Chapter 46 Stern Warning
Dahila
“Mom… Mom!”
Lila’s voice reached me before I saw her. Small feet rushed across the ground, and the kitchen doors swung open behind her. She ran toward the garden, breathless and wide-eyed.
“I was searching for you in the big kitchen. I almost got lost,” she said, crashing into me.
I lowered my book and steadied her. “I told Xenia I would be in the garden,” I said gently. “In case you needed me.”
I had been sitting beneath the old fig tree, a romance novel resting in my lap. It was my quiet escape from the palace and its cold halls. Love felt fictional to me, almost foolish, yet I still found myself smiling at dramatic confessions and snickering at tender lines.
It was my little way of leaving the too many chaos behind… and hoping on something I knew would never find me.
“I met a lady,” my daughter said suddenly.
I blinked and wiped a small stain from the corner of her mouth. “Oh? A lady?”
“Yes.” She nodded seriously. “She didn’t like me.”
“And how do you know that?” I asked, amused.
“She looked at me like I offended her.”
I laughed softly at her words, but then I paused. “What was she wearing?”
“A white dress.”
White.
“Were there servants around her?”
She bent to touch the purple flowers near my chair and nodded without looking up. “Yes.”
A slow understanding settled in my chest.
Before I could ask more questions, I heard footsteps behind us… It was slow and measured.
His Luna.
“Oh,” she said lightly when she saw me, as though surprised, though I knew she was not. She shrugged her shoulders and leaned toward her maid, whispering something into her ear.
The maid stiffened immediately, then began walking toward me. She bowed gently when she reached us, her hands trembling slightly.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You have to leave. The Luna requests private time here.”
I raised my brows. “Private time? There are many gardens in this palace. Why here? And why now?”
I had never seen her spend time in this garden before.
The Luna stepped forward, disgust clear on her face. My daughter pressed closer to me. I placed a steady hand on her shoulder.
“Take her inside,” I told Xenia quietly. I had not noticed when she approached, but she was already behind us. Xenia nodded and led my daughter away.
“Mom?” she whispered.
“It’s fine,” I assured her.
When they disappeared, I stood fully. Now it was just the Luna and me.
“I did not expect to see you here,” she said.
“Yet here I am,” I replied calmly.
“This garden is not for everyone.”
“Last time I checked,” I said evenly, “no one claimed ownership of the sun and trees.”
Her eyes hardened. “You forget your position.”
“And you seem to forget yours.”
Silence stretched between us. She stepped closer.
“You should keep your pups in order, they won’t be allowed to disturb the peace of this palace,” she said quietly.
“They are mine and I will give the whatever instruction is fine with me.”
“She wandered near me.”
“She is a child. Children wander.”
“She looked at me strangely.”
“She is curious, not disrespectful.”
Her lips curved without warmth. “You are getting too comfortable here. You read in the garden. You walk freely. Your daughter runs through these halls as if she belongs.”
“She does belong,” I said quietly.
“Careful,” she warned.
“Careful of what?”
“You are not the Luna. Do not act like one.”
“I am not trying to be.”
She studied my face, searching for fear. She would not find it.
“You think Dagnoth will always protect you?” she asked.
“I do not depend on anyone’s protection.”
Her fingers curled at her sides. “You should teach your daughter manners.”
“My daughter is well-mannered.”
“She stared at me.”
“And that troubles you?”
For a brief second, she hesitated. Then her expression hardened again.
“You are forgetting where you stand in this palace.”
“No,” I said calmly. “I know exactly where I stand.”
The wind moved through the trees, stirring the leaves above us.
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “You should start preparing.”
“For what?”
“For change.”
I held her gaze. “I don’t like vague threats.”
“It is not a threat,” she whispered. “It is a promise.”
A cold stillness settled in my chest. “Is that why you wanted this garden cleared?”
She did not answer. Instead, she glanced toward the deeper path of the palace grounds.
“You will understand soon,” she said.
“Understand what?”
“You have enjoyed too much peace.”
Then she turned and walked away, her maid following closely behind.
I stood alone in the garden. It no longer felt like an escape. It felt like a warning.
I looked down at the romance novel on my chair and closed it slowly.
From somewhere above, I felt eyes on me.
Watching.
Waiting.
I stood strong during the argument, but deep down I was wasn’t as defiant as I was acting and I hope dagnoth would be able to protect me and my pups from whatever she is planning.