She shook her head, pressing her face against her knees. “Please. Leave me alone.”
As if her words had struck him, he took a step back.
When she didn’t say anything else, he left, the door clicking closed behind him.
The dam she’d been holding back broke. She held her hands to her face and wept and wept. The threadbare sheet scratched her delicate skin, but she didn’t care.
Her birth mother had been here all along, and she had no idea. Why had Nina never approached her? Sent her a letter? Explained herself at all. She had so many questions, to which the answers she would now never know. Who was her biological father? Where was he now? Angie and Darius had never mentioned him, only that her birth mother had discarded her due to her sickness—which obviously wasn’t true. She was never sick. So why had Nina abandoned her?
Luna sat up and threw the covers over herself, sliding into bed still wearing the ripped gown from the protection ceremony. She didn’t have the energy to undress. Lying face-first on her pillow, she screamed. What was she going to do about the king’s request for her to shift?
How was she going to explain that she didn’t want to? That even if she did, she didn’t know how to? Tears flowed down her cheeks, soaking her pillow.
Her entire life had been a lie. She had been given the title of a noblewoman, but in reality, she was the backup unicorn in case something happened to Nina. Her sobs became more violent, and her entire body shook as she cried. Why had Nina given her up? Why had Nina worked for the king? Why stay so close to the daughter she abandoned? None of it made any sense.
Questions kept repeating themselves on an endless loop; her head spun like there was a tornado in it. The one that kept surfacing the most, the question Luna desperately wanted the answer to was,Had Nina loved me?
Chapter 13
New Bed, New Day, New Life
At some point, Luna fell asleep because the next thing she knew, she was waking up to the sound of a meal tray sliding on the vanity. She yawned and stretched her hands over her head, eyes fluttering open just in time to see a small servant girl scurrying out of her room.That’s odd.She thought the food would be left outside her room; she hadn’t expected them to bring it directly in . . . not that it mattered.
Luna rolled out of bed and settled in front of the vanity. The amount of sunlight pouring into her room suggested it was already late morning. As she glanced in the mirror, relief washed over her. She hadn’t transformed into a unicorn overnight—a possibility that still unnerved her. Shaking off the unease, she turned to her modest breakfast: plain oatmeal with a side of dried fruit. It tasted overly salty, but her hunger overpowered her taste buds, and she ate the entire bowl.
The wardrobe was full of clothes for her to peruse, most brought over from her family’s house. She selected a long black flowy dress with pearl-like buttons in the back. It took several agonizing minutes to do up each button herself, but finally, she finished. For the final touch, she stood in front of the mirror and reached to straighten the chain that once hung around her neck.
She frowned when she realized it wasn’t there; that bare feeling was going to take some getting used to.
Deciding she needed to get some fresh air, she stepped out of her room and into the hall. Clyde was waiting a few feet away from the door and, upon seeing her, asked, “Where are you going?”
“For a walk.” She sneered.
“The king left instructions for you to focus all of your attention on completing your task.”
Luna grimaced. So, shewasa prisoner in her room until she transformed . . . and since she was no closer to figuring out how, she’d be stuck here forever. Damien had only explained how to transform from unicorn to human, not the other way. She stomped back into her room.
Clyde followed her, and she whirled around, ready to kick him out, but she stopped when she noticed his cheeky little smile and the small cloth bag he was holding.
“What’s that?”
Nervously, he smoothed his hand over his dirty blond hair, which did nothing to tame its stupid, cute curls. “I got something for you.”
A gift?She crossed her arms. After holding a sword to her throat and throwing her in the dungeons, he would have to do more than give her a little trinket.
“I don’t want anything from you.” All she wanted was to yell at him and give him a piece of her mind, but she refrained. What good would screaming and shouting do? He had already managed to put her in the dungeon once; what was stopping him from doing it again?
“Let me at least apologize.” Slowly, he opened the bag, revealing its contents.
The smell hit her first. Warm sugar. Butter. Home.
She squealed with genuine glee. “Brown sugar buns?!” She snatched one from him, her anger momentarily paused as she took a giant bite. Sweetness dissolved on her tongue, and a sound escaped her, caught halfway between a moan and sob.
After being in the dungeons, treated like a thing, this little bit of comfort felt like heaven had brushed her skin. There was no pretending it wasn’t her favourite treat. Her mom always made these whenever she was sad—and she was so utterly sad that the word didn’t seem powerful enough to encompass the depth of her sorrow, her rage.
Then it clicked.
Her chewing slowed and her knees went weak, forcing her to take a seat on the bed. She had been so caught up with eating she’d forgotten about Clyde. Who currently stood before her more than likely expecting a thankyou.
