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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ADOM

T he cool air of the Summer Castle kissed my bare skin as Belle and I stepped through its towering front doors. My hand engulfed hers, our fingers laced tightly. I knew letting go wouldn't mean losing her again, but I'd used up my quota of rational until the next Hunter's Eclipse.

No one batted an eyelash at my nudity. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I caught a couple of female guards blinking a little too fast, their eyes darting down before snapping back up. One of the men’s eyes lingered a second too long, and I arched a brow at him until he cleared his throat and looked away.

“Your Majesty.” Colson appeared, holding a dark robe in his hands.

I took the robe, shrugging it over my shoulders. Would I ever get used to fabric directly on my flesh? As soon as I’d tied the sash, I reached for Belle again, retaking her hand.

The sitting room came into view. My mother sat in the same chair where I’d first seen Belle. The memory of that moment was vivid—her needle weaving my hair into the threads of her wedding dress. The dress she’d made for someone else, while my heart had already begun to beat for her.

Through the window, the First Moon hovered low in the sky. Its pale white face was marred by faint red shadows left behind by Lyra's rays from the eclipse. Those would fade in a day. For now, it appeared Avarix glowered at me.

I stared the moon down, unflinching. Avarix could rage all he wanted. He would not retaliate. Not with Lyra’s favor firmly on my side. We were safe now—Belle, my people, all of us.

Turning my gaze back to the room, I focused on my mother. Her expression was as neutral as ever, her face devoid of the warmth I’d long given up hoping to find. Her sharp eyes flicked briefly to Belle and then back to me, taking in every detail.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. Her fingers curled slightly over the armrests of her chair. Whatever game she intended to play, I wasn’t going to let her win. Not this time.

The moonlight from the window brushed over her face, but it didn’t soften her. It had always been this way. From my earliest memory, she had looked at me with that same stoic mask. As though every glance burned her, but she refused to turn away. She turned away from me now, her head down and her eyes closed firmly shut.

“Can you not even look at me now, Mother? Now that I'm cured?”

"You look like your father."

That gave me pause. It was both compliment and slap to the heart. "And now you hate me for that, too."

She lifted her head and looked at me in confusion. “Hate you?”

"Because I'm the reason he's dead."

"No, Adom. I'm the reason he's dead. I'm the reason for all of this. I fell in love. I followed my heart when I should have obeyed the gods. And you—” Her voice faltered, but she pushed on. “You paid the price for my selfishness. Your father paid the price. Our people paid it in blood. Do you know what it’s like to watch your child suffer and know it’s your fault? To know the gods marked you for ruin because you dared to defy them?”

"I don't blame you for anything. I never have. I was proud to have been born of my father's love and your strength. Did you ever consider that Solara blessed you with Father? You had ten years with him. Your child was born healthy, if not whole."

My mother's gaze hardened again. “I thought if I showed you love, the moon would punish you more. Avarix is a jealous god. He would have taken everything from you, from us. He still might. That’s why you must give her up. If you don’t, the moon will destroy you and this kingdom.”

“Fuck the moon.”

It came out as a growl, low and menacing, like the beast that I was at my core. For the first time in my life, I saw fear in her eyes.

“I no longer serve Avarix. I no longer bow to his will. I gave my vows to Belle. I gave her my body, my soul. She broke the curse. Not Charlotte. Belle is queen.”

The cool mask of the Lioness Queen was back in place. I don't know if she agreed with me, pitied me, or would defy me. One never knew with her.

Her gaze moved to Belle, standing silent and strong beside me. Something fragile flickered in my mother’s eyes. Her fingers moved to the vial around her neck. I had always figured she was waiting for this day, the day I took the crown from her, to take the poison.

My mother tugged on the chain. There was a snap in the silence of the room. The chain broke, and the vial came to rest in the palm of her hand.

I tensed, unsure if I would snatch it from her hands before a drop hit her tongue. Or if I'd let her go to my father, which I knew was her heart's desire. Instead of uncorking the vial, my mother set it down on the table with a deliberate clink.

"Belle? Is that your name, child?"

Belle started beside me, then cleared her throat. "Yes, Your Majesty."

“We have much to do if you are to rule by his side. Table manners and dining etiquette at dawn. If I must spend the rest of my days taming a wildflower into a garden rose, so be it.”

Then, without another word, she rose and left, her steps measured, her head held high. A lioness to the end.