*Isla*
Lying in bed next to Maddox, my fingers trailing over his bare arm, I try to catch my breath. We’d made love so ferociously, it reminded me of that first night, when he came into my room, and I thought he was going to claim me, but he didn’t. It was so animalistic and raw. If I wasn’t pregnant, who knows how much more wild it might’ve gotten.
But I think somewhere within the thoughtless thrusting, it occurred to Maddox that he needed to be more careful with me, and he slowed down a bit. Now, we are lying here, glistening in the moonlight, looking into each other’s eyes, and I want to know what has motivated him to become so fierce tonight.
Does he know about what happened in the library?
I think I saw little flecks of red on his clothing when I was peeling it off him earlier. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like it might’ve been blood.
Is it possible Trinity told him already?
Maddox lifts a hand and smooths my cheek. “You should’ve told me.” His voice is soft, just above a whisper. “You should’ve used the mind-link. I would’ve sent the guards. I would’ve come myself.”
So he does know. I should’ve figured. “I guess… I didn’t think they would actually hurt me.” I’m using the same reasoning I did before with Trinity, but the honest truth of the situation is that I don’t know why I didn’t say anything to him through the mind-link, or call for the guards.
Am I still afraid that I’ll be punished for speaking out against people who are above me in station?
Not that those girls truly are. We are the same station as Alphas’ daughters, and technically, I am above them as the woman carrying the heir to the throne, though they don’t know that.
Not unless Trinity has told them that, too.
“You won’t need to worry about those bitches anymore,” Maddox says, still smoothing my cheek. “But if you’re ever in trouble again, Isla, call me. I’ll be there for you. I can’t ever let anything happen to you.”
Warmness spreads throughout my body as I bask in the glow of our love, but then, another thought crosses my mind, and my smile fades. “Because I’m carrying your baby.”
“Because I love you.” His voice is firmer now. He lifts his head slightly to emphasis the point. “I’ve told you that a hundred times, Isla.”
“I know. I love you, too.” He does say that he loves me often. But he doesn’t always show me that he loves me. Sometimes, I think the situation with Rebecca has changed him so much that he doesn’t even realize how cold he can be. I wonder who he was when he was married to her. That smile and laugh I see only part of the time, was he like that often, or did he show her his dark, brooding side as a mask as frequently as he displays it to me?
Maddox leans over and kisses me softly on the lips, ending my thoughts about his countenance and returning my thinking to the women from the library. When he pulls away, I ask, “What happened to them?”
Rolling onto his back, he is dismissive. “You needn’t worry about them.”
But I am worried. “Won’t their fathers be angry if you hurt them?”
“If their fathers want to know what happens when their daughters dare to raise a hand against the woman I love, then they can come to the castle, and I’ll give them a taste of it for themselves.”
“But… I thought the whole reason for having this competition was to make them happy, Maddox. I doubt you punishing their daughters for threatening me is going to do that,” I remind him, leaning up to look into his face.
“Isla, they did more than threaten you. They were going to hurt you. If Trinity hadn’t intervened, they would have. Please don’t question how I handled the situation. I did what was best. Their fathers have been notified, and if they come for me, they will be greeted with the same rage I showed to their daughters. Now, you need to rest, so please, go to sleep.”
With that, he rolls over and leaves me staring up at the ceiling.
He is right. I need to let him handle it, but I also don’t want to be the one responsible for starting the next war.
All because I wanted to go to the library….
Maddox begins to snore quietly while my mind races over everything from the girls in the library to the baby to the book.
The books.
I’ve had a chance to look through them a bit. Though I’d gone looking for interesting information about my son’s ancestry, I’d ended up with a book about Maatua—and read about my own ancestry.
My father’s family line is described in detail in the book I’d found in the library. So much information about who they were, where they came from, the island, and all of the people that made it such a wonderful place to live had brought Maatua to life for me.
