Chapter 39 The Sky in a Room
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The air in the room curdled. I looked from the brunette woman to Alpha Thorne, my hand instinctively drifting to my stomach. I smoothed the fabric of my tunic, feeling nothing but the familiar silhouette of my own body.
“What does she mean?” I demanded, my voice trembling. “Is there something you full-blooded wolves can sense that I can't?”
Thorne didn’t answer. He was staring at my midsection with an intensity that made my skin crawl. Beside him, the woman Josephine didn't break eye contact. They didn't speak, but their silence was heavy, a telepathic bridge passing between them that I was barred from crossing.
“Do you trust her?” Josephine finally asked, her voice like cracking ice. “What if her presence here is a Trojan horse? A trap to map our axis?”
Thorne straightened, his shoulders squaring. “Luna Aurora Lieu... this is Josephine. My fated mate.”
He said the words with a grim finality, but the air didn't hum with the warmth of a bond. Instead, it felt cold. Brittle.
“He rejected me,” Josephine added, her eyes flashing with a bitter, jagged pride. “But I refused to leave. I don’t like you, Aurora, but you are a guest. I will treat you as such.” She turned to leave, but paused at the threshold, casting one last look at Thorne. “I wouldn't let the whole world bleed just because you decided to shed a single tear over one wolf.”
She stalked past Elio and Kelvin, intentionally shouldering them aside. Elio scrambled to my side, her eyes wide with alarm.
“Alpha Thorne,” Elio said, her voice tight. “Now that we’ve seen your glass palace, what is the plan? Are we guests, or are we the bait you’re using to lure the King?”
“I’d rather stay here than go back,” Kelvin muttered, though he kept his hand on the hilt of his blade.
Thorne let out a breath that sounded like a weary growl. “I cherish the safety of a random wolf more than you know. You will stay here until you make a decision. Follow me.”
The Room of Clouds
He led us to a heavy door at the end of the hall. When it swung open, I stopped breathing.
It felt as though the sky had been captured and folded into a room. Blue satin curtains drifted like slow-moving clouds; unlike the heavy, blood-red velvets of the ancient palace, these fabrics felt alive. The bed was a mountain of white silk, and the ceiling was a dark expanse dotted with glowing star stickers that mimicked a clear night.
I rushed inside, falling onto the bed. The sheets were shockingly cold against my skin. How can a place feel so vibrant and yet so still? I wondered. It was a stark contrast to the suffocating heat of Alpha Leonardo’s wing.
“How did you do this?” I asked, rolling over to look at Thorne.
“The magic of the human world,” Thorne said, his voice distant. He held out a small, flat square of glass and metal that shimmered under the gold and blue chandelier. “If you need me, or the staff, there are numbers stored here. Just touch the screen.”
Before I could ask a single question, he was gone, his exit as swift and silent as a predator’s.
I sat up, staring at the device in my palm. “Is this what humans call a mobile?”
“It’s a cell, Luna,” Kelvin corrected softly. He and Elio approached the bed tentatively.
“Can we... sit?” Elio asked.
“Of course,” I said, patting the silk. “I told you, you’re my siblings. And please, call me Aurora. The title of ‘Luna’ feels like a shackle in this room.”
Kelvin took the device, his fingers moving with a practiced ease that baffled me.
“How do you know how to use that?” Elio whispered in awe.
“King Deacon had one,” Kelvin said. The mention of the name caused the air in the room to plummet. He looked at me instantly, regret etched on his face. “I’m sorry, Lu—Aurora.”
“Don’t be,” I said, staring at the white rug beneath my feet. “You don't have to be afraid to say his name. His wife is back. I am just... property he claimed. A ghost he’s finished with.”
Elio reached out, taking my hand. Her expression shifted from pity to something more clinical, more worried. “That reminds me... have you vomited lately? Since we arrived?”
I thought back. “No. I only seemed to fall sick when I was inside that ancient palace. I feel fine here.”
Elio’s grip tightened. “And your monthly flow? When was the last time the moon marked you?”
The question hit me like a physical weight. My mind raced back through the weeks of darkness, fear, and hidden chambers. I couldn't remember. I hadn't seen a drop of blood since the day I entered the King’s wing.
“It’s been a while,” I whispered, my heart beginning a slow, heavy thud. “Why do you ask?”
Elio looked at Kelvin, then back to me, her voice a mere breath. “With what Josephine said... about the blood of an enemy growing inside you... Aurora, I think you’re carrying the King’s child.”
I bolted upright, jumping from the bed as if the silk had turned to fire. My hands flew to my stomach, not in a caress, but in horror.