Chapter 51 Master player

Chapter 51 Master player
LILY'S POV:

The same person I had met in the garden that night, the one who held me while I cried, the one who listened without judging, the one who made me feel safe when everything else was falling apart.

Mr. Night Garden Stranger.

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I just sat there on that mattress, staring at him like he was a ghost.
I felt his eyes on mine and something passed between us, something I couldn't name.

"You." The word came out barely a whisper. "It was you this whole time?"

"Do you know him?" Atlas asked, looking at me first and then settling his gaze on Black. "Take it off." He ordered.

Black did as he was asked. He reached up and pulled back whatever was covering his face, and I finally got a good look at him. He had black hair, dark like shadow, but that wasn't what caught my attention. It was his eyes. They were different colors. One was brown, warm like honey, and the other was blue, pale like winter ice.

The words slipped from my lips before I could stop them. "Your eyes are different."

"Why? Is it uncomfortable for you?" Raven immediately attacked me, his voice sharp and defensive.

I swept my gaze to him. He was standing there all wound up tight, like he was ready to fight someone over a simple observation. I shook my head fast.

"What? No! I meant his eyes are different, like they're different from what I expected them to be. That's all." I looked back at Atlas who was still staring at me with that intense look. "It's beautiful. I mean it. You know I would never say something bad about someone."

Atlas held my gaze for a moment longer, then repeated his question. "How do you know him?" There was a dangerous edge to his voice now, something sharp underneath the words.

I looked back at Black, urging him with my eyes to help me out here. Unless he wanted me to rat him out about sneaking into the royal garden at night. But he just stood there, still as stone, watching me with those mismatched eyes.

"Eyes on me, Lily."

I immediately obeyed. Atlas' expression was already hard, his jaw tight. I licked my lips, trying to figure out how to explain without getting anyone in trouble.

"This was the stranger I was telling you about. That night at the ritual ceremony."

I didn't like the way Black was acting like I was a stranger to him. I had waited so long to meet him outside of that garden, to thank him properly, to talk to him in the light where I could actually see his face. And now here he was, and he was looking at me like he had never seen me before in his life.

Or maybe it wasn't him.

Maybe I had been wrong this whole time. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, seeing things that weren't there, connecting dots that didn't connect.

Atlas finally took his attention off me and looked at Black. "Do you know her, Black?"

Black just stared at Atlas, his expression betraying nothing at all. But there was something happening between them, some kind of silent conversation happening in the way they looked at each other.

Atlas turned back to me. "He says he has not met you before."

"He didn't say anything!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. "He just stood there."

"He can't speak, Lily." Atlas said it so casually, like he was telling me the sky was blue.

I blinked at him. "He speaks. I know he speaks. He talked to me that night, he—"

"He doesn't speak." Atlas cut me off. "Some trauma from his past. It's his story to tell you, not mine."

"But that's... impossible." My words trailed off because I didn't know what else to say. I remembered that night so clearly. The voice in the dark, low and quiet, asking if I was okay. Telling me everything would be alright. That voice was real. I heard it.

Atlas watched my face as everything sank in. "From what you told me that night, your stranger could clearly talk. So whoever you met in that garden, it wasn't Black."

I didn't know what else to say. The disappointment hit me hard, right in the chest. All this time I thought I had found him, the person who held me together when I was falling apart. I thought the universe was giving me some kind of sign, bringing us together again. But it was all wrong. It was never him.

I could feel my face getting hot, my eyes stinging a little. I looked down at my hands so nobody would see.

"It seems this stranger is very dear to you." Atlas' words were filled with sassiness, that annoying tone he got sometimes.

"Shut up, Atlas." I murmured, laying back down on that smelly makeshift bed. I pulled the blanket up a little, not because I was cold but because I wanted to hide. "If you're hungry, Boar ate all the food."

I shut my eyes tight, willing the embarrassment to go away. Here I was making a fool of myself in front of everyone, thinking some random man was my garden stranger, getting all emotional about it.

But then a thought crossed my head and I raised up again.

Was I being rude to someone who couldn't speak? I had been talking about him like he wasn't there, getting upset at him for not responding, and he couldn't even say anything back.

So I looked at Black, really looked at him this time, and I sent him a small wave.

"Hello. I'm Lily. Thank you for saving my life."

He didn't do anything at first. He just stood there with those mismatched eyes on me. Then, after a long moment, he gave a small nod.

"I'm going to sleep. Goodnight everyone." I pulled the blanket up over me, ready to disappear into it and forget this whole embarrassing night.

The blanket was yanked down immediately.

I glared up at Atlas who was still crouched down, holding the corner of it like he had every right.

"We are going back to the palace tomorrow."

"Oh." I kept glaring at him and grabbed at the blanket, trying to pull it back. He held it tight in his grip, not letting go even a little.

He is always such a happy fellow whenever he is bullying me. I could see it in his eyes, that little spark of amusement like this was the most fun he'd had all day.

"We can't tell anyone that Prince Atlas was the one who rescued you from your kidnappers." Raven's voice came from across the room, firm and final.

I stopped tugging at the blanket and looked at him. "Then how do you suppose I bring my stepmother to justice for what she did? How do I prove anything?"

"You let her off." Atlas said it so casually, because he wasn't the one locked in a room for days.

I stared at him. "I won't do that. She will try again. She'll find another way, another time. I can't just...."

"Then play the catching the tail game." He shrugged. "You love games, don't you, Princess?"

My heart stuttered in my chest. How did he know that? Does he know about my deal with Elliott? About the game I proposed to get what I wanted?

"I don't know what you mean." I tried to keep my face neutral.

He smirked, that infuriating smirk, and came closer. Close enough that I could see the flecks of something darker in his eyes. He leaned down, his face near mine.

"You are really tricky when you want to be." His voice was low, meant only for me. "You planned this whole kidnapping scheme, didn't you?"

I swallowed thickly. My throat felt dry. My mind was racing, trying to figure out how much he knew, what he was implying, why he was looking at me like that.

"Why did you save me?"