Auctioned to the Cruel King - Chapter 88: Chapter 88

Kayla’s POV
“We have to get back to the palace.”
Vivian’s voice broke the silence first. There was no trace of urgency in her tone, though it didn’t need one. I followed her, every step a silent echo to hers.
There were no more screams. Whatever had started, whatever Cartier had triggered, was either over or happening far from where we could hear.
We walked in silence until I couldn’t hold my thoughts in anymore.
“We shouldn’t have let him leave,” I said, low but firm. “We could’ve stopped him.”
Vivian didn’t slow, not immediately. But then she halted so suddenly that I almost walked into her back.
“Is that so?” she said without turning.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
She turned then, like something coiled and bitter had just been tugged loose in her spine. “You really think we could’ve stopped him?” Her voice cracked around the word we, and when I didn’t answer right away, she burst into laughter…entirely humorless. “Oh fuck,” she said between gasps, wiping her eyes. “I swear, you are something else.”
“Vivian—”
“No, no, let me speak. First of all, credit where it’s due—you were brave enough to try and face him. I mean, stupid, completely reckless and suicidal, but… brave.” She chuckled again, but it died quickly. “But you still think you could’ve handled Cartier?”
“I…” I started, but the words scattered like ash in my mouth.
“Let me help you,” she snapped, walking again. “You clearly don’t understand the kind of creature he is.”
Her pace was swift, but I kept up. My thoughts raced faster than my feet. I knew Cartier wasn’t just some manipulator or pawn. But… this? This level of chaos, of cruelty?
I swallowed. “So he’s that good.”
Vivian scoffed, then gave a single sharp nod. “Not good,” she muttered. “Excellent. That man doesn’t breathe unless he’s already ten steps ahead of everyone else. Even Lance, as formidable as he is, would have trouble containing him, and believe me, that’s not something I say lightly.”
I stayed quiet.
My thoughts looped over themselves like a frayed thread.
“Still,” I said after a pause, “we’re just going to let him get away with that? With what he’s done?” Doing?
Vivian halted again.
This time, when she turned to me, there was fire in her eyes.
“We?” she hissed.
A nerve had been struck.
She took a step toward me and I nearly flinched at the intensity of her glare. “You’re still using that word like it means something. We. Like there’s an alliance here. Like we’re on the same side.”
Her voice rose.
“I should—ugh!” Her fingers clenched at her sides. “The insult is right at the tip of my tongue, and I’m trying so hard not to throw it at you. Do you even hear yourself? You went to meet him alone. At night. You walked into that garden like a lamb heading straight for the cleaver.”
I opened my mouth.
And closed it.
Because she was right.
I had been reckless.
I’d wanted answers. I’d wanted to control something, anything, before this spiraled further out of my grasp. But in doing so, I’d willingly entered a predator’s den and barely made it out alive.
Still, I followed after her.
I’d never been in tune with Vivian, not really, but she was going out of her way to be nice, so,
“I know,” I said finally. “I know it was stupid. But I thought I could hear him out… maybe stall him.”
Vivian made a scoffing sound that wasn’t quite laughter. “Stall him? Honey, you barely made it out of that garden with your throat intact.”
I swallowed.
“Well, to be clear,” I muttered, “he wasn’t planning on killing me. Not now, anyway.”
That was true though.
Vivian spun on her heel, face incredulous. “Ohhhh… gods above.” She flung both hands in the air. “Are you even listening to yourself?”
I bristled. “What—”
“You think you’re safe with him because he didn’t sink his claws into your ribs the first chance he got? Are you that naive? Or are you just trying to piss me off?”
I bit my lip. Hard. “You’ve made it clear—he’s not someone to be trifled with.”
“Trifled?” she barked. “You don’t trifle with Cartier. You don’t engage. You don’t breathe in the direction of that man. If he says your name, you walk the other damn way.”
The reminder stung more than it should have.
She continued, less rage now and more weary irritation. “It’s the same reason I crashed your little tea party with him a month ago.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You think I was just being petty back then?” she asked, brows raised. “I showed up because I knew. I’ve seen him build trust and burn it to ash before anyone knows what’s happening.”
I didn’t respond right away.
Not because I disagreed—but because something in her words made me wonder.
Was she protecting me?
Even then?
“Please,” I said after a moment, quieter now. “Please don’t tell Lance.”
Vivian didn’t answer.
