CHAPTER 97: HEREDITARY 2

HAZEL

I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom. The light fixture needed dusting. I noticed these things when my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

Fia’s face kept appearing behind my eyelids. That confident expression. The way she had met my eyes without flinching. The slap that still burned across my cheek hours later.

I touched my face. The sting had faded but the memory hadn’t.

How dare she.

My fingers curled into the silk sheets beneath me. I had spent years building myself up. Years perfecting every detail. My appearance. My connections. My reputation. And she thought she could just waltz back into society wearing expensive pearls and steal everything I had worked for because she was married to Cian Donlon?

No. I gave her that.

Everything she had now was trash I didn’t want.

I sat up. My reflection stared back at me from the vanity mirror across the room. Even now, disheveled and angry, I looked perfect. That was the difference between us. I had always been perfect. She had always been lacking.

Whatever Fia had, I had always had it ten times better.

But something had changed.

I needed to get back into Skollrend. I needed to see what was happening there. Needed to understand how my weak little sister had suddenly grown teeth. Why she now seemed to have allies.

And I needed Fia to see that those wings she was trying to grow wouldn’t save her. That I could take Cian back whenever I wanted. That she was nothing more than a placeholder keeping his bed warm until I decided to reclaim what was mine.

Actually, I did want him now. Since that daring clap back that Fia did, the idea settled in my chest with surprising weight. Yes. I would make him mine. I would show Fia that she couldn’t have anything I didn’t allow her to have.

A knock at my door interrupted my planning.

"Come in." I said.

Mother swept into the room. One look at her face told me everything. Her jaw was tight. Her eyes had that dangerous glint that meant someone was about to get eviscerated.

That someone was probably me.

"Did something happen at your outing?" I kept my voice light. Curious enough but with a cadence that was supposed to scream that I was not concerned.

She held up her phone. The screen faced me. Numbers glared back. Big, accusatory numbers.

"You spent this ridiculous amount on clothes."

My stomach dropped. I had hoped Father would see the charges first. He was easier to manipulate. A few tears. Some talk about wanting to represent the family well. He would have grumbled but ultimately let it go.

Mother was different. Mother kept track of everything. Everything.

Which was a shame really. Because with all her tracking. Father still stumbled on his fated mate and had a child out of wedlock. If anything, she was the reason why I was having such a bad day.

"I have to wear the very best, Mother." I lifted my chin. "The wedding and the annual ball are no small matter."

"Except you are spending recklessly." Her voice cut through my excuse like a knife through butter. "You are lucky I mostly deal with this family’s finances. Because your father would not have taken it lightly."

She was wrong in that regard. Father was currently my squishy chew toy. But I tried not to let that show even when it tried to surface, I pushed it down. She could still make this hell.

"Well, it is not an issue then."

She stared at me. Really looked at me. I felt like a bug under glass again.

"What the hell did you even buy?"

"The necessary items." I gestured vaguely toward the shopping bags piled near my closet.

Mother turned her back to me. Walked to the bags. I watched her spine, straight and unforgiving.

"You are deflecting."

"I am not."

She knelt. Pulled out one of the dresses. The fabric caught the light. She examined the label, the stitching, the price tag still attached.

"These brands are beautiful." She pulled out another dress. Then the shoes. "But they hardly worth what you spent."

She turned to face me. Her eyes narrowed.

"What is going on?"

My heart rate picked up. I kept my face neutral. Years of practice made it easy. Mostly easy.

"I bought a necklace." The words came out steady. "Pearls. It cost a lot."

"Well, where are they?"

I stood. The movement felt too fast. Too defensive. I slowed down. Smoothed my dress.

"It seems like you are fishing for something. For trouble, Mother."

I walked to my desk. Opened the bottom drawer. The velvet box sat there. Mocking me. I pulled it out and held it up.

Mother’s gasp filled the room. "Are you stupid? Those are crazy expensive."

"Only the best for what is to come, don’t you think?"

She crossed the distance between us. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor. Each step measured. Deliberate.

"I like the ambition you have." She stopped in front of me. "But Hazel. I am starting to think you are soaring too close to the sun. If you are not smart about this, you will fall hard and fast."

"I got this covered, Mother."

"I mean it." Her hand reached for my arm. I let her take it. "Even the move you pulled with Milo was stupid and it could have gotten you in quite the predicament."

Heat rushed to my face. "It did not. I am that good. That is what taking risks mean for me. High rewards."

She studied me for a long moment. Then her expression shifted. That look. The one that meant she knew I was hiding something.

