Chapter 86

Basil swallowed, hazarding to ask. What he was implying was preposterous, but he needed to know for certain whether or not it was what he was expecting.

"We?"

Henry nodded, "We."

"But what about the gardener?"

Dorian shook his head, "You know nothing"

Basil flinched and Henry shoved Dorian, "Really Dorian? You're as bad as your wife."

"That's why we're great together."

Liam snickered and Henry let out a long put upon sigh. While he agreed that Dorian and Irene were a match made, ordained, and blessed by the moon goddess, that didn't mean he appreciated him stepping on Basil's likely fragile ego. They'd all agreed that they would do their best to educate Basil as a favor to Adolph. The man had nearly lost his life several times over protecting them all and had lost over two decades of his life to a loveless marriage so that he and Raven could raise Liam in peace and safety.

Whipping Basil into shape and undoing all the damage Gavin had done over the years was the least they could do.

"People not related to the Raymond family, the royal family specifically, aren't allowed to tend the area. It's an old promise of the family. Luckily, between all of us, and if we can get the monster that is the king to come out and help, we'll have it done in time for the wedding."

Basil couldn't believe what he was hearing as Henry waved to someone behind him.

"Just in time!" He called, "Over here."

The royal gardener approached, his eyes were filled with amusement as he wheeled a wheelbarrow full of tools over to them and Basil watched it grow closer with a deep sense of apprehension. What was he supposed to do with any of these things? He recognized nothing in the wheelbarrow

"Thanks, Oliver!" Henry said cheerily, "I think we've got it from here."

"Always a pleasure, Alpha Henry," the gardener, Oliver, walked away with a little amused smile that Basil felt was aimed at him.

He thought of all the times he'd asked how hard being the royal gardener could be that he couldn't help elsewhere and shuddered. Henry walked over and passed tools out before leading them closer to the site.

"Let's get started!"

Raven and Irene walked out the back door, to check with Henry about what he thought was a reasonable timeline. When they arrived, Basil let out a shrieking wail, tumbling headfirst into a pile of tangled vines and mud. Liam burst into laughter as Henry sighed and shook his head.

Basil pulled himself free, red-faced and mortified. He threw down the hoe in his hands and turned to leave. Raven stepped into his path.

"Prince Basil--"

"I refuse to be humiliated any further," Basil hissed. "Step aside, Luna Raven."

"Do you think falling into the mud is more humiliating than being shamed in front of the noble court?" Basil gasped, flinching at the bolt of pain through his chest. Irene lifted an eyebrow at him. Irene tilted her head, "Or perhaps, being divorced at your ex-husband's engagement party? Tell me, Your Highness."

"I wonder what your father would think," Raven said lightly. Basil swallowed, clenching his fist before Raven walked around him. "I think His Highness needs a bit of a break. He'll be back soon enough."

Basil took the out and left the area as fast as his feet would carry him.

Again, his feet brought him to the graveyard to where her plain headstone stood. He didn't know how long he stood there, staring at it as if she would rise from the grave. He swallowed, guilt rolled slick and heavy through him, making him a bit nauseous.

Her vibrant green eyes filled with tears before she turned and went running off into the night. He hadn't given her a second thought the entire night. He winced as he remembered the sight of her body, mangled and waterlogged.

*"Bury her as cheaply as possible," he'd said, waving his hand. "Notify her parents that they're welcome to come and collect her body if they want."*

He hadn't even visited the grave until that hazy night. He stared at the grave and eventually turned back. His feet took him back to the temple site, picking the hoe back up and pulling at the tangle of weeds around the stone steps in ashamed and guilty silence. Raven and Iren were still there speaking with Henry, but he didn't address them or ask anything.

If Laura was alive, she would have been with Raven and Irene with a glass of water and an encouraging word. She would have been kind enough to show him how to use the stupid tool without judgment or scorn.

*Your Highness*, he heard at the back of his mind. I believe you can be a great king.

