Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1145 - 56 : Family Secrets

Chapter 1145: Chapter 56 : Family Secrets

*Daphne*

I fought off tears as I made my way back to the palace. I thought about everything–about Rion being poisoned, about Eva and the pirates. Could I have been so gullible to think they would take me with them? Of course, they wouldn’t have chanced having to run from the palace guards while trying to hunt down Hestia’s treasure.

I felt like the Goddess had forsaken me, despite all my prayers to her. The tears fell, hot and angry against my cheeks. I didn’t like feeling like I wasn’t in control of my emotions.

The bath Pepper drew was still hot when I returned to my room. The scent of peppermint and rose filled the room, bringing comfort to my aching body.

When I slid into the bath, I felt my muscles release all the tension that had built up in them over the journey with Kyle. I knew my parents were going to summon me, so I figured I would try to enjoy a relaxing soak first.

“Princess, are you still bathing?” Pepper chimed from somewhere in my chamber.

I hadn’t heard her return, and the question caught me off guard.

“Yes,” I answered, my voice cracking a little as I tried to suppress a sob.

“The Queen would like to see you once you are refreshed. She instructed me to send you to her chambers,” the servant girl explained before once again leaving me to my thoughts.

Her chamber? Mother doesn’t call me to her chamber for anything other than casual talks. Father surely wouldn’t be present, and he appeared to have a lot to say at the dinner table earlier.

Since getting back to the palace, Rhys had been on my mind. I missed confiding in him, and I knew it was time I went to see him. The thought of seeing my brother made me smile, so I decided to stop in and see him before heading to my mother’s chamber.

I stepped into Rhys’ room to find it frozen in time. No matter how often I entered his chambers, it always looked the same. I couldn’t help but wonder what he would think of the world once he came out of his coma. The dim lights gave a surreal feeling to the atmosphere, almost as if he were already gone.

“Hello, Rhys. I know It’s been a while since I’ve been able to visit, but I have so much to tell you,” I announced as cheerfully as I could, sitting by his bedside.

I told him everything, fighting back the tears when they threatened to stop me from speaking. I talked about Rion and his sister. Admitting what I did with Hestia’s Grimoire had been difficult, but I needed to tell someone. I even went ahead and poured my heart out about my child, telling him he was going to be an uncle and an important father figure in my baby’s life.

By the time I finished, I felt empty, drained of every emotion I struggled with for so long.

“I wish you could give me some of your brotherly advice. I just don’t know what to do anymore,” I whispered.

After reaching out, I lightly grabbed Rhys’ arm before lowering my head down to his shoulder. I felt something move between us upon making contact. It was almost like what I had felt when I touched Rion after he had been poisoned.

“Run, Daphne. You need to run!” Rhys said, but the sound hadn’t come from his mouth. It had been his voice, only it had been in my head and not out loud.

I had lifted my head so quickly that I almost gave myself whiplash.

It took me a moment to find my voice while looking down at his still body. “Rhys, is that you? Can you hear me?” I had asked with tears welling up in my eyes.

I made sure to keep contact with his arm, which appeared to be the trick with Rion.

“Yes, I can hear you, I’ve always been able to hear you, dear, sweet, Daphne. You are in danger. No, we’re all in danger. The palace isn’t safe,” Rhys continued quickly, sounding like he was yelling at me from a great distance.

I closed my eyes while he spoke, hoping that would help strengthen our connection.

“What do you mean?” I whispered.

I didn’t want to overwhelm him with questions, mostly because of how weak he sounded.

“There are people in the palace who mean to do the family harm. You all need to get out of here as soon as you can,” he mumbled weakly.

What he was saying didn’t make any sense. My brother and I both knew that if someone was causing his coma, they wouldn’t be able to hide from their deeds.

“Rhys, what are you saying? Mother would sense if someone was doing this to you. She has the powers of the Moon Goddess, remember?”

At that moment, a vision flashed before my eyes. It was Rhys, struggling with three individuals. I couldn’t make out any features; they appeared as dark shadows on a gray backdrop. I watched, holding my breath, as they forced him to the ground and dumped something into his mouth.

Then the manifestation spun into a kaleidoscope of color as it morphed into an image of our mother, sitting by Rhys’ bedside. She was crying. Our mother was a proud woman, and she never let her emotions appear so raw.

