Chapter 25

I believe it’s only natural to want to protect someone you love, whether your intentions are good or not. After the strangeness of those dreams and the voice that unlocked my lustful side, I found myself wanting to protect Rayne.

I was never comfortable with the dark side of my heritage. I always knew there was a possibility of it overtaking me, especially after meeting him.

I knew fairly quickly how much I’d come to love Rayne. Being a beta wasn’t simply a matter of convenience as I’d initially thought.

It was about being connected to my alpha, both in body and soul. This was why I couldn’t tell him about what had happened when I was out with Aurora that afternoon.

I feared what could happen to Rayne if I did, and it turned out to be my father behind it. Somehow, I needed to deal with this on my own.

It would be safer that way. All of this made it hard to sleep that night.

I quietly slipped out of the bed to move about. Rayne remained sound asleep as I did, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking at him as I slipped on my blue dress.

He looked so handsome and peaceful lying there in the darkness. I felt so lucky, but also so guilty.

I hadn’t meant to put him through some of what I had, even if one could say the same for him with me. We’d both made mistakes when we first started our torrid love affair, but I supposed that no being is perfect except for the Creator.

I moved quietly through the cabin, opening the door as silently as I could and slipping outside. The night air was still warm, and I could feel the humidity hanging in it like a blanket.

The summer had been quite warm at times, and it felt like another spell of heat was setting in. I didn’t mind too much.

The cabin was always comfortable despite the heat outside, and this night wasn’t too bad. Making sure the door was closed behind me, I stepped forward, taking in the dazzling night sky full of stars high above me and the gentle chirps of the feral creatures deep within the forest surrounding the glen.

Ah yes. This was so wonderfully peaceful.

Just what I needed to clear my head. There had been so much on my mind since I came here.

At first, I had only been focused on making my life with Rayne, but then the rumors about me started, along with me learning the truth about the beautiful creature I’d met by chance in Jumal that day. The story of what happened to Hailia stuck with me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about this place called the Farther Shores.

No one wished to speak much of it, only saying that it was a dark place that one would never wish to be sentenced to. Yet for some odd reason, I felt a draw to know more.

I wondered if it was the darker bloodline within me as I walked toward the edge of the forest. There was a chance that I was pulled toward the darkness in some ways, even if I wished to reject it.

The forest was dark and quiet as I stood outside of it, and I glanced back at the cabin. Everything was quiet, and I was certain that Rayne was still asleep.

I wondered if it would be wrong of me to take a short night stroll among the trees while he was. I could stay close enough to the den so that I could hurry back if anything appeared wrong.

The idea was far too appealing for me to ignore, and I decided to take my chance. I wouldn’t be long, and Rayne may never have to know.

It was easy for me to slip through the barrier, and the underbrush crunched softly under my shoes. The forest was alive with the gentle sounds of sprites and other different small creatures.

I could see their lights flashing and sparkling in the expanse of trees around me. A smile crossed my face as I took in the sight, and my heart felt a bit lighter.

There shouldn’t have been any issues with me being out here. It felt quite peaceful.

I walked slowly through the maze of trees, enjoying the sounds of the night and the company of the sprites who fluttered around me. They’d begun to do so as soon as they’d noticed my presence.

They were cute little creatures, glowing brightly in the darkness. Some were blue while others were purple, red, green, and even yellow.

They were tiny Fae, only about ten inches tall, with big black eyes and long hair that matched their color. “It’s very nice of you all to greet me. What a lovely night, wouldn’t you say?” I spoke to them as I walked and they flew with me.

A light blue sprite chirped and trilled, landing on my shoulder and hugging the side of my neck. I smiled as I gently patted her head.

How very sweet they could be. I always did love the sprites.

A green and red sprite joined us, the green one landing on my opposite shoulder and the red on top of my head, making me giggle. It appeared I had company for my walk, and felt better to speak to them, even if they couldn’t answer me except for in sounds.

“I confess that I needed this quiet time to reflect on many things. There has been so much turmoil since I’ve come here. It feels nice that you all accept me and don’t fear me.” I went on.

The sprites trilled loudly, hugging me again and making me giggle. “Ah, I understand. You can sense that I would never cause you harm,” I continued as I slowly walked, touching some of the trees while I did.

“I have never wished to hurt anyone, even if I carry darker blood in my veins. I never want to be like my father, though I fear some of his traits may be coming out in me when I am with Rayne.”

“Because you fear inadvertently harming him.” I stopped as I heard the sudden voice, turning to my right and seeing a female figure standing about five feet away.

“Hailia,” I said in quiet disbelief. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to startle you. I simply enjoy walking in the woods at night and hadn’t realized how close I’d gotten to the glen. Please don’t be cross with me for that.” Hailia responded as she stepped to me.