I understand now why it is so important to Antony to get back there and fix it. Even if he told me conflicting information about his mother’s purpose for wanting me back there, I still understand why he wants it restored.
The book also discussed the treasure—how pirates had brought it to the island hundreds of years ago. The treasure had been stolen off a ship bound for a distant kingdom, a wealthy kingdom, one with a history of tyrannical kings. That’s all the book had said about that particular kingdom, and I have no idea what kingdom it might be referring to.
The treasure is allegedly made up of gold, jewels, and other items worth more money than anyone could count. The people of the other kingdoms had sent their tribute to the king so that he would not attack them, so all of this finery was meant for one kingdom but never made it there.
Pirates stole it away, docked on Maatua, which wasn’t fully inhabited at the time, and stashed the treasure there for safekeeping until they could get back to it.
That had never happened, though.
A witch from KiloKilo had come across the pirates as they were leaving the treasure and cursed the treasure so that it was hidden by a magical spell, so even the pirates could never find it.
Some say that one of the pirates was trapped along with the treasure, in a cave or something, and that his spirit still haunts the area.
I’m not sure how much of that part I believe, but I have to wonder if there isn’t a treasure there. And if there is, would it be enough to restore the island to its former glory?
Is that why Antony wants me to go there?
Does he think that his mother will kill me because she’ll be afraid I’ll take the treasure?
My mind goes back to the letter that Aunt Mary sent to me. I don’t think she’ll harm me if I go there.
If I go there! What am I thinking? Of course, I won’t go there!
One line from the book stood out to me more than the others, though. On one night of the year, the veil between the realm of magic and reality shifts slightly so that it’s possible that someone with a keen eye and some abilities might be able to spot the treasure. That night is coming up in just a few weeks’ time. Would it be possible for someone like me to be able to locate the treasure?
If I weren’t pregnant, maybe I really could go there and try to save the island. I could restore the kingdom, and my parents could return to be the king and queen again, now that Uncle Tony is dead.
As I drift off, I think about how silly I’m being. Of course, I’m not going to the island. I’m not going to look for Aunt Mary or the treasure. I’m carrying Maddox’s child, the heir to the throne. I can’t just carry his baby away from the castle. Not only would he be furious, but it also wouldn’t be safe.
Besides, after the events of the day, it seems like this queen consort business might be over, and we can finally start our life together. I am hopeful that this will give him the incentive he needs to tell everyone that I am pregnant with the heir and that he chooses me.
He will not choose me to be his wife, though.
He will not choose me to be his Luna Queen.
But if he chooses me to be by his side, to love me, to raise our child together, I can be happy with that—right?
For some reason, my thoughts go to Trinity. I remember how strong she was today, how impressed I was with her strength of character and determination.
Would someone like Trinity or Rebecca allow Maddox to get away with refusing to make her their Luna Queen or wife if they were in my circumstances?
I don’t have to think about it twice. I know the answer is no.
So why am I willing to settle for just being by his side? Is it because I am not as strong as they are?
Yes. The answer is yes.
Grumbling, I roll onto my side and stare at the wall where the moon casts shadows that creep and crawl in blackness.
What is it going to take for me to realize my self-worth? If today didn’t do it, maybe nothing will.
Maybe Maddox will have to think about what it would be like to lose me in order for him to be determined to keep me forever.
He’s already lost me to a kidnapping, a near death, me running away, and the incident where Ben was stabbed instead of me. But that doesn’t seem to have been quite enough for his thick skull.
What if I voyaged to the ends of the earth? Would that be enough?
What if I proved to him that the tether he has wrapped around me isn’t quite as short or tight as he thinks it is? Would that be enough?
My eyelids grow heavy as I consider it. It’s stupid. It’s dangerous. It’ll never work.
What if I go to Maatua to find the treasure, redeem my people, reestablish my heritage, and face my aunt?
“No,” I think to myself. “I can’t.”
But what if I do?