CHAPTER 12: HARSH PUNISHMENT
2263 Words
Willow POV
“No… it’s really real.”
Kael’s voice was a ghost. He wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were stuck on my arm.
I scrambled back against the headboard, lungs burning. Blood kept seeping from the mark, glowing soft in the dark room.
I gasped, “Kael, you’re hurting me.”
He blinked, like he’d forgotten his hand was on me. He let go fast, as if I’d burned him. His fingers shook. His eyes dropped back to my arm. The blood still came. Slow. Steady.
“Damn it,” he muttered.
He crossed the room in two long steps. Grabbed a dark cloth from the basin. When he came back, he sat on the edge of the bed. Careful. Like the mattress might crack under him.
“This might hurt,” he said.
Before I could answer, he pressed the warm cloth to my arm. Pain shot up my skin. I sucked air through my teeth.
He pulled back right away. “Sorry.” His voice was barely there.
I watched him. The Alpha King who made grown men kneel. Cleaning my wound with hands that shook. His brow was tight, a deep line cutting his forehead. Every time the cloth touched me, his jaw clenched until the muscle jumped. It made my chest ache for reasons I couldn’t name.
“You’re scared,” I said before I could stop it.
His fingers paused on my arm. For a long time, he didn’t move.
Then— “Yes.”
I didn’t know what to say. The confusion in me pushed everything else aside.
“Why?” I whispered.
He finished wrapping the cloth around my arm, fingers slow and careful. When he leaned back, his eyes found mine. Searching. Like he was trying to read something I didn’t know I was hiding.
“Does this happen often, Willow? Does your blood always look like this?”
I shook my head, hair tangling around my shoulders. “No. Never. I didn’t even know it was possible.”
I watched the silver blood stain the white cloth, turning it gray.
“Kael… you act like you’ve seen this. You look like you’re staring at a ghost. Do you know what this is?”
He let out a long breath, stood up and walked to the window. Snow fell outside, thick and fast. Moonlight hit his back, catching on old scars I’d never noticed before.
“No,” he muttered. “It’s strange to me too.”
Silence fell heavy between us. Then his voice cut through it.
“What do you know about your birthmark?”
“Nothing,” I said. “My mother died when I was born. I had no one to ask. Whenever I brought it up to my father, he shrugged and called it a blemish. Said it meant weak blood. I stopped asking after that.”
Kael’s face softened for a second. Pain flickered there, raw and fast.
“He’s a fool,” he said quietly.
His hands reached out, slowly, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek and stayed a second too long.
“You’re trembling,” he said, quietly.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar, love.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. Not a smile. Just the ghost of one.
I rolled my eyes, weak. But the tight knot in my chest loosened a little.
Then his face went serious again.
“You should rest.”
“I’m not sleepy. The nightmare took too much out of me.”
I pulled the blankets to my chin. I could still feel the heat of that dream on my skin.
“Kael…” I hesitated. “The voice in my dream kept saying the same thing.”
His eyes sharpened.
“What did it say?”
I swallowed. My mouth felt dry.
“Save them.”
“And?” His voice was careful now.
I looked down at the mark. It still glowed faintly under the cloth.
“It told me to break the chains.”
Kael stood up slowly. Something moved across his face. Too fast to name. Then it was gone.
“What chains?” I asked.
His jaw locked again.
“I don’t know.”
Lie. I felt it in my bones.
He picked up a crystal carafe, poured water in it and handed it to me.
“Drink,” he said, voice calm again. “You’re tired. The Amanoe poison… it does strange things to the mind. Prey on your fears. The dream, the blood… it’s likely just the toxin. Don’t dwell on it.”
I took the glass. The cool water soothed my raw throat.
“Is that what you really think? Or is that what you want me to think?”
He sat on the edge of the mattress. His thumb traced my cheek, rested behind my ear. His touch was warm against the cold fear in my chest.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” he murmured, eyes dropping to my lips.
“Go back to sleep, love. I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He lay down beside me, pulling me into the crook of his arm. I rested my head on his chest, listening to the heavy, fast thrum of his heart. Too fast to be calm. But his arms felt solid. Safe.
Slowly, sleep pulled me under.
★★★★
The morning sun was pale, weak behind heavy clouds.
I walked through the palace gardens, boots crunching on fresh snow. My back still ached from the poison, but my mind hurt more. Kael had left before dawn. Left only his scent on the pillow and questions I couldn’t shake.
A sharp shing cut through the air. I followed the sound toward the training grounds.
Cassian was in the center of a stone circle, shirt off despite the cold. His chest heaved with ragged, heavy breaths, glistening with a sheen of sweat that traced the hard lines of his muscles. Every swing of his sword was clean, brutal, like he was trying to cut the thoughts out of his head.
A warrior twice his size lunged. Cassian didn’t blink. He pivoted, smooth as water, and brought the flat of his blade down on the man’s shoulder.
The warrior hit the snow with a heavy thud. His sword flew from his hand.
“Again,” Cassian barked, voice rough from the cold.
The warrior shook his head, gasping. “I yield, Prince Cassian. My arm is numb.”
Cassian exhaled, steam clouding his face. He drove the wooden blade into the frost and let go. His shoulders stayed tight, like he wasn’t done fighting.
I stepped closer, Cassian’s eyes flicked up. Golden. They locked on me at once.