“No. There’s no reason for me to be, although this is a bit strange. I wouldn’t think that any would normally come out here so late.” I admitted.

I wasn’t feeling that concerned because of the sprites around me. If there was danger, then they would’ve reacted right away and flown off. Sprites were well-known for warning others of those things.

“You are right about that, and I don’t do this often. I simply needed to clear my head tonight, and it would appear that you are doing the same. Everything is still fine with Lord Rayne, is it not?” Hailia questioned.

“It is,” I assured her. I looked around us before continuing, “If you don’t mind, can we speak a bit more? There were a few things that I wanted to talk to you about before and didn’t have the chance to.”

Hailia looked a little surprised but didn’t speak against it. “Of course. Let us have a seat then and talk.”

The two of us headed to a small clearing about fifteen feet away, where we sat together on the soft, moss-covered ground. The sprites remained with us, a few more landing on Hailia’s shoulders and lap.

She smiled softly as she petted them. I took in her appearance, noting that she was dressed in a simple brown dress and her dark hair was only half in a bun, allowing the rest to fall down her back to her waist.

“You look so casual now. It’s quite different from the times I’ve been able to see you before,” I commented.

“I would believe it. To be honest with you, I am much more comfortable this way, though I must put on my face for the world during the day. It’s simply what I have been taught my entire life, and I even carried it to the Farther Shores before,” she told me.

There was my opening to ask, “Actually, I was interested in asking you about that. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, I cannot say I do, and I understand where you’d be curious. Most are considering that most never are allowed to return from there,” Hailia responded.

She took in a long breath, looking forward at nothing in particular as she continued petting the sprites that were now in her lap. “It’s funny to think about it though. There’s actually a small piece of me that misses that place. Perhaps I became more used to it than I had realized.”

“What kind of place is it? Are there many terrible things there?” I questioned. Hailia shook her head.

“It’s not so much the terrible things as it is the darkness. The Farther Shores is a very dark place that barely receives any light at all. In fact, it borders right on the lines of Purgatory. There were times when I swore I could hear those souls crying out, although I never ventured far enough to see any.”

“That sounds terrible to be in the darkness almost constantly, and because of why you ended up there.” I couldn’t imagine what that must’ve been like, and to think that she was there for years was horrible.

All because someone had framed her for killing her own father. Hailia looked down, chewing her lip.

She was hesitating before she spoke. “May I ask you, Luna; do you believe that I am innocent?”

“I do,” I answered. “What I’ve heard and seen of you is enough for me to believe it, and also knowing that Lord Jekia now does along with his family.”

“Yes. He has told me that himself, and I believe him. I have also never held anything against Lord Jekia for what happened. Anyone can have the wool pulled over their eyes, even him, by those who are crafty enough, and what I am certainly made it easier for them to do,” Hailia looked forward again.

“I will confess now that this was the reason I became so intent on speaking to you when we met that day. I wanted to meet you from the moment I heard about you. I knew that you were much like me in how you were born, and I knew that others probably had treated you badly for it. I hoped that I could be a friend and support you through that. I just never imagined that things would turn as rotten as they suddenly did afterward, and I’ve felt so guilty for it. Perhaps if you hadn’t met me things might’ve remained quieter.”

“I think your guilt is misplaced. Whoever started those rumors about me would’ve probably done so anyway, and you’re right; it’s not like I haven’t had terrible things said and thought about me before. I’ve just shown my weakness in letting things fester inside of me and not telling Rayne in the first place.”

I stopped as I said that, reality hitting me hard. I was showing weakness by not telling Rayne things that I should have.

I had hurt him before by keeping that from him. I was doing the exact opposite of what I’d wanted to do when we’d met.

How in the world could I have thought I was protecting him? Hailia seemed to read my thoughts.

“You feel guilty over not telling Lord Rayne about things earlier either, don’t you?” she guessed. “I do. I’m not sure how I thought that would help us in any way. All I did was hurt him,” I acknowledged.

“You shouldn’t feel so down about it. You were only trying to protect him in your own way because of how you grew up. I know how that goes too. There were many things I didn’t tell my father about because I knew it would break his heart, but looking back, I wish I had. Maybe things would’ve been different if I did,” Hailia told me.

“You feel like his death was your fault,” I noted.

“Yes, and that’s why I didn’t protest being sent away to the Farther Shores. I was guilty in a sense.” A soft smile crossed Hailia’s face as she looked at the sprite in her lap, who happily chirped as she petted her.

“But I’m happy that Lord Jekia had me brought back and exonerated me. It helped me to realize that I was even too hard on myself, and certainly that such a fate was not what my father would want for me. If no one else loved me, he did, and I have realized that I have friends here. I can include you in that, can’t I?”

I smiled at her. “Of course, you can, and I like being able to call you mine. I’ve never been able to have friends before, and it’s comfortable to be around you. Isn’t that a big part of friendship?”

