Chapter 26 26
Amelia’s POV
The silence Mei left behind wasn't peaceful, it was suffocating.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the empty teacup in my trembling hands. My throat still burned from how parched I'd been, but that wasn't what made breathing difficult. It was the weight of everything, everything I couldn't remember, pressing down on my chest like stones piling onto a drowning woman.
“Carried like a bride,” they said.
Heat flooded my face, and I pressed my palms against my cheeks, trying to calm the fluttering in my chest.
What was wrong with me? I barely knew Denary—and barely knew myself, and yet my treacherous heart fluttered every time I thought of his arms around me, his scent wrapping me in safety I hadn't felt in... how long? I couldn't even remember.
And that was the problem, wasn't it?
I couldn't remember anything.
Except her.
The moment I closed my eyes, she was there—that woman with warmth in her smile and terror in her scream. The one who reached for me as the ground crumbled beneath her feet. The one whose face I knew but whose voice I'd forgotten.
"Mother..." The word tasted foreign on my tongue, like speaking a language I'd once known fluently but could no longer translate.
Why could I only remember her dying?
My stomach churned violently. I stood too fast, and the room tilted sideways. I grabbed the bedpost, gasping
for air.
I needed fresh air.
I ran out of the room, letting the chilly corridor press against my skin. My fingers absentmindedly rubbed the faint ache in my temples while I walked aimlessly, letting my feet carry me wherever they wanted to go.
I froze when I heard soft voices in heated whispers.
"—sleeping in his bed." Jasmine's voice dripped venom. "She's doing this on purpose. Playing the helpless little victim so he'll pity her. Pathetic."
My heart skipped and I pressed myself against one of the carved stone pillars, barely breathing.
“My lady… perhaps the Alpha brought her because she was injured—”
The sharp crack of a slap echoed through the hall and the maid whimpered.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Jasmine hissed. "He belongs with me. And if that little nobody knows what's good for her, she'll disappear before I make her."
The words pierced deeper than any physical wound could. This wasn't just jealousy—it was a threat.
So that was why she kept attacking me.
I backed away carefully, keeping my footsteps silent, and turned down another corridor and I crashed directly into a wall of solid muscle.
Hands caught me before I could fall, steadying me with a gentleness that contradicted their strength.
"Easy." Denary's voice rumbled through me, I heard the worry laced beneath it. "What are you doing out of bed?"
I looked up at him, my breath caught in my chest. In the dim corridor light, his eyes seemed to glow as if he was scanning my soul.
“I… I didn’t hear you coming.” “I needed air," I whispered.
“You look pale.” His jaw clenched. "Uriel cleared you to wander the halls alone?"
"I'm fine—"
“You should have called for me.” His voice softened, and something in his expression made my chest ache.
“I didn’t want to disturb you.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
His thumb brushed over the corner of my wrist before he released me. The warmth of his touch lingered long after.
“Kai said you were alone when he went to check on you earlier,” Denary murmured. “I didn’t like that.”
Something tugged at my chest. “I’m fine.”
“No,” he said quietly, “you’re not.”
And the way he looked at me—like he could see through every lie I told myself made my throat tighten.
Before I could answer, a loud click echoed from behind us.
We both turned to see Jasmine standing in the hallway.
Her face twisted with anger, her eyes darting between us. Her lips curved, but it wasn’t a smile.
“Well,” she said, voice sugar-coated in venom, “it seems I arrived at an interesting moment.”
Denary straightened immediately, his expression shifting to cold indifference, but I could feel the tension radiating from him.
Jasmine clasped her hands, tilting her head. “Amelia dear, you should be resting. A concubine must stay healthy, after all.”
The word hit like a blade.
Concubine.
"Jasmine—" Denary's voice held a warning.
But something inside me snapped.
I was tired. Tired of being attacked, belittled, treated like I was nothing. Tired of not knowing who I was but being told what I wasn't.
“Thank you for your concern,” I said with a polite smile. “But you should also take care of yourself. Stress can be… unbecoming.”
Jasmine's smile shattered.
A strangled sound came from Denary—suspiciously like a suppressed laugh.
A small flicker of pride warmed my chest, but Jasmine stepped closer, her voice dropping.
“You should remember your place.” Jasmine hissed.
I held my ground. "I'm trying to. It's just so hard when people keep trying to put me in one."
Her eyes flashed with pure hatred. "Watch yourself, girl."
Denary stepped between us, blocking Jasmine’s view of me entirely.
"Leave Jasmine." His voice was soft, controlled—and absolutely terrifying. "Now."
For a heartbeat, Jasmine's mask crumbled. She looked at us in shock warred with rage she was trying to control.
Then she composed herself, bowed stiffly, and swept away—but not before shooting me one last look that promised all this was far from over.
When her footsteps faded, Denary turned to me. The ice in his expression melted into something warm, concerned, and devastatingly gentle.
“You don’t have to face her alone.”
“I know.” I forced a breath. “I shouldn’t have… let her get to me.”
“It’s okay.” he said in a soothing tone.
Warmth fluttered in my stomach, but dream, the cliff, the scream, pulled me back to reality.
“Denary…” I murmured.
He stepped closer, concern folding over his features.
“What is it?”
I hesitated, eyes sinking to the floor. “I remembered something. From before.”
His breath hitched as he stepped closer till I could feel the heat radiating from him that me feel inexplicably safe.
“What did you see?”
“I…” My voice trembled. “A woman. She keeps appearing. I think she might be my mother.”
“She’s falling, screaming and reaching out for me. But I couldn't save her.” My throat tightened.
His hand cupped my cheek, thumb brushing away a tear I didn't realized had fallen.
“Then we’ll find out what happened to her,” he said. “Together.”
The word pierced me.
Together.
The conviction in his voice moved me and I slightly nodded my head, though doubt clouded my mind:
Nothing about us was clear.
Not our past. Not our future. Not even the feelings I was struggling to name.
But for now… I let myself lean into the comfort he offered.