"Let me take a look at the pearls."

I took a step back. The box pressed against my chest. "No."

Mother’s eyebrow raised. Slowly. Deliberately. "I knew something was off."

She moved faster than I expected. Her hand shot out and she grabbed the box. I held on but she was stronger. More determined.

The box came free.

She flipped it open.

The pearls lay inside. A scattered mess. The string cut clean through where I had grabbed them from Fia’s neck.

Mother looked up at me. "Explain."

I bit my bottom lip as I reached for the box. "No. I can handle it."

She pulled the box away. Held it out of reach like I was a child trying to grab a toy.

"I could call the sentinel who protected you and hear it all." Her voice dropped. Became deadly quiet. "So if you are smart, you know the smart thing to do."

My throat tightened. I swallowed. "It was an accident."

"If that was the case, you wouldn’t have gone through length to hide it from me." She closed the box. The snap echoed in the quiet room. "Hazel, don’t play games with me. I am your mother. What could you be hiding?"

"I swear nothing."

Mother walked to the door. Opened it. A sentinel stood outside. He straightened when he saw her.

"Where is that sentinel?" she asked him.

He bowed. "I do not have no idea who you are referring to, Luna Isobel."

"Get me Sentinel Baruch. I believe his name his Baruch anyways. He’s one of the new guys. Get him here."

The sentinel left. His footsteps faded down the hallway.

My pulse hammered in my ears. From what I had observed so far, Baruch was loyal. But he was also rigid. He followed rules. Respected authority. Would he lie for me?

I wasn’t sure.

Mother closed the door and turned back to me. She didn’t speak. She just waited and let the silence build.

I counted my heartbeats. Tried to think of a way out. Any way out.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter," Mother called.

Baruch stepped inside. His uniform was perfect. Not a crease out of place. He bowed to Mother. Then to me. His face gave nothing away.

"You called for me, Luna?"

Mother held up the box. Opened it again and let him see the situation with the pearls.

"What happened when Hazel was shopping?" She paused. Let the question hang. "I have a feeling there is a story here."

Baruch’s eyes flicked to mine. Just for a second. Then back to Mother.

"And I should tell you," Mother continued. Her voice turned sharp. "That lying would put you in an uncomfortable position. Like conspiracy. And treason."

My stomach twisted. She was threatening him. Making sure he knew what was at stake.

Baruch bowed again. Lower this time. "I understand."

He straightened. His hands clasped behind his back.

"However, nothing happened. I wasn’t in the dressing room when the pearls broke while she was trying it on. But I know that much." He paused. "The store had a policy since it broke on her hands and that is why Luna Hazel had to buy it."

I fought to keep my expression neutral. To not let the surprise show.

He was lying for me.

Mother studied him. I could see her mind working. Calculating. Trying to decide if she believed him.

The silence stretched. Baruch didn’t fidget. He didn’t look away. He just stood there. Perfectly still. Perfectly composed.

Finally, Mother took a deep breath. "You can go."

Baruch bowed. "Of course, Luna."

He turned. His eyes met mine for just a moment. I saw something there. Something I couldn’t quite read.

Then he was gone. The door clicked shut behind him.

Mother set the box on my desk. She didn’t look at me.

"You are playing a dangerous game," she said.

I didn’t respond. What could I say?

She walked to the door. Her hand rested on the handle.

"He might not have seen it. But I know you Hazel and I know that something happened. I can see it all over your face. Whatever happened today, whatever has got you looking like that..."

"Like what?" I cut in.

"Like you are plotting something," She said as she turned her head and met my eyes. "Be smarter about it. Because next time, you might not be as lucky as you were with Milo."

The door closed. Her footsteps faded.

I stood there. The broken pearls sat on my desk. Mocking me. Reminding me of my failure.

But Baruch had lied for me.

A smile tugged at my lips. I let it spread. Let it grow.

Maybe he was more malleable than I thought.

I picked up the box and studied the scattered pearls.

Fia thought she had won. She thought that she had power now and that the slap had put me in my place.

She was wrong.

I closed the box. Set it back in my desk drawer.

I would let her enjoy her moment. Let her think she was finally strong enough to stand up to me and I was certain after that slap, she would become even more emboldened.

The wedding was the perfect time to strike. Break whatever new shaky comfort she was slowly building at Skollrend and remind everyone... And I meant everyone... That Fia was a scheming beast who was not to be trusted. It had been done before, it could definitely be done again.

As for Cian, well I had a plan for him as well.