FIA
I’d been pacing for twenty minutes when the knock came.
It had only been what... Twenty minutes of staring at my phone. Gruelling seconds of calling Milo over and over while watching the screen light up with his name and then go dark again when he didn’t answer. Twenty minutes of that text from Hazel burning into my brain.
Hello sister. Guess who is coming to see you.
The knock was soft. Polite. The kind of knock that somehow made everything worse because it was so normal. Like the world... my world hadn’t just tilted sideways.
"Luna Fia?" A voice came through the door. I recognized it as the Omega from before.
"Yes?" I managed.
"Your sister is here to see you."
My stomach dropped.
I stopped pacing. Instead I just stood frozen in the middle of the Luna suite with my phone clutched in my hand. The screen was still open to Milo’s contact. Still showing all those unanswered calls.
"Luna?" The servant knocked again.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. My throat had closed up. My chest felt tight like someone was sitting on it.
Hazel was here.
And Milo still wasn’t answering.
Those two facts connected in my mind like puzzle pieces snapping together. Hazel wouldn’t come here unless she’d already won. Unless she’d already made sure there was no one left to expose her. Unless Milo was...
No.
I shook my head and forced myself to breathe. Maybe I was wrong. I had to be.
Maybe this was about something else. Maybe Hazel was here to gloat or threaten me or play some other twisted game. Maybe Milo was fine. Maybe his phone died or he got busy or he decided this wasn’t worth the risk.
But I knew better.
I knew my sister. A bit too much now. There was nothing I could put past her at this point.
"The Alpha requests your presence in the gardens," the servant said through the door. Her voice was getting impatient now. "Your sister wishes to see you."
The gardens. Not my room. Not somewhere private. That was odd because it felt like Cian was being careful. That should have made me feel better. It didn’t.
I looked down at the rash on my arms. The red welts had faded some since this morning but they were still visible. Still itchy. I rubbed at them without thinking and felt the sting.
"I’ll be right there," I managed to say.
My voice sounded hollow. Distant. Like it was coming from someone else.
I put my phone in the pocket of my dress. Smoothed down the fabric even though my hands were shaking. Looked at myself in the mirror near the door.
I looked terrible. Pale. Exhausted. Like someone who hadn’t slept in days even though it had only been one night in that moldy room. My hair was a mess. My eyes were too wide. Too frightened.
I looked exactly like what I was.
Prey.
The walk to the gardens felt endless. The servant led the way and I followed like I was walking to my execution. My feet moved but I couldn’t feel them. Everything felt numb and too sharp at the same time.
We passed other servants in the halls. They all looked at me. Some with curiosity. Some with barely hidden contempt. One omega actually smirked when she saw me. Like she knew something I didn’t. Like she was in on the joke.
But it was probably all in my head. I was that terrified and it disgusted even me how weak I was.
The gardens were beautiful. I noticed that even through my panic. Flowers everywhere. Neat paths. Stone benches under shaded trees. It was the kind of place meant for peaceful walks and quiet conversations.
But there was nothing peaceful about this.
Hazel stood near a fountain. She was wearing a soft blue dress that made her look delicate. Innocent. Her hair was down and loose. She looked like she’d been crying. Her eyes were red. Her face was blotchy. When she saw me she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
"Fia!"
She ran toward me. Actually ran. Her arms outstretched like she was going to embrace me.
I froze. Because I knew what this was. Another performance.
She crashed into me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She even had the effrontery to pull me close. Her body was shaking. Or maybe she was making it shake. With Hazel it was impossible to tell.
"Oh goddess," she sobbed into my shoulder. "I’ve been so worried! When you left... The state you left in... I just couldn’t sleep... Knowing what you had done... Skollrend and its people would punish you. I had to come. I had to see you."
Her voice was loud enough to carry. Loud enough for the guards stationed around the garden to hear. Loud enough for the servants hovering near the entrance. She was performing. Putting on a show.
And then she whispered.
So quiet only I could hear.
"Did you really think Milo would save you?"
My blood turned to ice.
Hazel pulled back slightly but kept her hands on my shoulders. Still crying. Still shaking. To anyone watching we looked like two sisters reuniting after a tragedy. But her eyes were cold. Sharp. Triumphant.
"He’s dead," she whispered. Her lips barely moved. "Executed at dawn for assaulting me."
The world tilted.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Milo. Dead. Executed.
"You’re lying," I whispered back.
"Am I?" Hazel’s smile was small. Cruel. "He screamed your name, you know. At the end. When they slit his throat. He called for you. It was very romantic. Very tragic. I cried even."
My knees wanted to give out. I locked them. Forced myself to stay upright even though everything in me was screaming to collapse.
"How could you?" The words came out broken. Barely audible.
"How could I?" Hazel pulled me close again. Pressed her cheek against mine like we were sharing sisterly comfort. "You know how persuasive and believable I can be when I cry. I told them he attacked me. That he tried to force himself on me. They believed every word."