Lily
My knees nearly buckled but I clutched my skirt tighter to keep from collapsing. It wasn't possible. But it was. And I saw it in his eyes. The recognition and the fire. He knew. And he remembered.
His voice was steel when he spoke again. "See me in my study. Tomorrow evening."
I bowed, my voice trembling. "Yes, Your Majesty."
But inside, I was spiraling. As I left the room, the corridors blurred and my heartbeat was a drum in my ears. What did he want with me now? How did he even recognize me? I'd done everything to disappear. Everything to forget. But fate, fate had other plans.
He was engaged. Princess Zeena's Luna-to-be. His path was set. His future laid out like a map made of iron and law. So why summon a maid? And why now? I didn't have the answers. Only fear. And a sinking feeling that tomorrow would change everything. And I wasn't sure I was ready.
I lay on my cot, arms crossed over my chest, staring at the cracked wooden ceiling like it held answers. My body ached from the day's labor, but sleep refused me. My mind wouldn't stop circling one thing: See me in my study tomorrow evening. Those words clung to me like a cold mist. Why now? Why summon me after all this time?
I'd spent years trying to bury the ache. That night in the woods; his touch, his voice and the lies dressed up as tenderness. I had tucked it away deep, where it couldn't touch me. I built new routines, new rules and a new life. And just when I had learned how to live without himHe reappearedNot just as the man who broke me, but as Alpha King. With a crown. A kingdom. And a Luna waiting in the wings.
My heart twisted hard in my chest. I wasn't that girl anymore. I couldn't be. I'm not going. But the moment I thought about it, fear sank its teeth into me. If I defied him, what would happen? I needed this job. And I needed the roof over my head. Safety. And he had the power to rip it away with a single word. I dragged my hands over my face and exhaled shakily. I need an excuse. Sick? Risky. Zeena might call for a healer. Extra duties? She'd already dismissed me for the night. Pretend I forgot? Worse. A man like him doesn't tolerate being forgotten. I curled onto my side, trying to breathe past the anxiety tightening in my chest.
Then, it started again. The crawling sensation under my skin. The shift in the air, thick and electric. A whisper floated just beneath the silence, brushing my ear like silk: "Awaken." My eyes flew open. My body locked up, alert. Something was watching me. I could feel it beyond the walls. A presence and darkness pressing in. "Not now," I whispered, voice trembling. "Please… not now."
But it was already here. The energy clawed at the edges of the room before receding again, like a tide pulling back into deep waters. It was gone for now. My breath came hard and shaky.
I wasn't just scared of seeing him. Something else was unraveling around me, and I didn't know how to stop it. Still, if he wanted a meeting, he'd have to wait.
I remembered how I used to fool Iris. I'd fake an illness perfectly—just pale and slow enough. Distant eyes, shallow breath. No fever and no coughing. Just enough to worry them. It would work again.Let Elis summon another maid.
I pulled the blanket to my chin, trying to pretend my pulse wasn't thundering in my ears. But deep down, I knew. I wasn't just hiding from him. I was hiding from whatever had followed me here. And I wouldn't be able to hide forever.
***
Elis's POV
She didn't come. I'd known she wouldn't. But still, I waited.
The study was dark but for candlelight dancing across the shelves. The scent of wax and ash lingered, reminding me of long nights spent drowning in politics and silence. But tonight, all I could think of was her. Lily.
Her scent had haunted me for years. Earth and wildflowers. Something soft and untamed. The last time I held her, she trembled in my arms. Not from fear. From something far more dangerous. That was trust.
And I had broken it. The memory hit like a blade to the gut. I had returned for her. After that night in the woods, I had gone back, racing through the woods like a madman, only to find the cabin empty. Abandoned. No note. No scent. And no sign of life. She was gone. And I lost her before I ever had the chance to explain.
Now, fate tossed her back into my world like a cruel joke. But I wasn't laughing. I was king now. With power she couldn't have imagined back then. With obligations she'd never want to be tangled in. And yet… I still wanted her. Even now, she had slipped through my fingers again. But I wasn't angry. Not at her.
She was surviving the only way she knew how, through silence, caution and distance. I saw it in her eyes when our gazes met. The walls she'd built were high, fortified with pain and steel. Still, she was here. And that was enough for now. She didn't forget. She was just protecting herself.
I leaned back in my chair, gaze still fixed on the door as though she might walk in anyway. But she wouldn't. So I had to be patient. I wouldn't force her. I wouldn't summon her again like she was just another servant. I'd find another way. Something gentler and sincere. Because whether she realized it or not, what was between us wasn't finished.
I had questions that only she could answer. And I knew she had questions of her own. I'd give her space. A little. But this time, I wouldn't walk away without her truth. Without giving her mine. I'm not the man I was. And I'd make her see that.
Whatever it took.