For half a second, his whole body stilled. Like he hadn’t expected me.
Then he grabbed the fur cloak from the bench and threw it over his shoulders, fingers moving too fast.
“Kael’s in a meeting with our uncle,” he said, voice flat. “If you’re looking for him, check the study in an hour.”
I stopped a few feet from him.
“I’m not here for Kael but....for you. ”
His hand froze on the clasp of his cloak. He looked at me. Surprise flickered there, then something else I couldn’t name.
“For me?” he said, his voice low. “I didn’t think I was on her majesty’s morning visit list.”
I tried for a small smile. “Can’t I just want to see the best warrior in Wintermoor?”
Cassian let out a short dry laugh. He picked up his sword again, but didn’t lift it. Just turned it over in his hands, knuckles white.
“Usually, people only want me when they want someone dead or a border defended.”
His eyes dropped to my arm. He noticed how I was holding it close to my chest. His jaw shifted.
“You look pale, Willow. Is the poison still giving you trouble?”
I shook my head too fast. “N-no. It’s not that. It’s something else.”
He set the sword down, slow. The wood made a soft thud in the snow. He took a step forward, then stopped himself.
“What’s troubling you?”
His voice was quieter now. No bite. Just that sharp attention he gave right before a fight.
I opened my mouth.
“Have… you heard of the Moon—”
“Your Majesty?”
A guard’s voice cut in from the courtyard gate. He stood at the entrance of the courtyard, bowing low. “His Majesty requests your presence immediately."
Cassian’s eyes flashed. Not at the guard. At me. Like I’d been about to say something he wanted to hear.
He swallowed, then stepped back, putting space between us again.
“You should go,” he said. His voice was flat again, but his hands were fists at his sides.
“Kael doesn’t like to be kept waiting when he’s in that mood.”
“We’ll continue this later,” I said.
Cassian picked up his sword, his back already turning. But he paused, head half-turned.
“I’ll be here, waiting.”
The guard led me out of the palace and into a secluded courtyard near the dungeons. The air bit my skin, but I barely felt it.
A maid knelt in the snow. Hands bound behind her back. Face bruised, red from cold and tears. Four warriors stood over her, swords drawn, knuckles white on the hilts.
Kael stood a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t look at me when I arrived. His cold eyes stayed on the maid.
“What is this?” I asked, stepping beside him. My voice came out smaller than I wanted.
Kael turned his head. Slow. His smile was empty.
“Lily was very helpful,” he said. “She identified the maid who brought you the poisoned dress.”
He gestured toward the maid with a tilt of his chin.
“Go on. Ask her your questions.”
I walked forward. My boots sank into the snow. The maid’s eyes met mine. Red, swollen, but no regret there. Only hate.
“Who sent the dress?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “Tell me, and I can help you. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want the person who gave you the poison.”
The girl spat. It landed near my feet, black in the white snow.
“I’d rather die than betray my master,” she hissed. “You’re a parasite, Moonvale. You don’t belong here.”
Behind me, Kael let out a laugh. It had no humor in it.
He stepped forward, stopping just behind my shoulder. Close enough that I felt the heat of him against the cold.
“Well,” he said, voice smooth. “If you crave death so much, it can be arranged.”
“I’ll tell you nothing!” the girl screamed. Her shoulders shook against the ropes. “I’ll die protecting my master!”
Kael’s jaw tightened. He let out a short huff, like he was tired of this.
He snapped his fingers once.
The side door creaked open.
Guards dragged out three more people. An old man, limping. A woman with gray hair, her face streaked with dirt. And a small girl, no older than five. Her eyes were wide, confused, clinging to the woman’s skirts.
The maid’s breath hitched. Her whole body went still. Then she started thrashing, screaming.
“No! No, why are they here? Leave them alone!”
Kael walked past me. Slow. Measured.
He crouched in front of the small girl. His hand hovered over her head for a second, then patted it, gently.
His voice dropped, soft enough that only we could hear.
“I thought you wanted to die,” he said.
He stood, and his voice turned cold, loud enough to echo off the stone walls.
“But it would be so lonely to go alone, wouldn’t it? I brought your family to accompany you. Look, even your daughter is here to see your ‘loyalty’.”
I flinched. My hand flew to my mouth before I could stop it.
The cruelty in his voice wasn’t loud. That’s what made it worse. It was calm. Calculated.
I looked at the maid. Tears and snot mixed on her face. Then I looked at Kael.
His profile was hard, unreadable. This was the same man who’d wrapped my arm with shaking hands last night. Who’d pulled me close and whispered, I won’t let anything happen to you.
The maid’s eyes found mine. Begging. Not for mercy. For me to stop him.
“Kael, stop,” I said. My voice shook. “Don’t go too far.”
He didn’t look at me. His eyes stayed locked on the maid.
“No, love,” he said, “Death is the only answer people like this understand.”
“Please!” the maid sobbed, forehead hitting the snow. “Spare them! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
Kael’s smirk pulled at one corner of his mouth. It didn’t reach his eyes.
He glanced at the guards, then back at her. His voice dropped to something flat and final.
“Too late. You should have thought about that before you tried to kill my Queen.”
He lifted his hand.
“Kill them.”
The guards moved.
The maid’s scream tore through the courtyard.
- Writer
