Chapter 85

Hannah’s POV

Waking up the next morning, I felt like a ghost of myself. It was like I was just an empty shell, hollow on the inside. I lifted my head as the sun beamed through the window, making me wince. I had a headache, which I assumed was from all the crying I did the night before. I also felt a little nauseous as well.

It had to have been all the stress.

As I got downstairs, I was surprised to see the foyer surrounded by a bunch of guards. It was almost like they were waiting for something. Or someone.

I met eyes with one of the guards and approached him cautiously.

“What’s going on?” I asked; I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“Queen Magnolia has been exiled last night. We must accompany her out of the kingdom and make sure she isn’t to return.”

My eyes widened at his words.

Before I could ask any more questions the door of the basement swung open. Magnolia stood in the foyer with Sebastian standing behind her. She wore cuffs around her arms to prevent her from shifting; she looked pissed off. As she walked through the foyer she paused and looked over at me; her eyes holding my gaze steady for a long while. I couldn’t help but think of the conversation we had about the moonstone scepter.

My breathing got caught in my throat as I pulled my gaze away from her. I swear I heard her scoff as she walked past me. Sebastian didn’t follow her, but all the guards did. Sebastian stayed in the foyer with me; he was staring over at me.

The fury that was crossing his face from last night was gone and now he just looked defeated and tired. I’m sure it was probably a sleepless night for him as well.

“Both Magnolia and Jack are banned from the kingdom,” Sebastian told me. “The kingdom will be under strict security to make sure they stay away.”

Jack too? Does that mean he knows where Jack was? I didn’t have the heart or strength to ask him any more questions though.

“I don’t know what you and Magnolia spoke about yesterday, but you can’t trust her Hannah,” Sebastian said, keeping his gaze locked on mine.

“Okay,” I said to him in a breath. I didn’t want to argue anymore. I was done arguing.

“Okay,” he repeated also in a breath. “I’m holding a broadcasted press conference tonight to alert everyone of the new exiles.”

“Okay,” was all I managed to say; if I said anything more, I was afraid I would break down and start crying again. I didn’t trust my own voice.

“As my luna, I will need you there and by my side,” he told me.

I nodded once; I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the public eye, but I knew I wasn’t going to have much of a choice. I didn’t have any choice over anything anymore.

“Okay,” I said before turning away and heading back to the stairs.

I made my way toward the bathroom and felt a dizzy spell washing over me; I fell into the wall, catching myself before I fell to the ground. I sucked in a sharp breath; it was a bit hard to breathe but I had to shake the feeling off. I couldn’t let myself all apart; not like this. Caroline would be disappointed in me if I allowed myself to fall apart over her death.

I brushed my fingers through my hair and tried to gather my surroundings. I started to feel sick again as I continued walking toward the bathroom.

“Your majesty?” Valerie said rushing over to me.

She wrapped an arm around me to keep me steady; she had a worried frown on her face as she stared around my features.

“You look pale; are you all right?” She asked, walking with me toward the bathroom.

“Yes,” I answered. “I think it’s just the stress of everything going on.”

“Do you want me to call Dr. Conway? He’s in the palace infirmary this morning,” She said.

I shook my head quickly.

“No,” I told her. “I’m fine; really.”

She didn’t look so certain, but she didn’t argue with me. I went into the bathroom and closed the door between us, isolating myself inside. I went to the sink and splashed some cold water on my face; the dizziness went away quickly, and I felt like I could finally breathe again. I didn’t realize how warm my face was getting until the cold water soothed me.

However, the nausea wasn’t going away at all. Before I could grasp what was happening, I ran toward the toilet and released the contents of my stomach.

The last time I threw up was at the Bluemoon frat party; I drank too much and threw up in a bush. I grimaced at the thought and my heart sank as the memory of that night surfaced in my mind.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket to see if Raya had tried reaching out yet; it’s been a few days and I haven’t heard from her or Arnold. It worried me that they’d been so quiet; I missed my friend, and I couldn’t lose anyone else I’d grown close to.

…

I just had to get through tonight.

That was all I kept telling myself. If I could get through tonight without throwing up or somehow falling over, I would be fine. I wasn’t going to allow myself to make a fool of myself on national television.

The conference was held in the center of the city, and I wasn’t prepared for how many actual people were going to be there. It was already super crowded when we arrived. Lewis dropped us off at the start of the crowd and I could see flashes of lights aiming in our direction.

I covered my face to keep the cameras off me, but I knew it was no use. Sebastian wrapped his arm through mine and pulled me through the crowd alongside him. We were greeted formally with bowing and curtsying as we often are. The press wasted no time in asking questions to which Sebastian ignored them all.

We made our way to the podium, and I stood a little off to the side of Sebastian as he addressed the crowd around him.

He stood there for a long moment as everyone settled down; as he stared around at all the individual people, they silenced. I could feel that they still feared him greatly.

“I’ve called this conference to go over a few things,” Sebastian began. “For starters, Magnolia, and Jack, formally the Queen and Prince of the kingdom, have been exiled. If you are caught harvesting them in your packs, there will be consequences.”

Low murmurs erupted amongst everyone; confused and worried looks were exchanged. I felt a heat wave crossing over my features and another dizzy spell washed over me. I took a step back, trying to steady myself, trying to focus on Sebastian.

“Each Alpha will be sent images of Magnolia and Jack, so everyone is aware of what they look like,” Sebastian announced. “Are there any questions?”

Everyone started speaking at once until Sebastian held his hand up to silence them.

“You,” he said, pointing at someone in the crowd. “What is your question.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” she said; she clutched her notebook nervously as she glanced at her writing. She gazed back up at him and took in a deep breath before speaking. “News has spread around the kingdom, and I think most of us are here because we are a bit confused and worried,” she began, glancing around at those around her.

“Go ahead,” Sebastian urged.

“Is it true that you have possession of the moonstone scepter?”

As she asked her question, you could hear a pin drop with how silent the city had become. Even Sebastian stared at her dumbfounded. How had everyone heard about this already?

I feared I wasn’t going to be able to keep myself on my feet any longer. It was getting harder to breathe every moment that passed, and now it felt like my heart was stopping in my chest. A strong dizzy spell crossed over me, and I felt my body collapse to the ground.

Before everything went dark, I heard Nora’s faint voice saying, “Pregnant.”