Not with words, anyway.
We emerged from the garden path just as the noise swelled, shouting, boots pounding against stone. As we stepped through the arches, one of the guards rushed past us, wide-eyed and breathless.
He stopped the moment he saw me.
“Luna!”
His voice cracked on the word. “Oh, Goddess—you’re alive.”
He’d once been stationed at my door. “I—yes,” I said. “I’m fine. What happened?”
“Thank the goddess—”
Vivian, however, was having none of it. “Yes,” she snapped, “she’s fucking alive. Now spit it out. What the hell is going on?”
“There was a red flare,” he said, his voice shaking more than I’d ever heard. “I was on patrol along the upper corridor. Then out of nowhere…” He paused, swallowing. “A body dropped. She fell from above. Over the guardrail. Like she was thrown. Landed right in front of us. Blood was everywhere—we thought it was you. Someone screamed your name and then chaos just… erupted.”
My heart twisted.
“The alarm went off,” he continued. “And then we saw it—one of the maids, she had a knife. She was stabbing one of the guards near the hall entrance. Another guard started—” he paused again, unable to continue. “It was madness. Blood. Screaming. Then someone realized it wasn’t you. And your room was empty. We couldn’t find you anywhere. The king ordered a full search.”
I didn’t realize I was swaying until my knees gave out beneath me.
The impact of the cold stone floor barely registered. My head hung low, my palms pressed to the ground. It felt like gravity itself was trying to crush me into the marble.
I’d gone to meet Cartier. I’d read his letter. I answered it.
So why—
“How many?” I choked out. “How many were injured? How many died?”
“Eight guards, three maids.”
Something inside me cracked.
I couldn’t speak. My lips moved, but no sound came. Only guilt. Raw and bitter, rising through me like poison.
It was my fault. All of it. If I had stayed in my room. If I had gone straight to Lance. If I had told him the moment I found the note. If, if, if.
My breath hitched. The corners of my eyes burned. I squeezed them shut. Damn it, what had I done?
“No—no, no, no,” the guard murmured, stepping forward. “Please, my Luna, don’t—”
Vivian cut him off. “I’ve got this,” she said sharply. “You can go.”
“But—”
“I said go,” she snapped, her voice like a whip in the air. “Tell the king his Luna is alive and not missing.”
He hesitated, eyes lingering on me with concern.
“I said go,” she barked.
He left.
The moment he was out of earshot, Vivian crouched beside me. I barely saw her, only felt her fingers hook under my arm.
“Get up.”
“I can’t—” My voice cracked.
“You can,” she said, yanking me up with strength I didn’t expect. “And you will.”
I stumbled to my feet, my weight nearly sagging against her.
“It’s my fault,” I whispered. “It’s all my fault. If I’d told Lance—”
“Shut up.” Her words weren’t cruel. But they were merciless. “Shut up and listen to me.”
I blinked through the blur of my tears. Vivian's face hovered inches from mine, fierce and unrelenting.
“Now is not the time to fall apart. Now is not the time to wallow in guilt and self-pity. You think I don’t know it’s your fault? Of course it is. But guess what—it changes nothing.”
She shook me once, not hard, but firm enough to jolt my head up.
“You’re the Luna,” she hissed. “Do you even know what that means? Lycan warriors would bleed out smiling if it meant keeping you safe. They would gladly give their lives because you’re not just a figurehead. You’re not a damn princess in a tower.”
Her eyes burned into mine.
“You are a symbol. You represent every female lycan in this kingdom. You are their voice. Their hope. Through you, the king listens. Through you, his rule finds balance.”
I tried to speak, but she didn’t let me.
“Do you ever stop to wonder why the title of Luna is so coveted? Why so many claw and scheme their way toward it?” Her voice cracked then—just faintly. “It’s not for fame. Not for luxury. Or even the power. It’s for the right to matter. To be the one who stands beside the crown and says ‘No, listen to me.’”
I stared at her, breath shallow, eyes wide.
“I made my peace a long time ago that I would never be Luna,” she continued. “He picked you. Not because you’re unique. Not because you’re special. But because you complete him. Did you see that guard before he left?” she asked. “Did you see his face? Even when I screamed at him to go, he didn’t want to leave you, because you're the Luna, that’s what you need to understand.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it and nodded.
“Good,” she muttered. “So stop crying. Get your shit together. And let’s find out what the hell is going on inside that palace.”