Aniya told her about the strange lily she found in her coin bag while telling her how she had come by it, although leaving out part of the poison, while watching to see if the witch had told Oana about what she was searching for.
It didn't seem like the witch told her anything.
“I have seen something like that in my room before,” Aniya said. “I’m scared of what it means and I am afraid—” she looked over to Arlo for the umpteenth time, “of harm coming to Arlo or me.”
Oana was very concerned and she said she would tell the Alpha and Luna about it so that they could give orders for the Pack House to be thoroughly searched.
Then Aniya asked, “What about last night? Why did the sun suddenly come up and merge with the moon?” She rushed to the window. “Everything seems normal now.”
“Elder Superior said it was a result of something that happened in another realm. It is none of our concern; our Realm stays unaffected, and all the portals remain sealed.”
Aniya panicked.
Another realm?
What about Ignas? Her family? What if they were terribly affected?
Oana had to calm her down. She brought her food and water, telling her that her family would be fine.
Then she told Aniya about how she had cut ties with Goldie and the rest of her friends so that they wouldn't be able to affect her decisions when it came to marrying Eldrick.
Aniya was no longer listening at this point. She was still worried about her family. She hoped that she would see Syon so that she could ask him to take her to one of those warriors he knew who journeyed across Realms. She needed to know if there was a way they could take her home or even if they couldn't do that, if they could check on her family and help her send a message.
By Ignas, why didn't she think of this before?
She didn't even notice when Oana left but she had kept on subconsciously guiding Arlo.
By Ignas, they really needed to redesign this room to accommodate little Arlo.
There had been a knock then and she had been so excited thinking it was Syon, only to open the door and find Ikrus at the other side.
“Good morning, how did you sleep?”
Aniya quickly told him about the lily and asked about what happened last night; basically, the same thing she had told Oana.
Ikrus's reply was the same as Oana’s, but for the lily, he said he would check the pack House himself.
The Hunt began today and to take his mind off this opportunity his father had refused him because he knew what he would have used it for - because he was certain that he would win, he had to go to the training grounds where he met other warriors and trained them.
Aniya had a feeling that the shadow man was dead. Just like she told Ikrus, she felt that this intruder was the same one Ikrus had killed, however she needed to be sure.
Ikrus was weary about it, feeling that the shadow man was another assassin working for the Alpha.
“Wear something comfortable,” he said as he pulled up Arlo, a smile playing on his lips at Arlo who laughed at being thrown up and caught again. “We are going out.”
What?! He was willingly taking her out. Now what was his motive for this?
“What did your Protest friend say about my heat?”
“He said that since you are the first human in our realm, then maybe it is normal for you.”
“He isn't even certain?”
“You are the first of your kind.”
“How about Ula?”
“It is impossible. The Elder Superior will not let them leave the Temple. It is rumoured that one of them is impure.”
Aniya’s heart skipped a beat.
“Don't be so scared on their behalf. It is merely a suspicion that the Elder Superior has. It happens before every Choosing. He is always suspicious.”
Aniya wanted to ask more questions about that but that might make Ikrus suspicious.
“All that power and you still have to follow rules.
“You have no idea how many times I have broken for you.
“Break some more.”
“There are limits that must be maintained for order. Change your dress.”
She dropped it off her body and walked to the wardrobe. He covered Arlo’s eyes, not looking at her as he did that. “You will knock when you are ready.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
He left.
Aniya scoffed.
Maybe he wanted to take her somewhere beautiful so he would kill her there and feel better about himself.
She grabbed the poison.
Three drops.
It echoed in her mind.
She would kill him first.
____
____
A garden.
By Ignas, she was right!
A beautiful scenery for her to die in.
The garden was close to the Pack House. Ikrus brought two maids with them to help with the basket of food and for Arlo.
There were people in the garden.
It must be somewhere lovers visited often to spend some time together. Everywhere she turned, they were mostly coupled up.
Her green, thin-sleeved flare knee-length gown wasn't in correlation with what most people wore here. It seemed Ikrus bought out the section they were in, though; she had encountered fewer and fewer people as they came closer, and when they got here, it was empty.
There were hedges around them, which kept them separated from others.
The green grass on the floor, which lay like a carpet, was short and soft against her feet. The sun was up but it wasn't scorching hot; it was just perfect. When Aniya reached for the basket of food though, she was disappointed. This wasn't food, they were just clothes to spread on the floor and sleep on.
Nonsense!
She wanted to express her anger, but Ikrus and Arlo were on the other side of the garden, playing.
Her heart ached to see them getting along so easily.
This wouldn't last but at least, her son was happy in the moment. She would let him enjoy it.
Then she turned around and started exploring the garden when she noticed that there was a pond here, with a bottle of food on the floor next to the pond.
Her heart raced with a thought. She looked back to see that Arlo and Ikrus were still playing.
“Focus! The lives of your warriors depend on this!”
All that for passing an inflated balloon?
Anyway, what mattered was that Ikrus' was distracted and far away.
Quickly, she took one of the rolled-up balls of food from the fish feed and applied three drops of the content of her bottle. Then with a sweaty and shaky hand, she fed it to one of the fishes.
It ate it greedily.
Aniya's heart hammered as she watched it jump up for more, just like the others that hadn't been fed at all. Then it swam away from the rest.
Aniya followed.
It went still and drowned.
So it was poison, all right, and all that was needed was three drops, but Ikrus was not a fish, and he had a good nose. Even though the poison had no scent to her, it might have to him.
Aniya’s only question now was whether she would have to feed him all three drops at once or if she could space them out so he wouldn't notice.
“Will you look at that?” Ikrus whispered behind her and Aniya jumped in her skin.
Well, she didn't need the answer to that anymore because there would be no feeding him anything.
By Ignas, she had just been caught!