The door slammed behind him. I stayed frozen, then sank to the floor, clutching at my skirts. His words burned in my head.
Barren. Leech. Stinking woman.
I pressed a hand to my empty stomach.
What if he was right? What if Fiona and Sarah were right?
What if the Goddess had already turned her face from me?
“Aqua?” Clifford called out. Again.
I pulled the door open with shaky fingers.
His eyes narrowed when he saw me. “What happened?”
“Do I stink?” I whispered.
“What?” Clifford’s brows creased. “Of course not. What sort of question is that?”
“Alexander said so. So please don’t lie to-” my words were cut off when he pulled me closer to him. Soo close that I could inhale his rich sweet scent that made my mind tingle sometimes.
He did the same, burying his nose at the crook of my neck and sniffing soo long that I had to hold on to him to stabilise myself.
After a while, he slowly let go, “You have the most intoxicating scent ever, Aquamarine. Alexander is just a big fool.”
I could only nod.
Funny how Alexander said the same thing. I remember how he used to craze it. How he goes crazy over my scent, hair and eyes.
But now. It’s the opposite.
But that wasn’t all. “Clifford… is there something you can do? Something to make me pregnant? A spell, herbs, anything-”
He stared at me like I’d slapped him. “Aquamarine, do you even hear yourself?” His voice was sharp, angry.
Tears burned. “Please–just tell me-”
“No.” His jaw tightened. “This isn’t something you fix with tricks. Don’t let him poison your head like that.”
8:26 Fri, Sep 12
Chapter 115
But his anger only made the shame worse.
“But I made a vow,” I whispered. “I need to give him a child-‘
89
555 vouchers
“Then what?” he snapped, and I flinched at the heat in his voice. “You’ll let that monster raise your child with. you? You’ll let him treat your child the way he treats you?”
I froze, breath stuck in my chest. I honestly didn’t know. After what he did today with those innocent maids for no reason, no mother would want their child like that.
Like a merciless beast. Would that be fair to the child?
His expression hardened. “If anything, I think the Goddess is doing you a favour. Righting her wrongs for mating you with that devil.”
“But-”
“No buts, Aqua,” he cut me off sharply. “I keep asking you every day since I came here. Why are you still here? You were dragged out of the Moonstone pack to this place. That’s like jumping from fire straight into a volcano. And yet…” his voice dropped, bitter, “you still have the mouth to defend him?”
I couldn’t speak. Even though I hate to admit it, he was right.
“What is wrong with you Aqua? Why can’t you see that he’s not good for you?”
Three days crawled by.
The castle was… starting to fill up again. Before, it was empty. As if everyone had gone on vacation.
When I stepped out into the corridor, my steps echoed like I was the only one left alive.
No laughter. No gossip. No guards at their posts except Clifford, who never left my side.
But I could smell that something was wrong.
And then I saw her and my body shook.
Fiona
I froze. “What… what are you doing there?”
She was stepping out of Alexander’s study, her hand on the golden handle like she owned it.
Only Alexander and I had keys to that room.
But Fiona didn’t look guilty.
She looked proud. A silver clasp fastened the heavy Elder’s robe across her shoulders, the fabric pooling like it
had been made for her.
8:26 Fri, Sep 12
Chapter 115
:
89
55 vouchers
And beside her stood two other Elders and Sarah. A face I had been dreading to see since I heard of her arrival. They just stood there, watching me with the same smirk.
Fiona’s lips curved. “Didn’t you hear, I’m an acting Elder.”
Sarah laughed softly. “Poor thing. You really thought you got rid of us for good, right?” She tilted her head, eyes glittering. “We only teased when we said you were barren. But look at you now- 3 months, no change, no heir, no purpose. Seems the joke was truer than we thought.”
Their words cut deeper than I thought. All the things I had rehearsed for days just disappeared from my mind. All I could do was stand and listen to them.
Just like before.
Clifford stiffened beside me, fury flashing through his eyes. “Say that again—”
“No,” I whispered, clutching his arm before he could move. My hands shook, but I forced my voice steady. “Don’t. That’s what they want.”
Elder Zedd’s smile widened, cruel and knowing. “Listen to her, boy. She should enjoy her position while it lasts. Before a more befitting Luna takes her place.”
I witnessed Fiona flipping her hair and smiling brightly. As if Alexander would ever pick her.
I didn’t want to stay and listen to more of their nonsense but the minute I took a step forward, Fiona blocked me. She raised a bag up and took out a scroll.
My jaw dropped at my feet. It wasn’t just any scroll.
It’s the same one that Alexander gave me months ago to open and read. The test from The Keeper which I couldn’t read.
How and why was it with her?
Alexander wouldn’t have given her to read, right? He wouldn’t go that far.
“I had a feeling you’d remember this,” she mocked. “But guess what? It belongs to me now. Not just the scroll, but the Moonstone pack.”
I glanced between her, the scroll and the Elders. All of a sudden, something sharp and oily tickled my nose. I frowned and looked around, confused.
Clifford noticed too–his hand twitched toward his blade. “Aqua-”
Before he could finish, Sarah struck a match to a lantern she’d been carrying.
I took a step forward. I didn’t like the ringing sound in my head.
With a wicked grin, she hurled it through the open door of Alexander’s study.
My heart dropped as the study lit up in an instant. The scrolls, the records Alexander guarded so fiercely were
8:26 Fri, Sep 12
Chapter 115
burning.
88
55 vouchers
“NO!” I screamed and launched forward, wanting to save whatever I could, but Clifford caught me immediately. Fiona and her minions only laughed.
She plucked a handful of scrolls from the shelves near the doorway, one by one, and tossed them into the inferno. “Oops. Look what your Luna let slip through her fingers.”
Another scent hit me then–thicker, heavier. Oil.
My eyes widened just as Fiona tipped a jar over her own sleeve, the slick liquid soaking through her robes, dripping to the floor. Her mother did the same, smearing it across her arms before turning the jar toward Clifford.
“How could you?!” I lunged forward, but it was too late. The oil splashed across Clifford’s clothes and some spilt onto me.
The fire’s reflection danced in Fiona’s eyes. “All it takes is one spark,” she said sweetly, “and the whole story writes itself. The Luna, desperate and jealous, tried to burn the Primus’s legacy.”
My breath was stuck in my throat. “You wouldn’t…”
Fiona stepped closer, lowering her voice until only I could hear it. “Oh, I would. And I just did.”
8:20 FII, Sep 12
