Kamrynn’s POV
A few days pass uneventfully, and I do my best to keep my head down. I’m busy cleaning the kitchen, scrubbing the countertops, and trying to keep my mind off everything. I’m bent over, scrubbing a stubborn stain, when I feel a presence close by. I look up to see Eloane standing in the doorway, arms crossed, her eyes fixed on me with a look of cold disdain.
“So,” she begins, her voice low and sharp. “Enjoying yourself, are you?”
I straighten up, trying to mask my surprise. “Just doing my work, Eloane.”
Her lip curls. “That’s interesting, considering all the time you seem to have for gossiping about me to the Luna.”
My heart skips a beat, but I quickly force myself to stay calm. “Gossiping? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,” she snaps, stepping closer. “Rmonica might be too kind-hearted to see through you, but I’m not. You think I don’t know what you’ve been saying behind my back?”
I blink, genuinely taken aback. Rmonica would never betray my confidence like that, and I’m sure Eloane knows it. It doesn’t take long to figure out what she’s doing-trying to rile me up, maybe just to pass the time. I meet her gaze briefly, then turn back to my scrubbing. I refuse to give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
But as I turn away, her voice drops, her tone venomous. “Listen very carefully, Kamrynn. Whatever you think you’re doing here, it stops now. I won’t have you poking around where you don’t belong. Stick your nose in my business again, and you’ll wish you had died at birth.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My hands freeze, the cloth slipping from my grip as her words sink in. The malice in her voice, the cold look in her eyes-there’s no mistaking her meaning. She’s dangerous. Far more dangerous than I realized.
I swallow hard, feeling my heart race, and force myself to keep my voice quiet and compliant. “I… I understand, Eloane. I’m sorry if I… if I stepped out of line.”
She lets out a low, mocking laugh, her eyes glinting with satisfaction. “You’re finally showing some sense,” she sneers, crossing her arms. “Maybe you’re not as useless as I thought. Just keep that mouth of yours shut, and we’ll get along just fine.”
I nod quickly, keeping my gaze on the floor. “Of course. I’ll stay out of your way. I promise.”
She raises an eyebrow, studying me for a moment, clearly pleased with my response. “Good,” she says, her voice dripping with condescension. “It would be a shame for the Luna’s charity case to ruin things for herself. Just remember, Kamrynn, you’re here because of her pity. Nothing more.”
“Yes,” I murmur, keeping my voice small. “I understand.”
Satisfied, she turns and strides out of the kitchen, leaving me alone in the silence. I take a deep breath, my hands trembling slightly. It’s only when she’s out of sight that I let my shoulders relax, the tension slipping out of me as I lean against the counter.
So this is it. She knows-or at least suspects that I know something. For the first time, I’m truly scared. Eloane’s warning echoes in my mind, and I realize that whatever she’s hiding, she’ll do anything to keep it from coming to light.
As I resume my work, trying to focus on the familiar rhythm of cleaning, my mind races with everything I’ve seen and heard these past days. What am I supposed to do now? Telling Rmonica is out of the question-she’s blinded by her trust in Eloane, convinced that this woman is the only one who can help her bring a child into the world. Even if I told her, I know she wouldn’t believe me.
The nightmare I’ve been having every night now feels even more ominous. The image of Rmonica’s garden, once vibrant and beautiful, turning to ruin as a cloaked figure spreads poison among the flowers-at first, I brushed it off as my own fears bleeding into my dreams. But each night, the dream grows clearer, more vivid, until it feels less like a nightmare and more like a warning.
In the last two dreams, the cloaked figure’s face has finally been revealed. And each time, it’s Eloane.
I press a hand to my chest, feeling my heart race. This can’t just be a coincidence, can it? Everything about it feels wrong, too precise, too pointed. I didn’t want to believe it, but after what just happened, it’s impossible to ignore. Eloane isn’t just trying to protect some trivial secret-there’s something far more sinister at play here.
And then, a horrifying question forms in my mind, one that chills me to the bone. What if Rmonica’s infertility isn’t natural? What if Eloane has been behind it all along?
The thought is almost too terrible to consider. All this time, Rmonica has poured her trust, her hopes, her dreams, into Eloane’s hands, believing that this woman would help her bring a child into the world. But what if Eloane has been working against her, keeping her from ever experiencing the joy of motherhood? And if so, why?
A bitter taste fills my mouth as I think back on everything-the bottle of pills Raelan handed her, the way she guards Rmonica’s medication like it’s a state secret, her threats, her lies. It all points to one thing: Eloane is hiding something, something that could destroy everything Rmonica has fought for.
I grip the counter, my knuckles turning white. I can’t just stand by and do nothing. Rmonica has been too kind to me, trusted me when she had no reason to. If there’s even a chance that Eloane is hurting her, then I have to find a way to stop it-even if it means going against Eloane on my own.
This might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I’d rather risk everything than let Rmonica’s life be ruined by the one person she trusts most.