Hearing anything was difficult. It was like trying to make out words underwater.

Mother’s words came in broken waves.

“I can’t help... the Moon Goddess... gone,” was all I could make out.

Panic had risen in my chest upon hearing her voice.

“What is she talking about, Rhys?”

Silence was the only answer, as I was left wondering what all of this meant. My brother had reached out, and the sound of his voice had brought me hope that he wasn’t completely gone, even if his warning had been disturbing.

“Thank you, Rhys,” I whispered, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

After closing his chamber door, I quickly walked down to Mother’s chamber. I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I could do is hope she was open to speaking with me about what I had just witnessed.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I walked along. I stopped just outside her door, closing my eyes once more to take in a deep breath.

Upon opening her door, the feeling from the Queen’s chamber had been a stark difference from Rhys’ room. A large fire burning in the fireplace gave the space a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The dried fir logs crackled and popped softly as the shadows danced along the walls to the sound.

“You wanted to see me, Mother?” I asked, trying to still my heart and relax.

“I expected you a while ago,” she replied while waving away the servant who was brushing her hair.

The young girl left the room as I took her place behind my mother. After picking up the brush, I began calmly stroking her hair. It was something we had done when I was a small child, and the memories flooded back upon reprising the role I used to have.

“I went to go speak with Rhys before coming to see you. I can’t explain why, but I felt drawn to seeing him first,” I answered, choosing not to look her in the eyes through the oversized mirror before us.

Mother sighed from her seat, and I could feel her observing me.

“You know we are trying everything to find out what’s affecting your brother, don’t you?” she asked in a soft tone. “With continued research, we hope to uncover what affliction this is. So far, no one in the family line has ever been observed having such an illness as his.”

“That’s because it isn’t an illness, and I think you know that,” I replied, still not daring to make eye contact.

I feared that if I saw the pain on her face, it would cause me to lose my conviction. I simply continued to brush her hair, focusing on her delicate thick locks. The atmosphere took on a colder feel despite the roaring fire behind us.

“What do you mean?” Mother asked, turning around so quickly I hadn’t been prepared.

She grabbed my hands, letting the brush drop to the floor with a loud thunk.

“Why would you say something like that?” she demanded, holding my gaze with her own.

“Rhys told me. When I touched him, he was able to speak with me. He also showed me things, dreamlike visions inside my mind,” I whispered, losing the edge I had walked into the room with only moments ago.

“How is this possible? Has he spoken with you before?” the Queen asked, standing up from her bench while still holding my hands.

The look on her face was one of eagerness and desperation.

“No, never. I don’t know what changed, but Rhys said we are all in grave danger. He told me there are people working in the palace who want to harm the family. He showed me how he had gotten so sick. It was poison, or something, given to him by three individuals,” I explained with a lump in my throat. “Then he showed me you, sitting by his bedside. You were crying, telling him you couldn’t help and something about the Goddess,” I continued after turning away from her.

I heard my mother sit back down behind me. After taking a few deep breaths, she began to speak.

“I cannot tell you everything right now,” she whispered, sounding tired and defeated. “Your father wanted to send you away, to keep you safe, but I begged him to let you stay. With your brother in the coma, and your sisters living their own lives, I wanted to keep you by my side more than ever.”

I’d never seen my mother so vulnerable, and it pained me to watch her struggle. She must have been holding onto something painful and keeping it from all of us for so long.

“I wouldn’t have left Rhys’ side if he tried,” I answered with a forced grin.

She had returned the gesture, putting a lot more effort behind her smile than I had.

“That being what it is, I’m afraid he was right. I don’t want to see anything else happen to you. That means whoever is behind this probably still has spies watching us,” Mother admitted, standing back up from the bench and walking over to the warmth of the fire.

A shiver had run through my body as her words sank in.

“What are you saying?” I asked, not daring to pull my eyes away from the glowing silhouette of her regal being.

My hand had moved instinctively to my baby bump while dread built up in my mind.

“We need to send you away. Hiding you somewhere within a powerful pack may be the only way to protect you. Rhys and your father are right. It isn’t safe enough here anymore, especially since I no longer have the White Queen powers. I gave them back to the Moon Goddess.”