bChapter /bb21 /b

ra’s POV

b“/bbIs /bthat breally /bthe kind of bfilth /byou want to bspew /bin publicb?/bb” /b

bI /bstepped out from behind the pir, my voice bslicing /bthrough the air like a whip. Every maid in that lobby snapped their heads toward meb, /bbeyes /bwide with horror.

None of them spoke. Hanna, the ringleader, went pale.

“bI /bbasked /ba question,” bI /bsaid, walking forward, slow and deliberate. “Who gave you the right to drag my name through the dirt like that?b” /b

They looked like they’d just seen a ghostb–/bmy ghost, perhaps.

Just moments ago, I’d been heading out for a run, feeling surprisingly refreshed. The suite I now stayed in used to belong to Mi, but thanks to the chaos she created, she had been evicted and sent to a less ttering room. Serves bher /bright.

But now, here I wasb, /bfacing a group of maids whose mouths clearly worked faster than their minds.

“W–We didn’t know you were here…” one stammered.

“That much bis /bobviousb.” /b

I looked down at the suitcase Hanna had just dropped like trash. It was mine. Probably the same one she’d just said I didn’t deserve to carry.

Before I could say anything else, a new voice snapped into the air–low, furious, and unmistakably dominant.

“What the hell did you just say about her?”

Thorne.

He strode out from the opposite hallway, his presence drawing instant silence. His aura rolled through the space like a wave -every maid dropped to their knees in instinctive fear.

He didn’t look at me right away. His eyes locked onto Hanna like she’d just spat on his crest.

“Say it again,” he said through clenched teeth. “I dare you.”

“N–no, Alpha…” Hanna’s voice broke.

Thorne grabbed her cor, dragging her halfway to her feet. “Did ra work as a maid after I made her Luna? After I marked herb?/bb” /b

No one answered. But their silence was confirmation.

“She did,” I said quietly, watching him. “Because your Luna wasn’t allowed to forget her ‘ceb. /bThat’s what your sweet Mi and her mother made sure of.”

He turned his head to me, his expression unreadable. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried.” My bvoice /bwas firm, but not raised. “But you believed them. You believed every lie they told you,

Thorneb./bb” /b

His jaw clenched. “I never asked the right questionsb./bb” /b

b“/bNo. You didn’t.b” /b

A bheavy /bsilence fell again. bOne /bof the maids hupped, trembling.

Thorne released bHanna/bb, /bwho dropped like ba /bragdoll to the floor. He turned toward the bluggage/b.

“bThese /bbare /bbhers/bb?/bb” /b

b“/bbYes/bb–/bbyes/bb, /bAlphab,” /bone maid whimpered.

“And bthey /bbwere /btaking them bwhere/b, bexactly/b?”

“To the top floor,” I answered for them. “After I was assigned to the basement bst /bnight.”

Thorne turned sharply. “What?”

“That’s bwhere /bthey put me. Same room I bused /bto scrub floors in when I bwas /bseventeen. Only this time, they tossed in a stained mattress and called it a suiteb.” /b

He looked bsick/b.

“And you said nothing?” he asked quietly.

“What would’ve been the point?”

He stepped toward me then, slowly. “Because I should’ve known.”

“No,” I corrected him, standing my ground. “You should’ve cared.”

He looked at me–really looked–and I watched something behind his eyes begin to shatter.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “ra, I had no idea. If I had-”

“But you didn’t.” My voice was ice now. “And frankly, that’s the whole problem.”

The elevator dinged behind us, and a few more BloodMoon soldiers stepped out, immediately freezing when they bsaw /bThorne and me mid–standoff. No one dared speak.

Thorne turned to the maids.

“Clean out that entire basement,” he ordered. “Bleach it. Burn it. I don’t care. No one is staying down there ever again.”

Then he turned back to me, his voice quieter.

“And I’ll handle Mi and her mother. Personally.”

I narrowed my eyes. “This isn’t about revenge, Thorne. I don’t need a knight. I just needed the man I loved to stand up for me when I needed it.”

His mouth parted like he wanted to bsay /bsomething–but I didn’t wait.

I picked up my own suitcase, straightened my spine, and walked toward the elevator.

“Where are you going?b” /bhe asked, his voice now almostb…./bsmall.

“To run.”

“After that?” he called after meb. /b

bI /bstepped inside bthe /belevator and faced him, pressing the button to the lobby.

“After that? I’m going to train soldiers who don’t care about what I used to be.b” /b

The doors slid shut on his stunned expression.

And for the first time in years, I felt lighter than air.