Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Arabella Toussaint:

Oh, this was getting interesting.

Her physical body had felt it too. As I raised my hands and observed them, I couldn’t control the grin spreading on my lips. I closed my hands into fists and shook my head. ”I can’t believe it. Have I become so powerful?”

Right now, all I wanted to do was dance. Hehe.

I climbed onto the windowsill and pushed myself forward. Instead of falling, my body floated effortlessly into the night. Theodora was still searching for whoever had thrown her out of the room. I went closer until I was right in front of her face.

”You know what’s great, you fucker?” I whispered. ”You still can’t see me. How sad!” Her eyes moved straight through me, making me laugh.

For the first time, I wasn’t afraid of her. Theodora suddenly turned toward Victor’s window again.

”Oh, my fucking queen,” I floated toward her, ”absolutely not!”

Before she could move, I drew my arm back and slammed my fist into her ribs with all the strength I had. Theodora cried out as her body folded to the side and went flying several feet through the air.

I stared at my fist. Wow! I was loving it.

Theodora straightened herself with difficulty, one hand pressed against her side as she frantically searched the darkness.

”Who are you?” she screamed. ”Show yourself!” I folded my arms and watched her for another moment.

That’s enough for tonight, I guess. I thought while yawning loudly. Victor could finally get some sleep, and tonight I had learned a new ability.

Take me back to my room. I said loudly, and a second later, I was standing beside my own bed, staring down at my sleeping body.

***

I left my room the next morning feeling unusually happy.

For once, I had slept well, and somewhere out there, Victor had hopefully managed to get a few hours of peaceful sleep too.

I couldn’t stop smiling as I walked out of the guest quarters. The morning air was cool against my face, and I had barely made it onto the path leading toward the main palace when I spotted Bradley ahead of me. He was walking quickly toward the royal wing, a folder tucked beneath one arm.

”Bradley!” He slowed and looked over his shoulder.

I raised my hand and waved at him with a wide smile. ”Good morning! Have you had breakfast? Come on, let’s eat together.”

Normally, he would have stopped, but today he only shook his head and continued walking. ”Some other time, Arabella. I need to get to the royal wing asap.”

I frowned and hurried a few steps to catch up with him. ”Why? What happened?”

”There’s a royal emergency.”

That immediately took some of the excitement out of me. ”What kind of emergency?”

He adjusted the folder under his arm before looking at me. ”Queen Theodora.” My steps slowed, but Bradley continued, ”Two of her ribs are fractured. She went to sleep perfectly fine and woke up this morning in severe pain. They’re taking her to the hospital now.”

I stopped walking and swallowed hard. ”What?” Oh, shit!

For a second, I could only stare at him. ”How is that possible?” I asked, somehow managing to keep my voice normal. ”Her ribs fractured during sleep?”

”Exactly.” Bradley gave me a puzzled look. ”That’s what everyone is trying to figure out.” I swallowed hard and glanced toward the royal wing.

Goodness. It worked!

***

By the time I reached the café, my good mood had gotten even better. And I couldn’t help it.

I knew I probably shouldn’t feel happy about Queen Theodora waking up with two fractured ribs. Three years back, that woman entered my dreams, scared me, and disappeared without leaving behind a single clue.

Last night, I had thrown her out of a window, and that deserved a celebration. And for some reason, I was starving.

I took my usual table near the window and started ordering whatever sounded good. Eggs, sausages, toast, pancakes, hash browns, a bowl of fruit, and coffee. I added a plate of waffles at the last second because why not?

The waiter stared at me, his mouth hanging open. ”Anything else, Miss Arabella?”

I looked at the menu once more. ”Orange juice.” His brows went up slightly, but he wrote it down. ”And bring some extra syrup with the pancakes.”

”Of course.” He walked away still looking mildly confused. I leaned back in my chair, perfectly satisfied with myself.

Maybe floating outside my body all night burned calories. I had no idea. Whatever the reason, I was hungry. I was still waiting for my food when the café door opened, and Jasmine walked in.

The moment she spotted me, she changed direction and headed straight toward my table. Urgh. My beautiful morning had lasted almost twenty minutes.

She stopped beside the empty chair across from me. ”Did you order all that food for yourself?” I blinked at her. How did she know what I had ordered?

”There’s a fixed allowance for meals in the palace,” she continued before I could answer. ”You can’t walk in here and order whatever you want just because you feel like it. This isn’t a restaurant where you’re paying your own bill. The money for this food comes from the royal treasury. People pay taxes for it.” I slowly rolled my eyes. Seriously?

Who had reported my breakfast order to Jasmine? Had the waiter sent her an emergency mind-link?

Before I could ask, my food began arriving. One plate after another was placed in front of me until most of the table was covered. Even I had to admit it looked like I was expecting company.

Jasmine stared at the food. Ignoring her, I picked up my fork and started cutting my pancakes. ”Want to join me?”

Her eyes snapped to mine. I gestured toward the empty chair with my fork. ”There’s obviously enough.” Without waiting for her answer, I poured syrup over my pancakes and took my first bite.

I hummed appreciatively at the first bite and reached for the waffles next. Jasmine could lecture me all she wanted. I was far too hungry to care.