AURORA
âI guess Iâm partly to blame for what happened to her. If I hadnât let myself fall for her, maybe Rin wouldnât have been so jealous,â Rayne confessed.
Lana sighed deeply. âI never thought youâd be foolish enough to let your heart rule your head, but I canât put all the blame on you. Youâre human, after all. But I hope youâve learned from this, as I hope Rin has. Speaking of Rin, where is he? Have you seen him?â
âNo, heâs been in his room all day. I tried to talk to him this morning, to apologize, but he wouldnât speak to me,â Rayne replied.
âShould we intervene, Mother? Itâs not good for Rin to isolate himself like this,â Selenia suggested.
âLetâs give him a little more time. Maybe Rin needs to process things before he can face them,â Lana proposed.
I couldnât disagree with her. Rinâs actions were far worse than Rayneâs. But as the day wore on, I couldnât shake a growing sense of unease. Rin was nowhere to be seen, and when I went to bed that night in Seleniaâs room, I found out he still hadnât left his room.
Jekia and Lana decided to let it be for the night. Rin was old enough to sort things out for himself. But if things got too out of control, theyâd have to step in.
Unfortunately, it seemed like we were heading in that direction. Three days passed without any sign of Rin in the palace. As I tried to rest and heal, I couldnât help but worry about him. Even though I shouldâve wanted to avoid him, I couldnât just abandon him. Not when I knew he was suffering emotionally from his actions, whether they were intentional or not.
From everything Iâd seen and heard, Rin wasnât a violent person. Heâd never shown any signs of aggression before, even though young foxes can be a bit wild. Rin might have been stubborn and a bit of a rebel, but he was also kind to those around him.
But the moment that really showed me who Rin was happened when I accidentally stumbled upon Lanaâs private grief.
I hadnât meant to eavesdrop. I was just passing by one of the parlors when I heard crying. Worried, I peeked in through the slightly open door. Lana was sitting there with Jekia, who was trying to comfort her as she wept.
âI donât understand. How could she do this to us, to them? This isnât like our sons, especially Rin. First, he runs away, and now heâs tried to hurt the one he loves. How can one person have so much power over others?â she sobbed.
âI know, I feel the same. But we canât change whatâs happened. Rin and Rayne will have to find a way to fight back. All we can do now is hope they understand that,â Jekia consoled her.
Hearing this broke my heart. I walked away, unsure of what to do. I didnât think I could face Rin yet, not with the risk of something else happening. And I hadnât been alone with Rayne either. Heâd been keeping his distance, respecting my wishes. But what could I do? Was there anything?
Emelio was away from the palace, looking into my records, so I couldnât ask him. I didnât think it would be a good idea to interrupt him. And I didnât think Selenia or Vishu could offer much more insight. They wanted to help, but they still didnât trust Rin.
I was lost in thought, sitting at the edge of the courtyard that evening. There had to be something I could do. I was supposed to be Rinâs beta, after all. That had to mean something.
Then it hit me. Maybe I could find the answers myself. Even if Jekiaâs library didnât have anything, there had to be others who knew about the Golden Queen and her spells. Maybe they were hiding out of fear. But if I approached them, maybe theyâd help us.
With my mind made up, I hurried to the palace room where my bow and arrows were stored. I looked around to make sure no one was watching, then slipped out the side door to the woods. I was careful not to touch any of Vishuâs webs as I moved through the trees. If I did, sheâd know someone was out there and come to investigate, and I wouldnât be able to leave.
Finally, I reached the edge of the palace grounds. I took a deep breath before stepping through the barrier. I knew no one would notice because Rayne had taken me through it a few times while I was practicing archery.
Standing there, looking at the towering trees, I steeled myself and started down the path. I didnât know exactly how I was going to do this, but I was determined to find a way to free myself, Rin, and Rayne from the Golden Queenâs spell.
I was going to become the beta Rin needed, and this time, I was going to save him.