Episode 20
973 Words
" The wound is deep right to the morrow. If you have waited a little longer, the hand will be damaged. Silver wounds are hard to heal and the poison spread quickly."
The healer attention shifted back to Raina, he shook his head slightly before deeped his hand and bringing out small bottle of ointment.
“Hold still,” the healer said.
Raina hissed through clenched teeth as he apply the ointment on her.
Immediately sweat clung to her brow as she gripped the edge of the wooden bed.
“It burns,” she gasped, body shaking.
“I know,” the healer murmured, grinding the paste into the wound.
“Silver always bites deeper. But this will stop it from spreading.”
Raina bit her lip hard, tears threatening to slip down her cheek. Her hands clenched tighter.
Axel just stood with his arms folded over his chest.
His eyes had no worry. Just a cold stillness.
Raina looked at him once, then quickly look away, her eyes on the healer who was now bandaging the wound.
Finishing the bandages, the healer offered a few last instructions. Then, without another word, he rose and left.
The moment the door closed behind him, Raina felt the air shift.
Axel was watching her in silence. His look was cook.
Raina lowered her head, avoiding his piercing golden eyes.
A hand shot out, gripping her chin.
The sudden force made her gasp as he tilted her face up roughly, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“I told you before,” Axel murmured, his voice like velvet over steel. “Your body belongs to me. Do you think I’ll not find out you slept with him?"
The words hit Raina harder than the silver ever did.
She froze for a while.
Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes slowly lifted to meet his. For a few seconds, she had no answer.
Her heart pounded against her ribs.
Then she swallowed before voice outing the first thoughts that came to her.
“I f*cking don’t want you, Axel. The Moon Goddess was wrong this time. I refuse to be some secret toy, tossed around in the shadows. I deserve better.”
She didn’t wait for a reply. Didn’t give him a second glance.
She quickly stood and walked out of the abandoned chamber, her bare feet silent against the cold stone floor. The moment the stale air of the room was behind her, she drew in a deep breath, her first true breath in days.
He didn’t come after her.
Good.
She made her way through the back corridors, as her thought crossed her mind..
She was originally sent her to receive sixty strike by the Alpha, if Lady Helena saw her without a mark or scratch, she would question everything.
So she did the first thing that came to her mind.
In a storeroom, she picked up a rough piece of bark and dragged it lightly across her skin. Then another. And another. Red lines began to bloom on her arms, her back. She pressed hard enough to sting, but not enough to leave a scar. Enough to look real.
When she looked in the small cracked mirror on the wall, her reflection showed a girl who looked like she’d just been punished.
It was perfect.
She wiped her face with her sleeve, swallowed the lump in her throat, and straightened her shoulders.
Then she made her way back to the Alpha hall.
When she open the door of the big hall, Raina let out a small hiss seeing who was inside with the Alpha.
Lady Helena shifted to the door as the door cracked opened.
Her eyes landed right to Raina’s hand. She smiled.
“How impressive,” she murmured. “Your injuries were severe open, yet they seem to have been treated and bandage quite well."
Raina tensed.
Alpha Darius barely glanced at her, but the coldness in his eyes was noticeable.
“I also heard,” Lady Helena continued lightly, “that both prince Veyne and Prince Axel were inquiring about her injuries.” She tilted her head. “It seems that despite being cast aside, She has no shortage of admirers in the palace.”
Raina clenched her fists slowly, pressing her lips together. Then, keeping her voice even, she said, “ I was never cast aside.”
Lady Helena smile sharpened. “Are you calling me a liar?
Raina bowed her head, knowing better than to push further.
But before another word could be exchanged, a guard burst into the hall, nearly tripping over himself as he clutched a parchment.
“My Alpha! Urgent news!”
Alpha Darius looked up lazily. “What is it?”
The guard hesitated before blurting, “A sighting from the Shadowlands borders has been spotted."
A sudden crack echoed through the chamber.
The inkstone on the table was knocked down by Raina’s hand, shattering against the marble floor.
The room went silent.
The gaurd eyes flickered toward her, his expression turn cold.
Alpha Darius turned his head slowly, his gaze locking onto Raina’s paling face.
“Go on,” he ordered.
The Guard swallowed. Then, carefully, he said, “Kai… has been seen traveling south.”
Raina’s breath almost stopped.
A terrible pressure settled on her chest, as if iron chains were wrapping around her ribs.
She barely noticed when Alpha Darius took the parchment, his lips curving into a slow, unreadable smile as he flipped through it.
Then, he closed it with a snap and turned to her.
“Curious, are you?”
Raina didn’t move, but she couldn’t look away.
His smirk deepened.
Thud.
He threw the parchment at the guard feet.
“Read it to her,” he said.
The guard hesitated. “Alpha, this...."
“Read it.”
- Writer
