Chapter 294: Don’t Touch Me
A knock rattled the door. Thessa strode across the room and opened it.
Talon filled the doorway. His eyes scanned the room once, landing on Luna, then on Isolde. "Ah... Talon," Luna said.
"Your Highness," Talon began. "I saw—"
But Luna’s hand cut the air. "I need you to hold her down."
"Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare touch me!" Isolde screeched. She scrambled backward, her breathing wild. Panic sharpened her features until she looked almost feral.
Talon moved toward her. His hand closed around her arm, and Isolde jerked against it. Her fangs dropped, proof of her desperation. She hissed, baring them in warning, though even she knew her display was futile. Her chances of fighting her way free were less than none.
"If you hurt my baby, I swear—"
"To what?" Luna’s snarl split the room. "Tell me, what will you do?"
Then Luna shifted her attention to Talon without breaking stride. "Move her to the sofa."
Talon obeyed. He hauled Isolde forward with ease, ignoring her twisting, the scratching of her nails against his forearm, and the wild scream that erupted from her throat. He deposited her on the sofa. She kicked once, twice, then slumped in defeat.
Thessa, however, stiffened. Her gaze darted to Luna, unease flickering behind her eyes. "Your Highness," she said carefully. "This may bring trouble. Examining her without consent. The council may not look kindly on this."
"Just do as I say."
Isolde thrashed again in Talon’s grip. "You can’t do this! I won’t let you! You’re a tyrant, a jealous whore."
Thessa reached into her medical bag, plucking out a pair of thin gloves.
Then there was another knock. A heavy, insistent pounding that made the doorframe tremble.
"For goddess’s sake!" Luna snapped. She stormed toward the door and yanked it open. On the other side stood Councilman Richard, his dignified face pinched in confusion.
"Your Highness," he stammered. "What in the name of the Blood Goddess are you doing here?"
Before Luna could answer, Isolde seized the moment. "Help me!" she shrieked. She twisted violently in Talon’s grip, an actress in her own theater of lies.
Richard shoved past Luna. "What is going on here?"
"She is refusing to be examined," Luna said.
"She wants to hurt my baby!" Isolde cried, struggling harder now as if Richard’s presence gave her courage. "She said she was going to kill it!" Her tears streamed.
Richard turned his gaze slowly toward Luna. His eyes full of judgment.
Luna rolled her eyes, exhaling sharply through her nose. The little viper was more cunning than she’d anticipated, weaving her performance with the grace of a seasoned temptress. "I only wished to prevent a repeat of what happened with Royal Concubine Seliora," she said. "Or have you already forgotten the scandal?"
"There are ways to do this, your highness. But not like this." His eyes flicked to Talon restraining the girl, then to Thessa with her gloves poised, then back to Luna. "Not like this."
Luna rolled her eyes again.
"If it will put your mind at ease," he said finally, "I will have her examined at the hospital. Under an anonymous name. No one will hear of this. You will have your truth, Your Highness."
Luna stared at him.
Isolde whimpered dramatically in Talon’s hold. "Please," she whispered, "please protect me from her."
Luna moved closer to Richard. She tilted her chin, eyes sharp as razors. "Can I trust you then?" she asked. "Can I leave this in your hands and believe you will not lie to me?"
"My allegiance, Your Highness," he said evenly, "is to the royal family. That includes you."
She stepped back. Without another word, she turned on her heel and swept from the house.
Talon released Isolde before following Luna. Thessa trailed behind.
Isolde, freed from Talon’s grip, cried. "She is lying," she burst out. "She threatened me, Councilman Richard. She said she would kill my baby. Please—please don’t believe her. I am begging you."
Richard exhaled heavily, dragging a hand across his jaw. "The queen," he said with weary resignation, "really is all bark and no bite."
"You say your allegiance is to the royal family. I may not be part of that...." Her hand slid down to rest meaningfully on her belly, her gaze locking on his. "But the child I carry is one. Your allegiance should be to us also. Don’t let her hurt us."
Richard’s brow furrowed, his sense of duty warring with his instincts. He had no love for manipulative courtesans, but if there was even the slightest chance the child in her womb carried royal blood, his oath demanded he protect it. "I will have you examined," he said finally, "as she has ordered. You had better not be lying."
Isolde’s shoulders slumped in feigned relief. Her lips parted on a trembling sigh, and tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. "Oh, goddess, thank you." She collapsed to her knees and wrapped her arms around his legs, clinging to him.
But behind his back, where he could not see, her face twisted into something darker. A sly, wicked smile curved across her lips. Her eyes gleamed with triumph. Score one for Isolde.
*****
Luna stepped out of Isolde’s suffocating little building. Her chest rose and fell sharply. She pressed a trembling hand against her sternum, as if she could hold in the molten storm curling inside her belly. A tremor ran through her shoulders, and her composure—her careful queenly mask—splintered at last.
Thessa hurried forward. "Your Highness," she said. She reached out a cautious hand.
She latched onto Thessa’s arm with sudden desperation, her nails digging into the woman’s sleeve. Her throat worked around a choked sound before it finally tore free—a heart-wrenching cry.
Talon felt it most keenly. Being wolf-blooded meant Luna’s agony bled straight into him, a vibration too deep to ignore. His jaw clenched, his chest tightening until he thought his ribs might snap under the invisible weight of her pain.