Chapter 28 28
Amelia’s POV
The morning sunlight filtered through my curtains in thin, golden lines, but it did little to warm me. My sleep had been shallow at best, broken by fragments of dreams—shadows at the edge of a cliff, a woman's trembling voice, someone calling my name from far, far away.
I sat up slowly, pressing my palm to the dull ache in my head. At least the spinning from yesterday was gone. Mei entered quietly a moment later, holding a tray.
“You’re awake,” she said softly, relief coloring her voice. “I brought something light. Healer Uriel said you should start with broth.”
I nodded and took the warm bowl from her hands. The steam curled around my face, comforting in a way my own emotions weren’t. Mei arranged fresh towels and opened the windows, letting a cool breeze sweep through the room.
“Mei,” I murmured, keeping my gaze on the broth, “did Denary… say anything after last night?”
Mei paused, hands tightening around the blanket she was folding.
“He checked on you early this morning,” she said carefully. “He didn’t enter the room, but he asked if you slept well. Beta Jasper was with him.”
Jasper. The memory of him standing in my doorway—urgent, unreadable—flashed through my mind.
“What did Jasper want yesterday?” I asked.
Mei hesitated. “I don’t know. When he saw you were asleep, he left.”
Something about that bothered me, but my thoughts shifted when a knock sounded at the door. Mei stepped aside to open it, and to my surprise, Uriel entered with a small wooden box under his arm.
“My lady,” the healer said, bowing slightly. “Forgive the intrusion.”
“I-it’s alright,” I replied quickly.
He approached my bedside with the air of a man used to bad news and stubborn patients.
“I heard from Mei that your head pain returned last night,” he said. “I came to check on you.”
I nodded, lowering my gaze. “I saw… something. In my dream.”
“Dreams after head trauma are common,” he said, but his voice held a weight that suggested he understood more than he admitted. “Tell me what you saw.”
I swallowed hard.
“A woman,” I whispered. “She keeps appearing. I think she might be… my mother.”
Uriel’s eyes softened, but he didn’t look surprised.
“What happened in this dream?” he asked gently.
“She… was pushed.” My voice cracked. “Off a cliff.”
Mei gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth.
Uriel’s expression tightened for a heartbeat before smoothing again. “These dreams may not be literal memories. Sometimes trauma mixes truth with fear. What matters is that your mind is beginning to recover.”
Recover.
The word lodged itself in my chest.
“What if I remember things I don’t want to?” I asked quietly.
Uriel closed the wooden box he had set on my bedside. His tone grew firm.
“Your memories belong to you, my lady. They are not here to hurt you, only to return to you. Be patient with them.”
Mei touched my arm gently. “You’re not alone.”
Something warm flickered in my chest, but before I could respond, another knock sounded—this one firm, commanding.
Uriel exchanged a glance with Mei and stepped back.
The door opened.
Denary walked in.
Tall, unforgiving, his presence filled the room instantly. His eyes swept over me first. Always me. Checking. Assessing. Making sure I was alive.
I sat up straighter, heart thudding so foolishly I had to look away.
“Uriel,” Denary said, voice steady but edged, “are her injuries healing?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Uriel replied. “Her body is recovering faster than expected. Her memories… will return when they’re ready.”
Denary’s gaze flicked to me. “Did you dream again?”
Heat crept up my neck. “Yes.”
Something unreadable shadowed his face. “Was it the same woman?”
“…yes.”
He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, as if approaching something fragile.
“Did she speak this time?”
I shook my head.
He nodded once, jaw tightening ever so slightly. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out.”
We.
That word again.
I wasn’t naïve enough to feel comforted by it—not after learning what Jasmine had whispered in the halls, not after realizing how badly someone in this palace wanted me gone.
But the warmth still crept in.
Denary turned to Uriel. “She needs to rest today. No wandering, no stress.”
I frowned. “I’m not a child.”
His eyes snapped back to me.
“No,” he said quietly. “Which is why I won’t risk losing you.”
The air between us thickened, something unspoken lingering there, something neither of us was ready to face—
A sudden commotion echoed down the hallway.
Denary stiffened instantly, instincts sharpening. Mei moved toward the door as voices grew louder—guards’ voices.
“Alpha!”
Denary reached the door in two strides and pulled it open.
A guard bowed, breathless. “We found one of the palace slaves unconscious in the supply cellar. He claims someone ordered him to tamper with the mares in the stables before yesterday’s accident.”
The room fell into stunned silence.
Mei whispered, “The hunting grounds…”
Denary’s face darkened.
“Who gave the order?” he demanded.
The guard hesitated, beads of sweat rolling down his temple. “He said… he said it came directly from Princess Jasmine’s maid.”
My blood turned cold.
Denary’s aura flared so violently the windows rattled. “Where is the slave now?”
“In the infirmary, Alpha. He’s badly beaten.”
Denary didn’t wait another second.
“Uriel—stay with Amelia,” he ordered. Then to me, softer but no less firm: “Lock the door behind me.”
He turned and strode away, dangerous, powerful, furious.
The corridor swallowed him, leaving behind a trembling silence.
Uriel exhaled slowly. “This is just the beginning, I fear.”
I stared at the doorway where Denary had disappeared, my pulse thundering.
Someone had ordered my saddle sabotaged.
Someone had planned for me to fall.
My hands grew cold.
Was Jasmine being petty?
And for the first time since arriving here…
I realized I wasn’t just unwanted.
I was a target.