Alpha King’s Lost Luna by Aubrey Pepper

Chapter 43 Kids fight

1.
CASSANDRA
The next day in the lab, I was hard at work when I realized Becky was staring at
“What's wrong?” I asked, and I smoothed my hair down. “Is my hair sticking
straight up or something? Do I have something in my teeth?”
“No, no,” Becky assured me, but her expression said otherwise. “Did you have
some trouble sleeping last night?”
“How did you know?” I wondered.
“Your eyes are swollen,” my assistant pointed out gently. Heat spread to my
cheeks, and I took my protective goggles off. I was hoping it wasn’t that
noticeable, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
After I'd gotten Finnick to sleep, I'd gone to my own bed and cried into the early
hours of the morning. Hearing about Marco and the way Asher had used him to
mourn my loss had been such a heavy burden to learn about, and I wasn’t
processing it well.
But I couldn't think of that now. There was too much work to be done.
“Anyway,” I said slowly, and then I shifted the subject. “Becky, have you found
anything more about Udosyn?”
I likely knew the answer, but I couldn't help but ask anyway. Becky and I had
checked all of the medical books that the royal healers had access to, but there
was
no mention of Udosyn.
But surprisingly, Becky didn’t say no straight away.
“Becky?” I prompted her again. “What is it?”
1/5
“Well...” she said, and she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “It
might be a mistake or a bad note-"
“That doesn’t matter,” I assured her. “Any bit of information helps.”
“Well, I realized last night that I've heard the name Udosyn before,” she revealed.
“From a story anyway.”
“A story?” I repeated back, and then I leaned back against the counter behind.
me and crossed my arms. “What story?”
“It's one my mother told me when I was young,” Becky replied, and then she
cleared her throat. “I was so little when I heard it that I had to make sure I wasn't-
imagining it. So, I went and spoke with my mother this morning. She told me that
she couldn’t remember it clearly either, but after a while, she told me that she
thinks Udosyn was actually the name of the poison?”
“I'm lost,” I admitted.
“Sorry,” Becky apologized, and she took a moment to collect herself. “It's all a
little hazy. But according to the story, as my mom remembers it, Udosyn was
created by an academy of sorcery known as Ewonmiams. They were infamous
for creating different kinds of poisons and drugs. Apparently, Udosyn was their
most successful and dangerous one.”
“Hmm,” I remarked, and my eyebrows knitted together. “How did your mother
know about this?”
“She used to be an assistant in the royal library,” my assistant answered, and she
tucked a lock of dark red hair behind her ear. “I guess she read it in one of the
books. But that was many years ago. She couldn't remember the rest of the
story.”
I nodded my head as I thought about it. I didn’t know much of anything about
sorcery. Not many people in Wegalla did either for that matter. All I could recall
was mentions of it from historical books. See, sorcery had been wiped out of the
continent centuries ago because people believed it to be evil and a violation of
the Moon Goddess'’s blessings.
“Is there a way I could try to find the book your mother talked about?” I
wondered, but Becky shook her head.
“The royal library can only be accessed by the royal family,” she replied with an
apologetic glance. “You'd need permission from the Alpha King if you wanted to
visit.”
I nodded again. Of course. Things couldn't be easy, especially here in Anemond.
This place was full of secrets.
“Thank you for trying,” I said earnestly. “Seriously, Becky. I know it’s just a little
information, but it might go a long way in helping us find the truth.”
“Of course,” Becky replied, and she offered me a smile. For a moment, she
reminded me of Marley. My heart ached. I missed my friend dearly.
Just as I was about to put my goggles back on and turn back to my work, the
doors of the laboratory flew open, and in burst Erika. The maid's normally kind
eyes were frantic, and her hair was falling out of its perfect bun.
“Miss Ca ssandra,” she managed through heavy breath, and she took a moment
to collect herself. “I'm so sorry to rush in like this.”
“Don't apologize, Erika,” I assured her, and I rushed over to her side. “What's
going on? You seem stressed.”
“Forgive me for saying it, but I am,” Erika said. “I'm in a hurry and you need to be
as well.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded. I hadn't meant for my tone to be so harsh, but
I was getting scared by the look on her face.
“Finnick fought with Prince Marco,” the maid revealed, and panic flooded through
me.
No.
No, no, no.
I knew this would happen.
“Let's go,” I said. I quickly peeled my white lab coat off and threw it to the closest
counter, not caring much where it landed. Once it was off, I turned to Becky.
“I need to go,” I informed her. “Please, continue working on the research. I'll be
back when I can.”
“Of course,” Becky agreed, and then she gestured to the door. “I've got this. Get
going, Cas sandra.”
I nodded. “Right.”
Without another word, I followed Erika out the door and into the hall.
The laboratory was on the other side of the classrooms where Prince Marco's
lessons were held, so the maid and I had to hasten our paces. The halls were full
of various guards and se rvants, and I had to maneuver around a handful of them
to keep from tripping over myself. I'd never been graceful, and my sudden speed
wasn’t helping things at all.
Meanwhile, I considered every possible scenario I could be walking into. I'd had
a bad feeling about these lessons, and the idea of my boy getting into a fight with
the Alpha King's son filled me with utter dread.
What if Finnick had broken a bone? Or what if Marco had seriously hurt Finnick?
If the first was true, we were likely in a heap of trouble that neither of us was
prepared for. Laying a hand on a member of the royal family was a crime worthy
of severe punishment. Even if Finnick was a child, I couldn’t protect him from
this.
“Don’t panic,” I whispered to myself. “Breathe, Ca ss.”
Finally, Erika and I reached the classroom. When we burst through the doors,
Adalyn was already there. The Alpha King’s wife had Prince Marco in her arms.
The young boy was sobbing hysterically while Adalyn’s amber eyes were
shooting daggers in Finnick’s direction. She looked as if she were prepared to
spring at my son at any moment.
“What's going on?” I demanded. I rushed to Finnick’s side and swept him in my
arms wordlessly. Finnick’s solemn gray eyes were filled to the brim with tears, but
they didn’t spill onto his cheeks.
“Mommy,” he whispered just loud enough for me to hear, and after he gave me a
sad look, he turned to Adalyn. With how vicious the normally beautiful woman's
expression was, I half-expected Finnick to cry just as hard as Prince Marco, But
my son was braver than the other boy. He managed to hold his head high and
stare back at Adalyn as if he were older than his years.
When I turned my attention toward Adalyn, she offered me an even fiercer
expression. Her amber eyes flashed and her lip curled into a snarl. Even from
here, I could see her long nails had sharpened into claws.
“Look at what your filthy peasant son has done,” she snarled, and she gestured
at Prince Marco, who was still sobbing. “He’s going to pay for laying a hand on
my Marco.”