Chapter 222

Third Person POV

“Wear this,” the queen ordered, tossing a cloak in Raelyn’s direction. She had just woken after consuming the liquid fire. Raelyn’s brows furrowed as she lifted the cloak for her viewing.

“W…why?” She asked, peering up at the Queen whose eyes darkened immediately.

“Don’t question me,” the Queen said in a low and dark tone. “Just do as I said. Make sure you aren’t recognizable.”

Raelyn swallowed but bit back her reply as she put the cloak on and put the hood over her face so she couldn’t be seen. Queen Elizabeth turned away and started to walk out of the cell block, but she left the door wide open.

“Follow me,” she ordered over her shoulder.

Raelyn was shocked… was the queen letting her go? Why would she do that? What was her game plan now? With trembling legs, Raelyn quickly rushed after the queen. She couldn’t remember the last time she ever stepped foot outside the dungeon. Maybe it was that time she was a little girl.

One of her guards was careless and accidentally left the door open while they went to grab something for her. She had to be around 4 or 5 at the time. She quickly left the cell and found her way upstairs. She had never seen the manor before, and she was in awe. She found herself running down the hallways, wanting to explore every inch of the place. She ran straight into Morgan, her former keeper. She heard from the guards that Morgan was now dead, which wasn’t a huge loss for her because Morgan tortured her worse than any of the guards had. But still, it was strange knowing she was never going to see her again when she spent most of her time with her.

At the time, she ran from Morgan. She wasn’t sure she was going; she was all turned around. But she knew that Morgan would be hurt if caught, so she continued to run until she ran into someone else. It ended up being a young girl with pretty pink eyes and light pink hair that fell down around her shoulders and back. She was pretty and for a moment, Raelyn thought she was an angel. She never encountered anyone other than Morgan, the queen, and the guards, so seeing someone new was a breath of fresh air for the young girl.

She was tongue-tied and wanted to ask for help, but Morgan caught her in time and came up with a lame story. Then, she forced her to drink a potion before she dragged Raelyn back to the dungeon. Raelyn’s memory was foggy after that, but she knew she was beaten so badly that she was asleep for about a week.

Raelyn’s mind snapped back to the present as she followed Queen Elizabeth out of the dungeon and up the stairs of the basement. She had to hold onto the railing tightly, not used to stairs. When the doors opened and light flooded into her face, she had to squint so her eyes could adjust to the intrusion of light.

Elizabeth didn’t slow down or stop though; she continued to walk, expecting that Raelyn would be right behind her.

For a moment, she thought about escaping. The doorway outside was so close and it would be so easy for her to run for it and never look back. But she knew the Queen would catch her easily and then she would torture her way worse than ever before. The thought was chilling, and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

As they walked past the windows and the doorway, Raelyn daydreamed about what it must be like outside. It was so bright and beautiful out there that she was envious of anyone who got to step foot outside. The natural world was so big… and yet Raelyn’s world was so small.

She lowered her gaze, covering her face, as they passed by people. They walked up the grand staircase until they reached a suite. Elizabeth pulled open the door, revealing her bedroom. There was a maid standing near the vanity, looking nervous and her body tensed when Raelyn and Elizabeth walked into the room.

“I need you to clean her up and make her look exactly like the real Carol,” Elizabeth ordered. “Just like we talked about.”

The maid nodded.

“Yes, mam,” she said.

Elizabeth turned to look at Raelyn.

“I’ll be back to get you, but if you try anything stupid like escaping or hurting my personal handmaiden, I will hunt you down and make your life even more hell than it already is,” she threatened.

Raelyn knew she was good on her promise and would never try to do anything that could cause repercussions from the Queen, so she just nodded and stared after her retreating back.

“Shall we get started?” The maid asked. “I’m Anna.”

Raelyn looked her over; she was a young maid, maybe around Raelyn’s age with light brown hair pulled back into a pony and honey eyes. She had dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she was exhausted and probably overworked. It didn’t surprise Raelyn; she knew the Queen probably ran a tight ship.

“Raelyn,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

She figured the queen had informed her about Raelyn already and there was no harm in introducing herself.

The girl, Anna, nodded and gave a sympathetic smile.

“I know,” she replied. “Come on; let’s get you bathed and cleaned up.”

Raelyn didn’t argue, she just went with the maid to the attached bathroom and allowed her to do whatever she wanted without arguments.

1 hour later, she felt like a whole new person, wearing clothes that were unfamiliar and a bit uncomfortable. She was even given a haircut because her hair was matted and down to her ankles.

The queen returned and when she saw Raelyn, a smile spread across her lips.

“You look just like her,” she said thoughtfully. “This will be easier than I thought. Now, you need to learn everything about this girl so you can play the part.”

She handed Raelyn a notebook and inside was everything she needed to know about Carol. Apparently, the queen had been gathering intel about her for some time now.

“Study this,” the queen ordered. “Oh, and drink this.”

She handed Raelyn a vile of potion that she took without hesitation.

“What is it?” Raelyn asked before bringing it to her lips.

“It’ll hide the darkness swirling around you,” she said. “Candance would be able to see it right away if it remains. That way, you can pose as the real Carol without issues. But it’s limited. You’ll need to get more of this stuff in 24 hours before it wears off. The ingredients are incredibly difficult to find, and I was only able to create this one. But I know Candance has more in her infirmary, which is where we are going.”

“The infirmary?” Raelyn asked.

“Carol was taken there over an hour ago,” she explained. “I had my maids drug her to knock her out and she was taken to a secret house in the empire. Right now, the King and her mate are somewhere so I’m bringing you to the infirmary so you can pretend to be her. You need to know everything so you can pull this off.”

She nodded and bit her lower lip as she gazed down at the pages that told her what she needed to know about Carol.

“And what is the plan after that?”

“You’ll know in due time,” the queen said with a grin. “You’ll know everything soon. Just focus on convincing Aiden that you are the real Carol.”

……

Aiden’s POV

I can’t help but think that something was off with Carol. My wolf was pulling me away from her like she was some kind of stranger. Candance didn’t seem to think anything was wrong. She was pleased to see that Carol was awake and asked her how she was feeling. She gave her some medicine to help her recover faster and then she went across the room to her desk.

“When can I get out of here?” Carol asked, peeking up at me. “I’d like to leave now…”

I looked at Candance who met my gaze.

“She can leave when she’s ready,” she answered my unspoken question. “Everything seems to be normal, and she’s been checked by the doctor already. The swelling in her face had gone down a lot and the burns had miraculously healed. It was much quicker than intended, but it means she has a strong bloodline.”

I nodded and turned back to Carol.

“Let’s get you back to your suite,” I told her, helping her out of the bed. She gave me a thankful smile.

“I suggest more rest though,” Candance said before we could leave the infirmary. “And make another appointment with the doctor for a follow-up. If you need anything further, you know where to find me.”

“Thank you,” I said to her, my eyes finding Carol’s.

I gazed down at her, my eyes wandering over her belly momentarily. Wasn’t she bigger than this? At this point in time, she looked skin and bones… almost unhealthily so.

“Have you been eating properly?” I asked her, my brows furrowed.

She frowned and glanced at her belly as well.

“Maybe not as well as I could have been,” she admitted.

“You need to keep up with your food intake. You’re pregnant after all…” I reminded her. “Come on, let’s get you some food before we return to the suite.”

I attempted to put my arm around her, but my wolf snarled in my head, angry at the attempt. It made me drop my arms to my sides immediately, not wanting to piss off my wolf. The last thing I needed was for him to lose control and do something stupid like hurt Carol and our baby.

What the hell was up with him?