? What do you want, Your Majesty?" The title landed like venom, and I meant it to.
He flinched. "Don't call me that."
I laughed, bitter. "Why not? That's who you are now, isn't it? The Alpha King. Future husband to Princess Zeena. Tell me, Elis...was I just a mistake? Something to quench your heat before your real life started?"
He stepped forward, heat flashing in his eyes. "You think that's what you were to me?"
"Prove me wrong."
"I never meant to leave you like that."
"But you did."
"I had no choice…"
"There's always a choice," I snapped.
"Not that night," he said. His voice lowered, rough. "I wanted to stay. I swear I did. But if I had, you would've been in danger."
Something in his tone cracked my resolve. I frowned. "Danger from what?"
He hesitated. Just for a second. Then he shook his head. "I can't explain it. Not yet. But you have to believe me…I went back for you a week later, Lily. I searched. The cabin was empty. You were gone."
I turned away. The ache in my chest was worse than I expected. "You should've tried harder," I whispered.
He didn't reply right away. When he finally spoke, it was soft. "I did." And for the first time, I heard in his voice...guilt. Not the kind that's spoken. The kind that lingers. I stood there in silence, wrapped in it. He didn't move. And neither did I.
But something had shifted. And this time… I wasn't sure either of us would walk away unchanged.