Chapter 33

Lucy.

I gasped as I quickly grabbed the nearest towel, clutching it around my neck in a frantic attempt to hide the mark, but I already knew it was too late. It was already too late. My heart raced, hammering in my chest as the cold realization hit me. Elizabeth was standing there, frozen in the doorway. Her eyes widened with an expression I couldn’t quite place, but it was all too clear: fear.

Her gaze locked onto the towel wrapped around my neck, and before I could even try to cover it up or explain, I saw the flicker of panic turn into something else. Something worse. The tears that pooled in her eyes were like ice, freezing me in place. I could hear her shaky whisper, barely audible.

“Was it... Ethan?” she asked, her voice barely more than a breath.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. My throat was tight, my mind spinning as I struggled to find the right words. But there were no words. I couldn’t lie to her, not about this. And I couldn’t tell the truth either. The weight of the silence between us felt suffocating.

I looked away.

The moment I did, her expression changed, her fear quickly morphing into raw anger. It was something I had never seen from her before. The kind of anger that seemed like it could consume her, consume us both.

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “So, it was him, then,” she spat, voice trembling with fury. She turned sharply and stormed out of the bathroom, her footsteps slamming hard on the floor as she walked.

“Elizabeth, wait!” I called, scrambling after her, wrapping the towel more tightly around my shoulders. “Elizabeth, please, let’s talk about this—”

“Talk?” Her voice was sharp, cutting through the air like a knife. She didn’t stop walking. “What is there to talk about, Lucy?” Her tone was venomous now, colder than I had ever heard it. “You’ve made your choice, haven’t you? You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.”

“Elizabeth, please—” I tried again, but she cut me off, her fury practically crackling in the space between us.

“Don’t ‘please’ me, Lucy. Don’t. You—” She whirled around, her eyes blazing as she threw a pile of clothes at me, the fabric hitting me in the chest and nearly making me stumble back. “Get dressed. We’re going to the guards’ quarters.”

I froze. “No... no, Elizabeth, I—”

“You think I’m going to let this slide?” she demanded, her voice rising with every word. “Do you think I’m going to stand by while you get marked like some common—” She stopped herself, but her face twisted in disgust. “Get dressed, Lucy. Now.”

I looked at the clothes in my hands, my stomach twisting in knots. The last thing I wanted was to go to the guards’ quarters, but Elizabeth wasn’t leaving me much of a choice.

“What is going on?” I asked, my voice quiet, uncertain. I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall. “Where are we going? What are you doing?”

Her eyes flashed with something sharp, something I had never seen before. “We’re going to Beta Ethan’s room.” The words hit me like a cold wave, crashing over me. My heart stopped for a split second, before it started pounding again, harder, faster.

“No.” I shook my head, the words escaping my mouth before I could stop them. “Please. I can handle this. It’s my life, Elizabeth. I don’t need anyone else to fix it.”

Her eyes narrowed, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “Your life?” she repeated, almost in disbelief. “Your life? Lucy, don’t you get it? The moment you agreed to be the king’s breeder, it stopped being just your life. You’re not just in this all by yourself. Do you think the king is going to let this go? Do you think the guards, the people, will just look the other way if they find out you’ve been marked by a servant?”

The finality in her voice struck me like a hammer. This wasn’t just about me. This was about us, about everyone who had anything to do with this cursed place. Elizabeth’s words echoed in my mind, over and over again. If the king finds out...

She was serious. I could see it in her eyes, in the way her fists were still trembling at her sides, in the raw emotion that was threatening to spill over.

I felt the weight of her words sink in, my breath catching in my throat. I had never seen Elizabeth this angry before. I had never seen her this scared.

I quickly began dressing, my hands shaking as I fumbled with the buttons on my shirt. I needed to catch up to her, needed to explain, to make her understand, but the truth was, I didn’t know what the hell was happening either. My world was spinning out of control, and I had no idea how to stop it.

As I tied my shoes, my thoughts raced. I knew Elizabeth was right. The consequences of this were far worse than I had imagined, far worse than I could have ever imagined. If Ethan’s mark on me was discovered by the king, the punishment would be swift. Fatal.

I finished dressing quickly and bolted out the door, hoping to catch up to Elizabeth, but she was already halfway down the hall. I ran to keep up with her, feeling the tightness in my chest grow with every step.

The hallway was silent, too silent. No one dared to speak, and yet I could feel every pair of eyes on me as I passed. I could hear the whispers, the stares. 

When we reached the guards’ quarters, Elizabeth didn’t hesitate. She marched straight to Beta Ethan’s room, and before I could say a word, she was banging on his door. Hard. The sound reverberated down the hallway, and within moments, I could hear footsteps coming from inside.

It took Ethan a moment to answer. When he finally did, I could see the surprise in his eyes, quickly replaced by something I couldn’t quite read. He opened the door just a crack, but that was enough for Elizabeth.

Without hesitation, she slapped him hard across the face. The sound of the slap rang through the hall, and for a moment, I was frozen. Ethan staggered back slightly, caught off guard by her attack. He cupped his jaw, his eyes flashing with an anger I hadn’t seen before.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Elizabeth demanded, her voice trembling with fury. “What gives you the right to do that to her? Are you out of your damn mind? Didn’t you think of the implications before you acted? If the king sees that mark, we’re all dead!”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. The fear that had been building inside me suddenly surged, crashing over me. I looked at Ethan, my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Not with the dark gleam I saw in his eyes.

He finally spoke, his voice low and dangerous. “Seems like you’re willing to give your life for this whore,” he said, his gaze flicking to me. His eyes darkened with something that made my blood run cold.

“Well, if that’s what you want, then the pleasure’s all mine.”