Riona was dumbfounded. The revelation rendered her speechless.
The pri suspect had been Lisbeth, Riona’s long-standing enemy. Riona was left in utter shock upon discovering that the perpetrator was not Lisbeth, but her mother.
Lady Maris had always sided with her daughter, which was understandable, but she had never shown any overt acrimony towards Riona.
Their relationship was cordial enough to exchange greetings in the hallway without hidden malice, but it never extended beyond re pleasantries.
At official events, both won ensured they avoided each other to skip small talk.
Riona had expected Lady Maris to support Lisbeth, but initiating the petition crossed the line. It was more than just support; it was a direct attack on Riona’s future just to satisfy Lisbeth’s obsessive desire to win.
This move marked Lady Maris’s entrance to the political arena after so many years of sitting on the sidelines, all because her daughter couldn’t bear losing to a fangless vampire.
Riona had always believed that her dispute with Lisbeth was rely child’s play, sothing that would naturally subside as they grew older.
She trusted that no adults would interfere, recognizing that it was common for children of similar age to quarrel, especially when one felt inferior to the other.
But she was wrong.
Her throat was sore as if she had been thrust back to the past when she first stepped into the royal palace.
***
Riona didn’t rember her parents—their faces or voices were lost to her. The only mories she had were the occasional, dreaded visits to the royal palace.
At seven, she waited on the porch for her parents, who never ca ho. Neighbors took turns keeping her company, chatting about mundane things to stave off her loneliness.
In retrospect, Riona wondered if they had already known the truth—that her parents had died.
The next night, her uncle arrived with the devastating news. Back then, he was simply her uncle, not yet the king of the Kingdom of Eira.
He was cold. Uncle Valentin had always been cold. He disliked children because they were noisy–Riona had heard this from his own mouth when he spoke with her mother.
He especially disliked Riona because for so reason, he believed Riona should never have been born.
"Why did you decide to give birth to a child without consulting the family first?" he protested.
Riona stood by the door, which was slightly ajar. The light shone through the gap, while Riona hid in the shadows, listening. She had co to fetch her mother for a bedti story because it was ti for bed, and that day was her mother’s turn to read to her.
"I did consult my family. My husband and I agreed to keep her because she was conceived out of love," her mother responded. Her tone was high, indicating that she was frustrated.
"Your fam—huft..." Uncle Valentin’s habits of filtering the words he found distasteful had existed for a long ti. "Did you not think of consulting with your parents–with your brother?"
The last word sounded painful, and though Riona was too young to understand, the distressed tone piqued her curiosity. She stepped into the light to peek into the room.
"Did you seriously ask that? Brother, if you had been supportive, then I—" Her mother paused, noticing Riona at the door. She approached and patted her back. "What are you doing here, little bat?"
"Bedti story..." Riona mumbled.
Though she couldn’t grasp the entire situation, she sensed she was interrupting an important conversation. She froze when Uncle Valentin glared at her from his seat.
"Oh, right. Forgive , little bat, I can’t tonight. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, alright?" Her mother slipped outside the door and looked around the dark hallway. "Where is your father? Remus, darling, can you please take Riona to bed?"
Soon enough, a man of giant stature appeared from the shadows, effortlessly scooping Riona up with one hand.
"There you are. I was waiting for you in your room. How did you get here?" he asked, showering her with kisses that made her giggle as his beard tickled her.
Riona’s father planted a gentle kiss on her mother before leaving. Riona tightened her arms around her father’s thick neck.
"What’s wrong? Are you scared of him?" he asked softly.
Little Riona nodded.
Her father brushed his nose against hers and assured her, "Don’t worry. He can’t hurt you. Your mother and father won’t let him. Anyway, you’ll grow stronger than him, so he should fear you, not the other way around."
At the ti, she didn’t understand the aning of those words.
When Uncle Valentin took her to the royal palace after her parents’s death, she recalled her father’s words and lived by them. She remained fearful of her uncle, but her father’s words helped her endure the excruciating days.
Also, she was also thankful that Lady Maris did not add fuel to the tension.
Lady Maris was mostly an observer, and occasionally a diator, stepping in to call for a ceasefire when things beca too chaotic.
***
But this ti, Lady Maris had taken action. She had stepped onto the battlefield, no longer an outsider, and Riona couldn’t overlook it.
This was practically a declaration of war.
Riona felt a surge of anger, imagining herself lunging out of the wardrobe to choke them. What stopped her was the sudden image of Florian in her mind.
She could create another disaster here, but if she ended up imprisoned or expelled from the palace with no ans to survive, Florian’s life would beco hellish.
That was why she wanted to join the Nightwarden in the first place. If she only thought of herself, she could leave the palace anyti. But if she wanted to leave with Florian, she needed a better strategy.
Just as she was seething in anger, contemplating ways to get revenge, she felt a touch on her shoulder. Startled, she smacked the Alpha’s hand and tumbled backward, pulling the hanger bar down with her.
The cramped space was bearable, and she could endure the mother-daughter session of badmouthing and plotting against her. But what she couldn’t stand was the pinkish hue now covering Thorin’s face.
Why must he blush at this ti? Was blushing a werewolf’s hobby? Was he shy because he could feel her chest? What was he—a kid?
Eww...!!!
Riona couldn’t wait to leave the wardrobe. She prayed to the Lord of Darkness that Lady Maris and Lisbeth would leave the room soon.
Instead of leaving, however, the sound of footsteps grew closer to the wardrobe.
Riona pursed her lips, her heart pounding with anxiety.
Creak.
Soone opened the wardrobe door.
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