Nova’s POV
“Hey, I need to check out something outside. Please hold on for me, and please, let’s do this again when I come back. Save the last dance for me.” Prescott smiled, his sparkling white set of teeth shining brightly under the lightbulb.
I nodded my head, taking a step backwards as he made his way out of the dance floor. I smiled to myself, feeling proud the man of the nation was mine; my husband and my mate.
I turned on my heels, looking back at the crowd on the dance floor. Couples were twirling around each other, their faces alight with joy. Their happiness was infectious, a warmth spreading through my chest as I watched them dance with some much joy on their faces.
As I left the dance floor, I scanned the crowd for my parents, my gaze darting from one face to the next. I was so focused on finding them that I didn’t see the person in front of me until it was too late. I bumped into them, crashing into their chest and stumbling back. They reached out to steady me, their hands firm on my shoulders.
“Are you okay?” that familiar voice that I could recognize anywhere asked, her voice thin and steady.
I looked up, meeting her eyes. And then I froze, every muscle in my body tensing. Because I wasn’t expecting to gaze into those eyes that night.
“Tamsyn… What are you doing here?” my brows knitted and my arms crossed around my chest.
“I… I came to apologize to you because of what we did back there to His Majesty.” she gulped, her hands going to her face, pulling out a few strands of hair off her face.
“What we did?” I scoffed, my eyes narrowed at her, she looked a little genuine but I didn’t believe the look in her eyes.
“Y-yeah. What we did to your husband.” her voice shook slightly. I sighed, trying not to give in to her scheme again.
“What we did, or what you made me do?” my eyes flickered as I shot her a glare.
“Listen to me, Nova, I know I shouldn’t have involved you in my plan,” Tamsyn mumbled, her voice cracking with tears threatening to pour out of her eyes.
“But we’re sisters, and I couldn’t bear to see you being wielded by someone else’s power. I wanted to protect you, to fight for you, because that’s what sisters do.” She wiped a tear from her eye, her face twisted with sorrow.
“Wielded by someone else’s power, you say?” I scoffed, my fingers curled into a tight fist. “Aren’t you the one that manipulated me by making me join hands in your plan by feeding me lies about His Majesty?” I hollered, my voice came out lower than expected thanks to the blasting music for suppressing my cries.
“I… I did all that for you.” Tam sniffed, slowly biting her bottom lip. “I did it for you to get your revenge on that beast.”
“He’s not a beast! Tam, Prescott has never been a beast you made me think he was!” I yelled at the top of my voice, a slight pain surged through my head as I yelled. “And who says I need revenge? Why must I get revenge when he hasn’t done anything to me?”
“What?” Tam smirked, the corner of her lips curved into a grin. “Who’s not a beast?”
“Prescott! Prescott is not a beast!” I added, pointing out to her that she had been wrong with her theory.
“What do you even know!” she smirked, pacing back and forth between me and a couple that was having a chat at a table.
“I know more than you do. He’s my husband and I swear you don’t know him as much as I do.” it was my turn to smirk.
Prescott might have been a dick when I just got here, but, ever since I got closer to him, I’ve known him to be warm-hearted and I think it was my duty as his wife to defend him anywhere I heard people speak ill of him.
“You may be his wife, but I know him better than you think,” Tam started, her lips curving into a knowing smile. “There are things you don’t know about him, secrets he’s kept hidden from you. You might think you know him, but you’ve only scratched the surface.” Her gaze was steady, her words calm and ensured. “There’s more to him than what meets the eye.”
“And what’s that secret that you know?” I arched my brows, waiting for her to spit whatever lies she had cooked in her head.
“He murdered my friend,” Tam blurted out, her voice breaking with grief. “She was just a maid here, and she didn’t deserve to die. But she disturbed his sleep, and for that, he took her life. He took her fucking life in exchange for his damned sleep!” Tam’s hands were trembling, her eyes wide with horror.
“He’s a monster, Nova. I couldn’t let him get
away with it. I had to do something to stop him.”
“That… I think your theory is wrong yet again.” I exhaled, balls of sweat were rolling down my face. It wasn’t stuffy in the hall, but it suddenly became hot for me and I found it hard to breathe.
Tam stared at me, not knowing what to say. She kept quiet, watching me blabbed whatever I had to say.