“It is,” Hailia agreed, returning my smile. It faded a little after a moment.

“But I have been worried too. I heard that you were attacked by a snake and that it appears someone sent her after you.”

“You heard about that?” That made me slightly wary.

Where had Hailia been able to learn that? Rayne had said that they weren’t allowing it to be spoken of outside of the family.

“I apologize for startling you, and I would not have known about it if not for Quinta. She has a tendency to listen in to many things when others don’t know she is, and she was coming by the palace the other day when she happened to overhear it being spoken about between Lady Lana and Lady Selenia. It startled her so much that she hurried back to tell me about it,” Hailia explained.

I wasn’t sure whether I should believe her, but something inside of me told me that I should. Maybe it was how sincere her eyes were.

She was genuinely worried.

“Hailia, do you have an idea of who could’ve done that? Was it your sister?” I had to know.

“It is possible, but Lucille is also weak when it comes to such things. To be frank about it, I believe it’s more likely the work of her mother,” Hailia answered.

“Her mother is still alive?” I don’t know why I assumed that Lucille’s mother had died. Perhaps it was because she was now running the House in her place.

“She is,” Hailia confirmed.

“Though I haven’t seen her in a very long time now, I do know that she is still around and running much from behind the scenes. Lucille has always bowed to her too, so if she decided that she didn’t like you, then Lucille would play along regardless of whether or not she felt the same way. She of all people knows how terrible it can be to cross Lady Gwen.”

I was about to ask her more about that when the sprites suddenly perked up. They looked forward and fluttered into the air around us, startled but not scared off.

That was when I heard the slow, deliberate footsteps coming toward us. Both of us looked forward to see the white figure making its way toward us through the maze of trees.

~Oh boy~, I thought. ~Rayne woke up and noticed I was gone.~

“There you are. I knew I caught your scent from this direction, though I wasn’t certain of the scent with you,” he said as he stood in front of us.

Hailia stood with me and bowed politely. “My apologies for being out here so late, Lord Rayne. I was taking a late-night walk and happened to run into Lady Luna, and we wished to talk a bit,” she explained to him.

“I have no issue with that, although I do wish that Luna would stop worrying me by sneaking out. I’m beginning to believe that I shouldn’t sleep so soundly.” Rayne sighed as he crossed his arms and looked at me squarely.

I felt guilty about that one. “There’s no need to think that. I was getting ready to return but wished to speak to Hailia just a bit more.”

“Perhaps this is a good time for us to call it a night. Quinta will worry if I come home too late as well, and it’s not my place to be in the middle here. But if it isn’t too much trouble, it would be nice if we could meet up again and talk some more. This has been quite nice,” Hailia suggested.

“It has, and I will let you know when we can speak again. Thank you for everything too,” I told her.

Hailia smiled as she nodded at me, then Rayne. “Again, I do apologize for keeping her out so long. May I say I’ll see you again soon as well, my lord?”

“That is fine. I have no issue with you. Be safe heading home, Hailia,” Rayne answered.

“Of course. Goodnight.”

We both watched her walk away, disappearing into the trees and darkness before I turned to face Rayne.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I really was just taking a short walk and happened to run into Hailia out here,” I apologized.

“I believe you, but you need to stop doing these things. You worry me far too much, especially with all that’s been going on,” Rayne responded.

“I have no intention of doing so, and I am capable of taking care of myself. Aside from that, these woods around our home are quite safe and I don’t wander far, so it’s fine,” I assured him.

Rayne didn’t like this at all. “Whether or not you can get back to the glen is a moot point. You’re not going to continue wandering away whenever you think I’m not noticing. I won’t allow it,” he informed me.

“I have done nothing wrong, and you cannot stand here and tell me that I cannot have at least a bit of freedom!” I countered.

“I give you everything you need, yet you continue to push me away and insist on being on your own. How do you believe that’s any kind of fair?!” Rayne challenged.

I didn’t like how this argument was starting out there in the open. It felt like we’d be far too vulnerable.

“I will not stand here and debate what’s fair and what’s not. If you wish to do that, then let us do it at home!”

“Very well,” Rayne backed down a bit. “Let’s go home then. It is extremely late, and I don’t feel like being out here any longer.”

I agreed, unsure of how well things were going to go once we got home but not wanting to be exposed out there any longer. Besides, this probably needed to happen too.

There were unresolved things recently between us, and our simply giving in to one another couldn’t be healthy. Hopefully, we’d get home and get this out of our systems, and move on to make things better.

But even as I followed him back to the glen, I couldn’t stop thinking of what Hailia had told me. Was it truly a coincidence that I’d run into her out here, and could it really be Lady Gwen, Lucille’s mother, behind everything against me?

Like everything else, I was going to need things to play out to know for certain.