Chapter 58 A safety blanket

Chapter 58 A safety blanket


LILY'S POV

And I stood there, leaning on Atlas, watching the woman who should have been his mother, and wondering what it must feel like to be hated so deeply by the person who gave you life.

Elliott hadn't even moved or even taken a single step toward me, not a single word asking if I was alright. He stayed right where he was at the top of the stairs, his arms crossed over his chest, his posture relaxed like this was entertainment for him. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth and his eyes were fixed on Atlas, drinking in the humiliation of his brother being dragged in the mud like a criminal in front of everyone.

Then his gaze shifted to me when he noticed me watching him and held my eyes, something selfish glinting in his, something that said he was already planning, already calculating how to use this moment against me.

He really wanted me gone. That much was clear. But sadly for him, I didn't disappear that easily. I thrived in places I wasn't wanted. Root or no root, I was still here.

Queen Rhoda was speechless. I watched her face cycle through shock and fury and something else I couldn't name. She never expected this.

She never expected Atlas to speak to her like that, to snap back in front of the guards and the servants. A public display of disrespect from the son she had spent years trying to bury... or destroy.

She turned to Miriam, her voice tight. "Take the princess to the royal infirmary." Then her eyes cut to Atlas, cold and hard. "You will face punishment for publicly humiliating the queen."

Elliott chose that moment to enter the scene. He descended a few steps, his smirk widening, his eyes dancing between me and Atlas.

"Are you taken by my wife?" He tilted his head, pretending to study me. "I mean, I understand. She is beautiful." His hand waved through the air like he was tracing the shape of me, painting my image for everyone to see. "Very beautiful."

Atlas growled low in his chest. A warning. The sound vibrated against my back where he held me.

And I stood there, swaying, the edges of my vision going dark, and I thought I was dying. Or close to it. My body was shutting down piece by piece and they were here arguing, blaming, getting on each other's tempers like I wasn't slipping away between them.

I opened my mouth to tell Atlas to let me go with Miriam. I didn't have the strength for this.

Then my eyes landed on a sight that made my blood run cold.

Kathy. And Maya.

They stood at the edge of the courtyard, half-hidden behind a cluster of guards, but I saw them. Kathy's face was smooth, composed, the picture of a worried stepmother. Maya hovered beside her, her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes wide and innocent.

There was only one reason they were here. Only one reason the Queen would have them brought to the palace on the day I returned. The marriage. The deal. Maya was being positioned, waiting in the wings for the moment I was declared unfit.

They weren't expecting me to return.

The rumors were true. That's what happened to a noblewoman who got taken. They threw you away, then found someone new and acted like you never existed.

I felt the betrayal cut through me, sharper than Raven's blade, deeper than any wound on my arms. The Queen who I had thought was on my side, an ally in the palace. I had thought she was the mother I never had growing up. But she was just like the rest of them.

I pushed the words out, using what little strength I had left. "No. Your Majesty."

She turned to me, her eyes softening. But I didn't trust it. I couldn't.

"Prince Atlas saved me from danger." My voice was thin, reedy, but I forced it out. "Danger my husband couldn't protect me from. I don't want to say it, but it shows his weakness." I swayed and Atlas's arms tightened around me. "I would like Atlas to take me to the infirmary instead. Because I'm sure I won't trip on my way there if I'm leaning on him."

Elliott's face twisted. The insult landed exactly where I wanted it to, right in the center of his fragile pride. His smirk vanished, replaced by something ugly, and I felt a flicker of satisfaction even as my vision swam.

He was so easy to trigger. So predictable. And even though this was only the beginning, even though I had so much more planned to bring him low in front of his subjects, this small victory tasted sweet.

The Queen's face shifted from surprise to suspicion. Her mouth opened to say something but I never heard what it was.

Black dots painted my vision, spreading from the edges inward, swallowing the courtyard, the stairs, the faces of everyone watching. I felt Atlas's arms catch me as I fell, and felt the ground tilt away beneath my feet.

And in the last moment before darkness took me, I saw Anya. Her limp body being carried by someone I couldn't see. Her face was pale and eyes closed.

Then nothing.

The next time I woke up was to find myself in the royal infirmary.

I didn't look at anything, the white sheets pulled up to my chin, or the healer's table beside me with its jars and its knives. I didn't notice the windows letting in pale afternoon light. My eyes went searching right away, scanning the room, looking for one person.

And I found him.

He was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest, his head bowed slightly. His dark hair fell across his forehead and his eyes were fixed on me, staring with that same intensity he always had, but he didn't notice I was awake. He was somewhere else, lost in something I couldn't see.

However, It was enough. Seeing him there and knowing he wasn't leaving. I wondered how long he would stay. How long before someone came to drag him away, before duty or politics or his mother's fury pulled him back to where he belonged or if he decides to leave by his own choice.

I didn't wonder for long.

A sharp prick bloomed at the base of my neck, right where my neck met my shoulders, and I saw Atlas's lips move. Forming words I couldn't hear. I gave him a small smile, or I thought I did, my face too heavy to tell for sure.

Then the dark came back and pulled me under.