The forest was heavy with silence. Not the natural hush of night, but a suffocating stillness that made even the leaves seem unwilling to stir.
Uther’s boots sank into damp earth as he pushed deeper, his heart hamring despite the calm mask on his face.
The shadows clung to him, thick as tar, until the faint silver of moonlight was swallowed whole.
He stopped when he reached the clearing, the place no one dared venture, not even the wolves of the pack.
It was where the trees grew twisted, their branches bent like clawed hands, and the air slled faintly of ash though no fire had ever touched it.
It was also a place where only he had been assigned to venture.
Drawing a shaky breath, he whispered her na.
"Princess Cherry."
There was a stilled silence for about five minutes, soon he began to worry if she had even gotten the call.
Then the forest responded.
First with a low, guttural groan, like wood splintering. The ground seed to pulse beneath his boots. Then the air shimred, and from the darkness between the trees, she appeared.
Cherry did not walk so much as glide, her dark gown whispering against the earth, her pale face lit by an otherworldly glow. Her hair, black as pitch, rejected by the crown, frad sharp features that seed carved from marble.
Her eyes caught the faintest glint of crimson, the mark of her forbidden arts.
"You dare call here, Uther?" she asked, her voice low, lodic, yet carrying a weight that pressed against his chest. "This had better be worth disturbing ."
Uther bowed his head quickly, sweat dampening his brow. "Forgive my lady. I bring news. It was of the most importance."
Her lips curved, though not in amusent. "Speak, then. Quickly."
Uther lifted his gaze, swallowing hard. "Jasmine... has lost the child."
For a mont, silence. Then Cherry’s expression flickered, not satisfaction, but sothing darker.
Her brows knit, her lips thinned. "The child... is gone?"
"Yes," Uther said quickly, relief and dread tangling in his throat. "She buried it herself. The Alpha’s heir.....gone forever."
But instead of triumph, Cherry’s face hardened.
Then she smiled so anly that she appeared as a monster.
She stepped closer, and the shadows seed to follow her, wrapping around her form like smoke. "And yet you look uneasy. There is more, isn’t there?"
Uther’s throat worked. "Xaden did not cast her out. He chose... to forgive her."
Cherry’s eyes snapped, a spark of red igniting in their depths. "Forgive?" she hissed, the word venom on her tongue. "How could you let this happen, Uther? You assured , that he was going to deal with her. And you let him forgive?"
"I tried!" Uther dropped to one knee, his voice shaking. "I whispered the right words, fed the rumors, Anna involved too. We set the whole stage that she planned his assasination. But Xaden silenced them all. He chose her still. He..." He hesitated, knowing the next words might well earn him her wrath.
Cherry’s face twisted in cruelty.
"There is more." He stated. "We received another letter of invitation from the Queen."
Cherry’s face went deathly still, as though carved from ice.
Then her hands clenched, and the air in the clearing thickened, charged with her magic. The trees groaned as if bending to her rage.
"Yes the Queen had initially invited him to visit before the kidnapping." Uther explained.
"I’m not stupid Uther. Of course I rember." Cherry hissed her eyes narrowing. "Why does she insist on bringing the dirt girl over!"
Uther dared a glance up. "You fear the Queen will realize?"
Cherry’s eyes snapped to him, and for a heartbeat he thought she might tear his heart out where he knelt. But then she turned away, pacing the clearing, her gown trailing dark threads of mist in her wake.
"My sister..." Cherry said slowly, almost to herself. "The woman may be blind in politics, but not in blood. If she looks at Jasmine again or stays too long with her. Only the gods know what will happen. Especially now that she knows she has a grand daughter alive. If she feels it—she will know. She will know Jasmine is her granddaughter. And everything I HAVE BUILT... everything I’ve worked for..."
Her voice broke into a sharp hiss, and the forest seed to flinch.
"No," she said finally, her tone iron again. "It cannot happen. I will not allow it."
Uther licked his lips nervously. "What will you do, my lady?"
Cherry stilled, her back to him, her pale hands lifting ever so slightly as if drawing strength from the shadows themselves. The ground trembled faintly under his knees.
"What I must," she murmured. "If Jasmine sets foot in this place, my sister’s compassion will undo us all. I will deal with her before that day cos."
She turned then, her face composed once more, though her eyes burned with dark fire. "You will continue watching, Uther. Every whisper, every plan Xaden makes, you will bring it to . If she leaves the pack, if she so much as breathes near the palace, I will know. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lady," Uther said, bowing lower. His heart raced, knowing one slip of the tongue could cost him his life.
Cherry leaned down, her voice silk and poison at once. "Pray, Uther, that you do not fail again. Jasmine’s bloodline cannot be revealed. Not now. Not ever. Or the consequences will be dire for you."
And then, as suddenly as she appeared, she was gone. The clearing darkened, the weight of her presence dissolving into the night. The forest exhaled, but Uther’s breath ca shallow, his chest tight with dread.
He remained kneeling long after she vanished, sweat cold on his back.
Because even though she had gone, her promise lingered in the air, heavier than any threat.
Cherry would deal with Jasmine.
And when she moved... the world itself might tremble.
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