I jolted awake so suddenly that my heart slamd violently against my ribs.
My hands flew to my chest instinctively, fingers pressing hard as if to make sure it was still there still beating.
My breath ca fast and shallow, and for a mont I just sat there, staring into the dimness, trying to rember where I was.
I swallowed hard.
Then slowly, I lifted a trembling hand and wiped my face.
I was drenched in sweat.
My hair clung damply to my temples, my nightdress sticking uncomfortably to my skin. My entire body felt overheated and cold at the sa ti, as though I had been running for miles and yet frozen in place.
Seeing my mother.
Hearing her voice.
Standing before my father in a world that wasn’t my own.
Portaling without even aning to.
Sothing I had never even known existed.
It all crashed into at once.
I closed my eyes briefly and exhaled through my nose.
My dreams weren’t dreams anymore.
They were visions.
There was no denying it now.
If I had dreamt of my father, seen him before ever eting him if I had recognized him instantly in an entirely different world, then that was confirmation enough. My mind hadn’t invented him. My soul had known him.
And if that was true...
Then I was going to see my mother again.
The realization both baffled and fascinated , twisting my insides with awe and fear all at once.
Slowly, I turned my head toward the window.
Night had fully fallen.
Soft glowing lights dotted the city beyond the glass, lanterns and crystal lamps illuminating winding streets and curved rooftops. The distant lands looked even more beautiful at night peaceful, alive, impossibly serene.
I must have slept far longer than I thought.
The pack below shimred like sothing out of a storybook, and for a mont I simply stared, my chest tightening.
This place felt real in a way my old world never had.
And then the truth hit again.
My mother.
Scarlett.
The missing princess.
The daughter King Roland and Queen Rose had been searching for their entire lives.
I clenched my fists tightly in the sheets.
How had she lived?
What had they let her endure?
They had lost her and instead of searching with love, they had allowed ti to swallow her existence.
Especially the King.
The Queen whom I had grown to love and believed to love .
Only to find out she was the grand daughter she had been so obsessed to find.
And then... they had done the sa to .
My jaw tightened as anger flared hot and sharp.
I thought of the cell.
The cold stone.
The way I had been accused without hesitation, thrown aside as expendable while Auburn, the imposter, had stood where she never belonged.
I thought of Queen Rose, who had looked at with false concern, only to sentence to death in a blink. The disappointnt in my chest twisted into sothing bitter and painful.
The King.
My supposed grandfather.
The man I had caught betraying his own wife with her sister.
The man who had never once hidden his hatred for .
Fate had been cruel enough to make them my grandparents.
The irony burned.
I chewed on my bottom lip, rage simring dangerously close to the surface.
I wanted nothing to do with them.
Nothing.
They had abandoned my mother.
They had abandoned .
Their throne ant nothing to .
Their crown ant nothing.
Their blood ant nothing.
Not after the way they had treated .
Not after everything.
They would harm my child.
I knew it.
And I would never allow that.
Maybe this place, this world, was the peace I needed.
A fresh start.
Just and my baby.
Away from all of them.
Including Xaden.
The thought of him ca unbidden, soft and painful.
The last night.
The warmth.
The way his hands had held like I was sothing precious.
The night this child had been conceived.
Heat crept into my cheeks and I turned my face away, shaking my head.
No.
I couldn’t think about him.
I wouldn’t.
He was my past.
No matter how much I loved him, loving him had nearly destroyed .
And my child?
Xaden would always have enemies.
Always.
There would always be soone watching, plotting, waiting.
Soone ready to hurt us.
Kidnap us.
Use us.
I couldn’t live like that.
This was better.
This was safer.
This was the choice a mother made.
I told myself that over and over until my chest hurt.
Then my thoughts drifted back to my mother.
How happy she had looked in my vision.
How her eyes had lit up when she saw .
How she had smiled like the world had finally made sense.
I wondered how terrified she must have been carrying alone.
Unlike , who had chosen to leave Xaden, she had been forced to live without Aiden.
That thought twisted sothing deep inside my chest.
I wanted to know everything about her.
The dreams weren’t enough anymore.
I needed to hear about her from the one person who had loved her completely.
Slowly, I sat up in bed.
A soft kick pressed against my palm.
I smiled faintly, exhaustion lting into sothing gentler.
"You had a nice nap, didn’t you?" I murmured, rubbing the curve of my stomach.
Another kick followed, firr this ti.
A response.
I let out a quiet breathless laugh. "I’ll take that as a yes."
I leaned down awkwardly and pressed a kiss to my belly.
My sweet baby.
My second chance.
The child I was determined to protect.
But fear crept in again.
Low and quiet.
I didn’t want to die.
I didn’t want to lose this baby the way I had lost my first.
Aiden had said I had power.
That had to an sothing.
That had to an hope.
A small fla ignited in my chest.
If I had power... then maybe I could shift.
Maybe I could survive childbirth.
Maybe this ti would be different.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
I stiffened imdiately.
My eyes darted to the door.
"Who is it?" I asked cautiously.
"My na is Fiona," a gentle female voice replied. "King Aiden sent to check on you."
King Aiden.
My father.
The word still felt strange.
Unreal.
I swallowed and straightened my back.
"You may co in," I said quietly.
The door opened slowly.
A petite woman stepped inside, no older than her early thirties. Olive skin, soft features, her dark hair pulled into a neat bun. She wore a simple pale green dress, modest and elegant.
She didn’t look threatening.
If anything, she looked kind.
"Hello," I managed.
"Hello," she replied politely. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes... thank you," I said, still a little dazed.
"You must be hungry," she said gently. "Your father has arranged a private dinner for just the two of you."
Right on cue, my stomach growled loudly.
I flushed.
Another kick followed.
I laughed softly, rubbing my belly. "Well... I suppose we both are."
Fiona smiled. "Would you like to bathe first?"
And suddenly, my body felt unbearably heavy.
Every muscle sagged as if surrendering.
"Yes," I breathed. "Please."
She stepped closer. "May I assist you?"
I froze, heat rushing to my face.
"I.... Uhmmm er... i never-
She quickly added, "Only because you’re pregnant. I thought it might be difficult."
She wasn’t wrong.
I hadn’t had a proper bath in weeks.
Bending over was impossible now.
The last real bath I’d had was in a lake weeks ago.
I looked at her, then sighed softly.
"Okay," I said gently. "I’d like the help."
She smiled warmly.
"Then co," she said. "Let’s get you comfortable."
I was led to a door in the bedroom before Fiona turned the nob.
Inside was a beautiful wash room with a lovely bath.
The walls were white with plants inside.
There was a beautiful iron chair and I watched Fiona motioned to the chair for to seat.
Before I did, she helped to take off my dirty rags.
Once those were gone, I felt imnse relief drop on my shoulders.
I heaved a sigh of relief and despite being naked, I sat on the chair.
She picked a bowl from inside the bath of water and just as she slashed the water gently on my shoulders I trembled for the impact of cold water.
But it never did.
It was warm.
I looked up at her in absolute awe.
"The water is warm." I blinked in disbelief.
She looked at strangely.
"Your water doesn’t get warm or cold by choice where you co from?" She asked .
I shook my head and she seed puzzled.
And it truly occurred to how different they were.
She helped have my bath and once I was done, I felt so fresh and squeaky clean.
My orange hair was made into a single braid while I wore a beautiful large dress.
"You’re ready to have dinner with your father." She inford .
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