Chapter 115

Carols ‘POV

Everything hurt.

But the pain was good, right? That meant I was still alive. I’m not sure how long I was asleep, but when I opened my eyes, Aiden was sitting by my side. He was running his fingers through my hair, and he looked exhausted like he hadn’t slept in days.

I gently squeezed his hand, which was left beside me, and his eyes found my face and widened.

“You’re awake,” he whispered, relief evident on his face.

He leaned toward me and pressed his soft lips against my temple. I closed my eyes and took in his calming scent, loving how relaxed it made me feel even when I was in a world of pain.

“Candance,” Aiden called over his shoulder. “She’s awake.”

“Oh, good. Try not to move her. She’s probably in a lot of pain. That healing stuff can be rough on the body.”

“What happened to me?” I asked; my memory was a bit foggy. One minute we were heading to our room after speaking to my biological father, and the next I was in the palace clinic in a world of pain.

I’d been in and out of grogginess for what felt like hours, so I understood where I was. But how I got here, I wasn’t too clear on.

“There was an accident in the elevator,” Aiden told me, his voice hard.

Something about his tone made me believe that he didn’t think it was an accident. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

“It broke down and then it dropped to the ground from the fourth floor,” he continued to explain. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you from getting hurt.”

He lowered his head as he pressed his lips to the calm of my hand.

“You are healing at a quicker rate than most humans though, so that shows you are quite special indeed even without a wolf,” Candace said after she finished examining me. “Usually, the healing elixir would take a little longer but it’s working at an incredible rate. You’ll be out of here in no time.”

I nodded and thanked her before she left the room. I looked up at Aiden.

“How long I had been out for?” I asked him.

“Only a few hours,” he told me. “She said you probably wouldn’t wake up until the morning. But as she said, you are healing quickly.”

“How did this happen, Aiden?” I asked him. “Did the palace elevator really just break?”

Aiden was quiet for a moment and then he met my eyes.

“It’s possible it was tinkered with,” he admitted.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

“By who?” I asked him.

“It’s just a guess. I found it hard to believe it could just break as well. But there’s something more important that I found out and I think we might be in danger. I’m not sure how much longer we should remain at the palace. I was thinking we could leave tomorrow.”

I was relieved to hear that because I didn’t want to stick around any longer either. Not after I was almost just killed.

“What did you find out?” I asked.

“The poison used on my father came from here,” he whispered.

My heart fell into my stomach. Of course, I knew the chances were good; but did he already know for certain?

“It was stolen, and Candace isn’t sure who took it,” he explained.

My eyes grew large at his words.

“You told Candace about this?”

He nodded.

“She’s the empire's healer,” he explained. “I figured if anybody would know who obtained such a poison, it would be her.”

“And what did she tell you exactly?” I asked, wincing as I tried to sit up.

My arm was starting to feel better than it had the first time I woke, but it was stiff and still carried a lot of tension.

He settled me back down, worry evident in his eyes.

“Don’t move too much. I don’t want you to disrupt the healing process,” he ordered.

I sighed and lay back down.

“Just tell me what you found out,” I ordered impatiently.

“Someone mixed Starlight with wolfbane and a few other ingredients. It’s a poison meant to do extreme damage to the most powerful Alphas. Candace created it to aid in a battle a long time ago…”

“Wait…” I stopped him abruptly. “Candace, the one healing me, is the one who created this poison?”

He nodded.

“Yes, she said she created it to Aid in a war, per orders of the King. However, when word got out about this poison and how strong it was, it started to cause a lot of worry around the world. So something that powerful should never exist. It was kind of the same when you were born… a lot of people felt something as powerful as you shouldn’t exist. That’s why you were in so much danger when you were born. When word got to the council about this poison, they outlawed it. It was supposed to be destroyed and never thought of again. But the King didn’t want to get rid of it.”

My heart felt heavy in my chest, and I thought I was going to get sick.

