CH 14 - Lily

LILY POV “Because you’re mine, little flower.” The words barely registered. Not because I didn’t hear them. Gods, I heard them. Loud and clear. I felt them on my skin. Hot and breathy and f*****g scary. They slammed into my chest hard enough to knock the breath out of me, settling somewhere deep beneath my ribs like they had always belonged there, like some ancient part of me had been waiting years to hear them out loud. But before I could process any of it— Pain exploded through my body. White-hot and brutal and sudden, ripping through my bones so violently my knees gave out before I even understood what was happening. A scream tore out of me, sharp enough that the ballroom around us dissolved into chaos instantly, gasps and shouting erupting from every direction as the force of it hit. Something cracked. Maybe the floor beneath my heels. Maybe my ankle. My hands clawed at Simon instinctively, fingers twisting into the fabric of his tux while another wave slammed through me hard enough to make my vision blur. “It hurts—” I breathed in his chest as another wave hit me right in my back. I could barely hear Samuel calling for me, my mother’s shrieks and all the others… So many voices became background noises. My brain felt like it was splitting in two. “Lily!” “Get back—” “She's shifting—” The voices around me sounded distant. Muted. Like I was underwater. Heat ripped through my veins, spreading too fast, too much, every nerve in my body screaming as something inside me woke up violently after years of silence. And then— A voice. Female. Calm. Controlled. ‘Breathe princess’ I froze. Not physically. I was still shaking hard enough my teeth hurt. But inside. The voice was in my head. Not outside. Inside. ‘It’s okay,’ the voice said again, steady and deep and strangely warm beneath the chaos ripping through me. ‘Don’t fight this, don’t fight me.’ Panic surged so violently I almost choked on it. What the f**k— Another wave hit and I doubled over with a cry, nails slicing through fabric as I clung to Simon because he was the only solid thing left in the room. “Little flower—” His voice was controlled, almost calm. But I knew him. He was faking it. There was an edge to his tone. His hands were tight on me and his breath was ragged. He was scared. Terrified. I had never heard Simon sound terrified before. The thought barely formed before pain tore through my spine so hard I screamed again. ‘Lily,’ the voice urged sharply now. ‘You need to let me help you.’ “No—” I gasped aloud, though I didn’t know if I was speaking to the voice or to myself. ‘Please.’ The ballroom had dissolved completely by now. People were shouting. Magic crackled somewhere nearby. I smelled fear. And underneath all of it— Simon snarling and holding me tight against his chest. Wild. Furious. Terrified. Mine. The last thought didn’t sound like me. The realization nearly sent me spiraling again. He was right. He said the truth. ‘Focus,’ the voice snapped right when my legs gave out once again, making me collapse on the floor. Strong arms scooped me up before another wave of agony could force me down again, and I barely registered the violent way the crowd parted around us. Or maybe they were forced apart. I couldn’t tell. I buried my face against his hard chest, breathing raggedly through the pain while cold air suddenly slammed into my skin. Outside. We were outside. Snow. Night air. Leather and whiskey and him. The freezing cold bit into my overheated body and for one brief, horrible second it actually helped. Steam curled around me, rising from my skin as the cold fought the fire under it. I heard a growl so fierce and deep I knew he was baring his teeth. Protecting me. Violent enough that my entire body reacted instinctively. Fury was making his way out of him. “DO NOT INTERFERE” he growled viciously. The sound tore through the night so viciously that somewhere nearby someone gasped in fear. “If you want to live another day, I suggest you to back the f**k away from her, Samuel.” The words came rougher than usual, distorted at the edges like they were fighting past a wall of water that was clouding my entire body. My heart slammed harder. I tried to lift my head, but another burst of pain bent me in half against him. “Oh Gods—” ‘Lily!’ the voice shouted inside my head now, no longer calm, no longer distant. ‘I need you to stop fighting me! Calm the f**k down and let me do my job!’ “I’m not fighting—” ‘You are.’ Something moved under my skin. I screamed. Actually screamed this time, my entire body locking up as pressure ripped through my arms, my spine, my ribs. Something was changing. I was changing shape. Fur was erupting on my skin, covering my armpits. No. No no no no— A wolf? my mind shrieked. No. Absolutely not. That wasn’t fair. I was supposed to be fae. Wasn’t I? I had spent eight years terrified I wouldn’t become enough fae to deserve this crown, terrified I would disappoint everyone, terrified midnight would come and reveal I was broken beyond repair— —and now? This was the epilogue of my demise . This was a tragedy. The broken princess was indeed a wolf. The broken princess wasn’t going to reign unless a fae would be by her side. The broken princess was going to be just an ornament in someone’s else reign. Panic exploded so violently I almost slipped completely out of Simon’s arms. “No!” I cried, shaking hard enough my teeth rattled. “No no no—” “Lily.” Simon’s voice cut through the chaos instantly. Deep. Sharp. Possessive in a way that should have scared me but somehow grounded me instead. I looked up. Bad idea. His glamour was flickering. The elegant fae ambassador was gone in flashes now, pieces of him tearing apart beneath strain. His eyes weren’t fae anymore. They glowed gold in the darkness, terrifying and beautiful and locked entirely on me. Mine. The thought hit again. Not mine like possession. Mine like recognition. Like my body had decided something before my brain could catch up. “I’ve got you,” Simon said, gripping me tighter as another growl ripped out of him at someone moving too close behind us. “Nobody’s touching you.” The voice inside my head surged forward again. ‘Lily, listen to me carefully.’ I squeezed my eyes shut. “No—” ‘My name is Antares.’ The name echoed through me. Ancient and familiar in a way that made my chest ache. ‘I’m your wolf.’ I felt something inside me crack open completely. My soul doubling and my body tingling. A connection suddenly roaring awake after years buried alive. Warmth flooded me so violently I gasped. Not pain this time. Presence. Emotion. Instinct. Antares. She was real. Oh Gods. Oh Gods. ‘Please,’ she whispered now, softer again despite the urgency underneath it. ‘If you keep resisting, the shift will hurt far more than it needs to. I promise you it’s not the end of your reign’ “No,” I whispered weakly. “I can’t—” ‘You can.’ “I don’t know how.” Another wave hit and this time I felt it differently—not just pain but movement, pressure building beneath muscle and bone like my body was trying to become something else from the inside out. I sobbed and clung to Simon’s shoulders like a damsell in distress and gods I hated being one but… This couldn’t be happening. Not here. Not now. Not in front of the entire court. My mother— Oh Gods, my mother. I jerked instinctively, trying to look back toward the palace, panic clawing up my throat again. Simon tightened his hold immediately. “Don’t,” he growled softly. “I—them—” “f**k them.” The sheer violence in his voice stunned me into silence. Snow crunched nearby. Guards. Magic users. People watching from the palace entrance. And Simon— Simon stood in the middle of all of them holding me against his chest like he was daring the entire realm to try taking me away from him. The realization should have terrified me. Instead, somewhere beneath the pain and panic and horror— I felt safe. That scared me more than the wolf thing. ‘Lily, ‘ Antares urged again, gentler now. ‘Please. Recede and let me take control. I can ease the pain.’ “Okay,” I whispered weakly, still unable to process it. “Okay—” Antares sighed softly in my mind. ‘Thank Goddess.’