CHAPTER 8: Irene's POV

Nobody moved for three full seconds after the woman said it.

Then everything happened at once.

Two guards came close from either side and seized her by the arms before she could say another word. She didn't struggle. She didn't even seem to notice them. Her eyes stayed fixed on me as though she had seen something she never expected to see again.

"Wait."

The word escaped my mouth before I could stop it. I stepped forward, but Matthew's arm came across my chest, stopping me.

"Let her talk."

"Irene." His voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the warning beneath it. "Stay back."

"She knows something." I tried to look past him. "Look at her. That isn't confusion."

"No." His gaze never left the woman. "It's recognition."

My stomach tightened.

"So you saw it too."

"Yes, I did."

"Then why are they taking her away?"

"Because this isn't the place to question her."

The guards started leading her toward the east corridor.

She twisted around to keep looking at me.

"Luna Selene..." she whispered again.

The sound of the name sent another ripple through the crowd.

Matthew's expression hardened.

"Take her to the east holding room," he ordered.

One of the guards hesitated.

"Sir, protocol says she should be placed in the lower cells."

"I know what protocol says."

His voice never rose, yet every guard nearby immediately straightened.

"I said the east holding room."

"Yes, sir."

They obeyed without another word.

The woman didn't scream or resist still. She only kept looking back at me until the crowd swallowed her from view.

I stared after her, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"You showed her mercy."

Matthew didn't look at me.

"I gave her somewhere she could be questioned without being beaten first."

"That's still mercy."

"It isn't."

But I had seen his face when she spoke that name.

Whatever this was, it wasn't routine to him either.

---

I found him nearly an hour later outside the council room. Waiting for answers had never gotten me anywhere so I decided I wasn't waiting this time.

"Who is Luna Selene?"

He kept walking.

"I don't know."

"Bullshit."

He stopped.

When he turned around, he looked tired instead of guarded.

"I mean it, Irene."

"You expect me to believe you've never heard that name before?"

"I've heard it."

My heart skipped.

"So you lied."

"No, I didn't."

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.

"Both times my father ended the conversation before anyone could explain what it meant."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

I folded my arms.

"Whatever that woman saw, she recognized me."

"I know."

"So help me understand why."

He stepped closer until barely a foot separated us.

"Whatever that name means, someone buried it on purpose."

His voice had dropped low enough that no one passing nearby could overhear.

"And things that get buried in this house usually stay buried for a reason."

"Then we'll dig them up."

His jaw tightened.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to prevent."

I frowned.

"Prevent?"

"I just watched an old woman get dragged away for saying four words."

"So we do nothing?"

"I didn't say that."

His voice was rougher now.

"I'm saying give me time to find the right way."

"The right way according to who?"

"The way that doesn't get you hurt."

I let out a quiet laugh.

"I'm getting tired of everyone deciding what's best for me."

His eyes stayed on mine.

"Irene....I need you to trust me anyway."

"Trust you?"

I shook my head.

"You've spent every day since this wedding reminding me I don't belong here."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?"

"No."

There wasn't a trace of anger in his voice.

"Everything I've done since the wedding has been to keep you away from the parts of this house that could get you killed."

I blinked.

"If that felt like I was pushing you away..." He paused before finishing quietly, "...I'm sorry."

For a moment I simply stared at him because normally, Matthew wasn't the type to apologize to anyone.

"What exactly are you protecting me from?"

"The truth."

His answer came without hesitation.

"It isn't the kind of truth that leaves people unchanged."

"And keeping me in the dark is better?"

"It's safer."

"For who?"

His eyes held mine.

"For you."

Silence settled between us.

I wanted to argue.

I wanted to tell him that promises were easy when you were the one making all the decisions.

Instead, I found myself studying the exhaustion in his face. Against my better judgment, part of me believed him.

"Fine."

I stepped back.

"But if you won't tell me, I'll find someone who will."

"Irene..."

I was already walking away.

I didn't stop when he called my name again.

I found my mother in the sunroom.

She was sitting by the windows with several fabric swatches spread across the table, studying them as though nothing unusual had happened that morning.

"Mom."

"Hm?" She picked up a piece of pale blue silk without looking at me. "If this is about the disturbance earlier, don't worry yourself over it. The poor woman is clearly unwell. I've already asked the healers to examine her."

I walked farther into the room.

"Who is Luna Selene?"

The silk stopped moving. Then she carefully set the fabric back onto the table and smoothed her skirt with both hands.

I had known my mother my entire life. I knew the difference between surprise and performance.

That hesitation had been real.

"Where did you hear that name?" she asked.

Her voice sounded as polished as ever, but her hands remained folded tightly in her lap.

"The woman said it."

"Irene..."

"She looked straight at me and called me Luna Selene."

My mother smiled but I know it wasn't real.

"Omegas say many strange things when they're frightened."

"You didn't answer my question."

She finally looked at me.

For the briefest moment, something slipped through her composure like fear.

"It's an old name," she said carefully.

"So you do know it."

"I know of it."

"Who was she?"

She looked toward the window instead of answering.

"It isn't important."

"It was important enough to make you stop breathing for a second."

Her gaze returned to mine.

"You imagined that."

"No."

"Irene..."

"I've spent years with you and I know when you're pretending."

The words came out before I could stop them and silence settled between us.

Then, just as quickly as my mother's expression had cracked, her smile settled neatly back into place.

"It has nothing to do with you."

"I don't believe that."

"You don't have to."

She rose gracefully from her chair.

"Go and get some rest. It's been a difficult morning."

She moved toward the door as if the conversation had ended.

I stood there for another moment before finally leaving. Not because I believed her but because I knew she wouldn't tell me anything else.

---

I didn't go back to my room.

Instead, I wandered through the east wing without any destination in mind.

My thoughts refused to settle and kept going back to what happened. Both the woman, Matthew and my mother had not answered a single question.

All they had done was prove that Luna Selene was real and whatever she represented frightened all of them.

I had almost reached the corridor leading toward the gardens when I heard a familiar voice.

My mother's.

I stopped.

She wasn't supposed to be here.

Carefully, I stepped backward until I was hidden behind one of the stone columns lining the hallway.

She stood alone several yards away.

In one hand she held a small mirrored charm no bigger than her palm and pressed it lightly against her ear.

At first I thought I was imagining it. Then she spoke in a low and urgent tone.

I had never heard her sound like that before.

Whoever she was speaking to...

They frightened her.

I held my breath.

"She's asking questions now." She said.

Every muscle in my body locked.

There was a pause. Then her voice dropped even lower and I couldn't make out another word.

I leaned forward slightly, trying to hear but nothing came to my ear again, only whispers.

After another minute she lowered the charm and slipped it into the sleeve of her dress before glancing cautiously down both ends of the corridor.

I pressed myself harder against the column.

If she looked one step farther...

She would see me.

Instead, she turned and walked away.

I stayed where I was until her footsteps disappeared completely.

Only then did I let myself breathe but my pulse still hammered against my ribs.

The hallway suddenly felt colder than it had a minute ago. Then a realization hit me. Every answer I'd chased since arriving in Blackwood Territory had pointed me toward strangers.

The old woman, the council and Matthew.

I had been looking everywhere except the one place I should have started.

From my own mother.