His eyes burned a bit and he blinked them furiously, trying to ignore the burning in his chest as he fought the weeds. She had been the only one to ever tell him such a thing and he'd shunned her kindness, her earnest want to help, her advice, and everything that made her Laura.

No. He supposed mud on his clothes and vegetation in his hair wasn't nearly as shameful as what the last moments of her life had been like.

"Your Majesty?"

Adolph looked up. Sarah stood in the doorway wringing her hands, nervously. He set his quill down and focused on her. It had been several days since the meeting at which he'd announced the plan for their wedding. Laurel had left the meeting and gone to her office. He saw her every once in a while, usually when she

"What happened?" Adolph asked.

Her jaw trembled, "Forgive me, Your M-Majesty. I-I can't find her anywhere S-She said she was headed into the city earlier, to visit the hospital, but she hasn't come back. She's been acting very strange lately."

Adolph stood, his heart racing before he closed his eyes and reached out through their bond. It wasn't strong enough to send messages yet, but he could generally feel how far away she was and what her state of mind was.

She wasn't far, within the castle he would guess, but her mind was in chaos. He frowned. He didn't sense a threat exactly. He got little flashes of her thoughts.

Death. Fear. His face splashed with blood. He looked at Sarah.

"What do you mean by strange?"

"She just seems very anxious"

Sleepless too he bet.

"I'll take care of it. Thank you, Sarah."

He left his office with her, locked the door behind him, and rushed down the stairs until he felt her getting closer. He took a few turns frowning as he got further and further away from the more used parts of the castle. He followed the pathway through the side passageways until he grew suspicious.

There were very few people living who would know how to use the secret passageway to the hidden parlor. Raven might have told her how to get there, but he doubted that was the case. Maria could have told her, but he doubted that. Laurel was young and not formally married into the family yet. The parlor was specifically for the luna and alpha of the kingdom.

He slid a brick to one side and watched the door slide aside before entering the corridor. Her stuttered, panicking breaths echoed through the stone corridor and the stale air. Slowly, he approached the door and found it slightly ajar.

"Laurel?"

She flinched, sucking in a sharp breath and looking up at him. She couldn't breathe, seeming to be having a panic attack.

The air shimmered and wavered around her, the walls felt like they were closing, squeezing all the air out of the room as he entered the room. He fell to his knees beside her and pulled her close, pressing her head into his chest and telling her to breathe.

She could hear him, hear his heart and the breathing pattern he wanted her to mirror, but she struggled to follow it. Struggled to do anything but gasp and tremble in his arms. He rocked her gently, stroking her hair, talking to her. She couldn't make out his words, but the timbre of his voice was familiar and comforting. She heard her voice, talking, babbling probably, but she couldn't make out those words either.

"I don't want to die again. I don't want to die again. I don't want to die again. Why did you send me back? Why me? Why me? I can't. I-I can't do this. I can't. I can't. I won't. I can't. I'll die again. I'll die again."

Adolph shuddered, stroking her hair.

"Wh-What if it's the same person? What if they know I came back? What if"

"Laurel, breathe with me," Adolph said, pressing her into his chest. "Breathe with me. Come on, honey. You can do it."

Adolph kept coaxing her, hoping to break through her panic, and slowly, her babbling eased and her breathing slowed until they were breathing in unison.

"There we are," he said gently. "Can you hear me, Laurel?"

She slumped against him, sniffling and clinging to him. Adolph swallowed.

"You did well," Adolph said. "Sometimes I forget how young you are. I'm so sorry, Laurel I shouldn't have done it so soon."

She shuddered, her breathing breaking on her sobs.

"Let's take a vacation, hm? We'll leave the castle for a bit."

He didn't know if she could hear him, but he turned over her words in his mind. She'd died before, or at least she thought she had. Someone had killed her and she feared they knew she had come back and were trying to kill her again.

It would only make sense if she had been killed in the castle or near the castle.

He lifted her from the ground and carried her back to the room trying to keep the thought out of his mind, but it wouldn't leave him. He lay her in bed and climbed in to hold her as she slept. He had never met Laura, but was it possible that she was Laura?