“What do you mean he didn’t want to get rid of it?” I asked, my voice sounding distant and unfamiliar. “Why would he want to keep it? For what purpose?”

“That’s what I’m not sure of,” he said, shrugging one shoulder. “I have a bad feeling about it though.”

“So, you are saying a poison that strong is still here?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Half of the poison is,” he said, looking even more uneasy than he had a moment ago. “The other half was replaced with something different. Half of the poison was stolen under Candace’s nose and she has no idea who would do such a thing.”

My heart hammered against my chest at a rapid speed; fear started to envelop me.

“Did you think the King knows about this? Have you confronted him about it?”

He nodded.

“He’s looking into it as we speak. He was made aware a little over an hour ago. He looked surprised and worried when we talked to him. I’d like to think he had no idea about any of this, but it’s hard to tell. I’m not sure who we can trust here and who we can’t.”

“What about Morgan? Have you spoken to him about her?”

He shook his head.

“I wanted to wait until we knew more information. I was hoping to accumulate something from the other servants about what they might know about Morgan. I doubt she’s working alone though and that’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“You should tell Oliver about all of this. He would want to know, and he could probably do some research on his end. Whoever stole the poison either sent it to someone at the capital or went to the capital themselves. He could probably find out more information concerning that.”

“I’m way ahead of you,” Aiden said, showing me his phone. “I already texted him. He’s going to find out what he can about who’s been traveling or receiving foreign things.”

I nodded and then chewed on the insides of my cheek. Before either of us could say another word, the doors of the infirmary opened and King Bennet strolled into the room, followed by Queen Elizabeth.

I kept my eyes on Elizabeth as she walked into the room; her face remained emotionless as she stared at me and then scanned my body.

“I see you are doing well,” she said, corking a brow. “We are pleased to see that.”

I could tell she was lying; I’m not sure how I knew it, but I did.

King Bennet stopped near my bedside and adjusted my pillow.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, looking at me with concern evident on his face.

“I’m feeling better,” I admitted. “I should be healed soon enough.”

“Good,” he sighed. “I’m so sorry this happened to you under my roof. I have people looking at the elevator as we speak and figuring out what had happened to cause such a horrific accident. If it was tampered with, I assure you they won’t get away with it.”

Even the King thought it was tampered with. I probably looked as confused as I felt. When I glanced at Elizabeth, her jaw ticked, and I could see the annoyance in her eyes.

I wondered what that was all about.

I knew Elizabeth wasn’t a fan of me for whatever reason, but would she really go as far as to try and kill me?

“And the poison?” Aiden asked.

“We are still looking into that as well. I have my best force on the case,” he said. “This is a serious matter. Why didn’t you tell me sooner that your father had been poisoned?”

“We weren’t sure who we could trust,” Aiden confessed.

“Is that the only reason why you came here? So, you can investigate this?” He asked, sounding a little hurt.

Aiden glanced at me awkwardly.

“No,” I blurted. “I wanted to meet you before any of this happened. But when this did happen and we figured out the poison used could only be found here, we used this as an excuse to visit.” It was half a lie, but also some truth.

He nodded thoughtfully and then placed his hand on top of mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I’m sorry your visit caused your accident, Carol,” he breathed, sounding defeated. “I will do whatever I can to make it up to you. I actually wanted to ask you a question.”

I raised my brows, feeling a bit nervous about where this was going.

“Okay…” I said, hesitantly.

“We really didn’t have a lot of time to get to know one another and I’m sure you still have plenty of questions for me. I also wanted to train you some on your powers and get you used to your role as High Priestess. This is where you belong, Carol. This is your empire, and you were meant to be the ruler of everything. But I also know that your mate is the Alpha of the Capital, and this might be a difficult decision for you to make…”

“Where is this going?” I asked him uneasily.

He took a deep breath.

“I want to ask you to move into the palace full-time and begin your training as not only the High Priestess but also a princess.”