Chapter 103

Chapter 103 Why call you Corn?

CAS SANDRA

I smiled back at Erika. Even though my time back in Anemond had been nothing. short of turbulent and dangerous, knowing she had my back meant the world to me. I felt relieved to finally be able to tell her the truth. I didn’t have to sit with the guilt any longer.

Erika covered her mouth but didn’t manage to conceal her yawn. Her eyes started to appear a little distant. She looked exhausted.

“I’m going to go to the lab and get the medicine for you,” I said gently. “Why don’t you lay down and try to get some rest?”

I half-expected her to protest, but instead, she simply nodded and then laid. back down. I carefully tucked her in, and within seconds, Erika nodded off. As I rose

feet and stared down at her, I wiped the stray tears from my cheeks.

to my

The maid meant more to me than just about anyone. I would do everything in my power to take care of her injuries.

I carefully cleaned the blood off of myself and then sl*pped out of the chamber. I would grab the necessary medicine for Erika and also pick up Finnick while I was there. My poor son was likely still upset about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain this all to him, but at least seeing me would relieve a little bit of

his stress.

on.

When I reached the lab, Finnick ran toward me at full speed while Lancel stared

‘Immy!” my son cried as he threw his little arms around me. “Oh, Mommy, is Aun Erika okay?”

“She’s going to be alright, honey,” I a*sured him, and then I carefully crouched down to his level and rested my hand on his shoulder. “But I have to tell you… Aunt

TAS

Chapter 103 Why call you Cora?

CAS SANDRA

I smiled back at Erika. Even though my time back in Anemond had been nothing short of turbulent and dangerous, knowing she had my back meant the world to me. I felt relieved to finally be able to tell her the truth. I didn’t have to sit with the guilt. any longer.

Erika covered her mouth but didn’t manage to conceal her yawn. Her eyes started to appear a little distant. She looked exhausted.

“I’m going to go to the lab and get the medicine for you,” I said gently. “Why don’t you lay down and try to get some rest?”

I half-expected her to protest, but instead, she simply nodded and then laid back down. I carefully tucked her in, and within seconds, Erika nodded off. As I rose

feet and stared down at her, I wiped the stray tears from my cheeks.

to my

The maid meant more to me than just about anyone. I would do everything in my power to take care of her injuries.

I carefully cleaned the blood off of myself and then sl*pped out of the chamber. I would grab the necessary medicine for Erika and also pick up Finnick while I was there. My poor son was likely still upset about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain this all to him, but at least seeing me would relieve a little bit of

his stress.

on.

When I reached the lab, Finnick ran toward me at full speed while Lancel stared

“I ommy!” my son cried as he threw his little arms around me. “Oh, Mommy, is Aur Erika okay?”

“She’s going to be alright, honey,” I a*sured him, and then I carefully crouched down to his level and rested my hand on his shoulder. “But I have to tell you… Aunt

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Erika was hurt.”

Finnick’s gray eyes grew wide and his l*p trembled.

“Did Marco’s mother and grandmother hurt her?” he asked quietly. “Oh, Mommy, how could they do that to her?”

I considered my words carefully. I wasn’t about to traumatize Finnick any further or subject him to future trouble by saying this wrong. I didn’t want him to be complicit or held responsible for my actions.

“People… people are complicated,” I explained. “I know things don’t make sense. right now. I promise we’ll talk more later. But I have to get some supplies so we can get Aunt Erika some medical treatment right away.”

Finnick nodded.

“Everything is going to be alright,” I a*sured him. “I just need you to trust me. And when we get back to the room, I’m going to need you to stay as quiet as possible. Aunt Erika is going to be staying with us until she gets better, and she’s going to need all of the rest she can get. Can you do that for me?”

Finnick nodded again. “Of course, Mommy. I’ll help you look after Aunt Erika.”

I smiled and ran a hand through his dark hair. “That’s my boy. Thank you, Finnick

I rose to my feet and quickly rushed over to the supply cabinet. As I rooted through the salves and medicines, I considered all of the possibilities. I needed to keep her wounds from getting infected or else things could get quite ugly and painful.

Once I was done, I tucked them into my pack and then turned my attention to Becky and Lancel.

it.”

“Thank you for watching Finnick,” I addressed both of them. “I really appreciate

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“It was no trouble at all,” Becky a*sured me.

Lancel hesitated and then glanced around. He took a step toward me.

“I had hoped Lord Kane would arrive in time,” he said vaguely.

I was immediately taken aback. I hadn’t expected that it was Lancel who’d asked for help from Asher’s stepbrother.

“My apologies for not getting to the Alpha King,” he continued as he rolled his shoulders back. “The king was busy interrogating the imposter in the dungeons and I didn’t want to bother him. The Alpha King has been quite busy lately…”

His voice trailed off and confusion swelled within me for a moment, and then I realized what he meant. Lancel likely didn’t tell Asher because he knew that if the king had gotten word of this, there would have been a huge fuss. The Alpha King was busy dealing with the imposter. Bothering him with business like this right now likely wasn’t wise.

I knew that Lancel was just remaining loyal to Asher, so I smiled at him.

“Thank you,” I replied after a moment. “I understand. Luckily, Lord Kane arrived just in time. I really appreciate his help. That being said… I think I need to bring this. up to the Alpha King anyway. Otherwise, there’s no way to clear Erika’s name and prove that she’s innocent. She doesn’t deserve the kind of trouble that’s being dealt

to her.”

Lancel didn’t reply, but I could tell by his expression that he understood.

I turned my attention back to Finnick. “Are you ready?”

*/hen he nodded, I took his hand in mine and smiled at Becky and Lancel. My as is ant waved at us, and then we left the room and headed back up the stairs.

“Remember what I said,” I reminded my son as we got closer to the hallway. “We need to stay quiet, okay?”

“Yes, Mommy,” Finnick replied quietly. “I promise I’ll be quiet.”

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“Thank you,” I said.

When we reached the room, I turned the kn ob as gingerly as possible, and when I opened the door, I was relieved to see that Erika was still asleep. I was glad she was able to get some rest and that no one had disturbed her in my absence.

After the door was closed behind us, I turned to Finnick and held my finger up to my l*ps. Finnick understood at once and nodded. He glanced over at Erika and after a second of studying her, he slowly walked over to his toy box.

As he occupied himself with his favorite stuffed bear, I got to work and began.

to dress Erika wounds

I carefully applied the salve to her back and used as light of a touch as possible to keep from disturbing her.

As I worked the medicine into her tender skin, I considered Margaret’s last words to me. She’d clearly issued a warning- one meant for me, not Erika. I’d underestimated Asher’s stepmother and Adalyn. They were far more dangerous than I’d expected and I needed to stay on alert. The two women clearly had more up their sleeves and it was only a matter of time before they tried to hurt someone close to me again.

I had to figure out a way to better protect Erika and Finnick. If anything were to happen to them, I had no idea what I would do.

Just as I finished wrapping up her wounds and zipped up the back of her dress, Erika began to stir.

“Cora?” she uttered in a low voice. “Cora, are you back?”

nough her volume was quiet, it was crystal clear in this quiet room. A lump. ferd in my throat and my eyes immediately darted over to Finnick.

he lifted his head away from his stuffed bear and turned to face me. His expression was confused.

“Mommy?” he asked. “Why did Aunt Erika call you Cora?”

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