Chapter 121

Carol’s POV

I’m unsure how long I stayed in the room before Aiden returned. It was late afternoon, and I was starting to grow restless and a little worried. I knew he could take care of himself, but I didn’t like him being out of my sight in this strange place. Especially with everything going on. I had a bad feeling about this empire, and I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

The door opened and I quickly stood from the bed when Aiden walked in.

He froze when he saw me and then a smile spread across his perfect face.

“Hey, you,” he said in greeting.

Relief flooded me and my heart swelled as I walked towards him, closing the gap and wrapping my arms around his neck. I pulled him in for a much overdue kiss. I melted in his embrace, allowing the kiss to linger and deepen on its own as my tongue swiped across his bottom lip. I kissed him with so much pent-up need that I thought the friction was going to cause my body to combust on the spot.

He held me tightly like he was afraid I would disappear at any given moment. I moaned into his mouth as he nibbled my bottom lip.

As the kiss concluded, I sighed and pressed my forehead against his.

“Hey,” I whispered in return.

His grin was wide and boyish, making my heart swell even more.

“What honor do I have for that greeting?” He asked in a sultry tone, making my skin heat up once again.

“I just missed you,” I told him. “And I was worried.”

“About me?”

I blushed and nodded.

“I have a bad feeling that I can’t shake,” I confessed. “Something is going on here. I had a very unpleasant conversation with both Jenna and Queen Elizabeth. It’s obvious neither of them want me here and I have a feeling they were behind the elevator incident.”

He frowned and I could see the wheels turning in his head.

“You think they want you dead because they are threatened by you?” Aiden finally asked after a short silence.

I nodded and bit my lower lip.

“That’s what it sounded like. They think now that I’m here, I want to take over the spot as queen.”

His brows knitted together.

“Don’t you?” He asked.

I raised my brows at him; staring at him like he had just grown another head.

“Of course not,” I told him, burying my face in his chest. “I want to go home with you.”

“You can still come home with me and take over the throne one day. It’s in your nature. It’s the prophecy, Carol. You can’t go against your destiny.”

“But I can make my own destiny,” I told him, picking out my bottom lip as I gazed up at him. “I don’t want my destiny being decided for me. I’m not a leader. I’m just Carol, a normal girl.”

“We both know you are far from normal,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips as he kissed my forehead. “You are spectacular and far more special than we initially thought. You aren’t a human. You just grew up with humans. You have a lot to learn about our world, but I know one thing for sure, you definitely belong in our world. Whether that’s here in the Empire, or back at the Capital. You belong with the non-humans.”

I stepped away from him and wrapped my arms around my body.

“I feel like I’m replacing the family and friends I have in my old life by entertaining this,” I confessed. “I don’t want to forget who I am. I am Carol Miller. I’ll always be Carol Miller.”

He nodded and put his hands on my arms to steady my trembling body. As he looked deep into my eyes, he said, “Yes, you will always be Carol Miller. But you are also Carol Sawol.”

“Sawol?” I whispered, testing the name on my tongue.

“Your birth mother’s last name,” he told me. “You are her daughter. You can still make room for these new changes and a new family and hold onto your current family. Nothing has to change when it comes to those you love.”

“I don’t want to stay here,” I whispered. “At least not right now. I need to get used to this whole Luna thing. I want to go through with the mating ceremony and finally bind myself to you for life.”

His smile grew wide and radiant as he bent and kissed me deeply and passionately.

“I want nothing more,” he whispered against my lips.

After a few moments of kissing and hugging, I finally pulled back and took a deep breath.

“Where did you go, by the way?” I asked him. “I thought you’d be here when I returned from training.”

“Sorry, I had to do something,” he told me, looking a bit awkward.

I raised my brows.

“Want to elaborate?”

He sighed and then took my hands into his.

“You might want to sit down,” he told me, which only made me nervous.

“What’s going on?” I asked him.

He pulled me toward the bed and we both sat down, I faced him, looking at him pointedly.

“You found something out.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway.

“Yes.”

“What is it?” I asked him, feeling impatient now.

“The poison given to my father was created by the healer, Candace,” he explained.

My heart fell into my stomach. I sat and listened while he relayed the entire story about Candace and her sister Francesca. He told me he just got off the phone with Oliver and told him about it as well. Then, he proceeded to go to the clinic and do a little digging to find out who had access to the clinic potions and supplies.

“And did you find out who has access?” I then asked him once everything was out in the open.

He shook his head.

“Either they are covering for one another, or they don’t know,” he answered. “I don’t believe Candace knows anything. She was shocked and upset when she found out that someone had stolen the poison. She turned herself in…”

“Wait, what do you mean she turned herself in?” I asked, furrowing my brows together.

“The poison was supposed to be destroyed years ago. She was never supposed to keep it, but she did anyway. Now that she knew someone has possession of it, she knew she couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. She told the King the truth.”

My heart fell deep into my stomach.

“Is that what this meeting is about?” I asked.

He nodded.

“As much as he likes and respects Candace, having a poison that strong out in this world, it’s frightening, and it needs to be made aware. He had to inform the council. So, they are here now trying to figure out what to do. The King is also trying to spare Candace from an ill fate, but I’m not sure he’s going to be able to do anything. The council has the final say of her punishment because she went against their direct orders and the law they created.”

My stomach turned at the thought of Candace getting in trouble like this. I didn’t know her that well, but from what I did know and from the story Aiden had told me, I didn’t want her getting hurt or in trouble.

“The King refuses to put her in the dungeon, so she’s still in the clinic. But she’s scared,” he told me.

“Is there security footage in the clinic?”

Aiden nodded.

“I thought of that; they’ve been wiped clean. Whoever stole that poison was not playing around,” he said, shaking his head.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

“How about we try and find out what they are saying in the meeting? There might be some useful information they found out that could help us,” I suggested.

He took a hold of my hand.

“Okay, but the first sign of trouble and we are out of here,” he said sternly.

I nodded and kissed is lips.

“Deal.”

Together, we left the guest room and made our way downstairs. We didn’t get far though because the front door of the palace opened, and a ton of gammas warriors made their way into the palace. Aiden and I froze on the staircase as we watched the King and a few council members walking through the front foyer to greet the gammas.

“You’re back earlier than expected,” the king said to the gamma in front. “I’m assuming you found something?”

The gammas in the back looked at one another and I noticed they were all pale. They nodded though and looked back at the king.

“Yes, Your Majesty, we did,” the one in the front stated.

“Well, get on with it. You’re wasting my time. What did you find out?” The King ordered impatiently.

“We found Morgan Leveau,” he shocked me by saying.

I stifled a gasp as I gripped Aiden’s arm. His body visibly tensed as well; I could tell he was also shocked by this news.

“And did you bring her to the dungeon?” The King asked.

The gammas looked troubled.

“No, sir,” the gamma in front.

“Why the hell not?!” The King seethed, anger pouring off him in waves.

The gamma swallowed hard before saying, “Because Morgan is dead, Sir.”