“Please, you have to believe me,” I pleaded, my voice shaking as I spoke. “Prescott is not a murderer. He has never harmed anyone since I’ve been here. And he never would. He has a good heart, even if he’s misunderstood.” My eyes were brimming with tears, my hands shaking as I tried to reach out to her. “You have to trust me, Tam. I know him better than anyone else. It might be the guard who took your friend’s life, it can’t be Prescott.”
“Oh, dear, love has blinded your eyes! What did he even say to make you so blind to your conscience of reasons?” she scoffed, wiping her cheeks with her thumb.
“I may believe that it wasn’t His Majesty who killed my friend. But what about my boyfriend, my mate who died right before my eyes?” Tam threw the questions at me, questions I had no answers to.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to come out of my mouth. It was true that Tam lost her mate when they were on the run, but it was clear that it was the guards who were sent to find them were the ones who killed her mate. But on whose order did they kill him? Was it Prescott who ordered the guards to kill Tam’s mate? Why? Why would he do that?
“Wondering why he had to kill my mate, right?” she asked, her lips curved into a smirk.
I nodded my head, already getting curious as to why Prescott would do such.
“That’s because he’s a beast. A demon like him doesn’t need to have a reason before they kill anyone. Not like he had any reason before he killed his mother!” Tam chuckled darkly.
I felt my heart stopped beating the moment she said that. “He… killed… who?” I stuttered, my lips trembled as I spoke.
“Did he not tell you?” she smiled, staring into my eyes with an amusing smile on her face. “Oh, guess it wasn’t a fun thing to discuss with your partner.” a mockery smile plastered on her face as she let out a dry chuckle.
“Who did you say Prescott killed?” I found myself asking for the second time, my hands trembled as I grabbed Tamayn by her wrist, forcing her to tell me what she knew.
“Your husband killed his mother because… Because he’s a beast, what other reason must he have before he killed?” my eyes rolled back inside their sockets as what Tam said made my head turn.
It’s not true. It can never be the truth. Prescott can’t do such a thing. He wasn’t the type to do such a thing.
“He can kill you too if you want. Don’t say I did warn you if you wake up one morning to find your husband digging his poisonous claws into your heart.”
“Tam, stop!” I held my head in both hands, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I can’t stop my tears from falling, neither can I stop my heart from beating loudly against my chest.
Prescott could kill me if he wanted. He could decide to kill me off if he fucking? He could kill me like he killed his mother?
My head was spinning and my eyes were getting blurry from my tears. My legs wobbled, threatening to give out if I remained on my feet for another minute.
“I know I did wrong, and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me for using you against His Majesty. But he’s a beast that shouldn’t be living among normal beings like you and I.” Tam gripped my shoulders, she was shaking me to come back to my senses.
Was that true? Was what Tamsyn was saying the truth? Did Prescott truly kill his mother? Why? Why would he do that? For what reason would a child kill his own mother?
“Don’t overthink it, I just thought you should know the kind of person your husband is,” she added, letting go of my shoulders.
“I… I need to find Prescott. I need to ask him why he killed his mother. I need to know what else he’s hiding from everyone. I need to know the kind of person he is.” I blurted out, my breath hitched as I turned around to leave.
“Nova, stop!” Tam’s voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the music like a knife.
“Don’t go to him. Please, don’t ask him. You have to trust me, please.” I could hear the fear in her voice, and the desperation in her words. But I couldn’t understand why she was so adamant about keeping me from asking His Majesty.
I hurried across the dance floor, weaving my way through the crowd. My heart pounded in my chest, the sound almost drowning out the music. I reached the door that was already opened, stepping out into the cool night air. A shiver ran through me, and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ward off the chill. The stars twinkled above me, but I couldn’t find comfort in their beauty.
I could hear footsteps approaching, growing louder as they neared. I didn’t understand why Tam was following me. She had told me things I shouldn’t have known, things that were sure to make my feelings for His Majesty change forever. And yet she was still here, still pursuing me. What did she want from me? What was her game? And why did she seem so desperate to keep me from confronting His Majesty? Was she trying to protect me or herself? I felt a knot of confusion and anxiety forming in my stomach.
“Stop following me!” I shouted, my voice echoing into the night air. I whirled around to face her, my body trembled with anger. “Just leave me alone…” But before I could finish my sentence, I felt something smacked against my head, and a sharp pain exploded in the back of my head. I staggered, my vision blurring as I felt myself falling, collapsing into a large arm.