Chapter 7 Episode 7

"Raina, you don't look well. Are you sick?"

Mira's voice was soft but laced with concern as she gazed up at Raina from the thin mattress.

Raina froze for a moment before quickly lowering her eyes, hiding the exhaustion weighing down her body.

She had just finished feeding Mira the last of the gruel, a thin, unappetizing porridge that was all they could afford. Carefully she wiped the corner of Mira's mouth.

The girl was still weak from the silver blade cut, her small frame barely covered by the thin blanket. Thank the moon Goddess, her wolf is doing a pretty good job keeping her alive, if not, Mira would have been dead just like the other servants.

Raina forced a smile. "I'm fine."

But her body betrayed her.

A thin layer of sweat covered her skin and her vision blurred.

A wave of dizziness struck her so hard that she nearly collapsed beside Mira.

She wasn't sick. She was starving.

It had been a full moon cycle since they had been cast into the Cold Palace.

Surprisingly, Alpha Darius who had took the throne from Kai had not come to see them.

Perhaps he was too busy securing his rule.

Perhaps he was too preoccupied dealing with the rebellions in the outlying packs.

perhaps why would he?

Raina sighed as her eyes shifted back to Mira.

In exile, food was not given freely.

They had to work for it, performing the lowest, filthiest, and most exhausting labor.

Scrubbing floors. Cleaning filth.

Hauling heavy stones for construction.

Even Kai, who was once the corwn prince, was reduced to a laborer, forced to carry wood like a common servant.

And yet, despite their efforts, it still wasn't enough.

The food they received was nothing more than scraps , hardly enough to sustain even one person, let alone three.

Raina refused to let Kai starve.

She refused to let Mira, still recovering, go without food.

So she starved instead.

She wouldn't let them know.

"Rest," she said gently, adjusting the blanket around Mira before leaving the room.

The moment she stepped outside, the world tilted.

Her legs trembled around her.

She barely managed to stumble toward the kitchens before her strength gave out, forcing her to slump against a large rock, gasping for breath.

Hunger gnawed at her.

Her eyes dropped to a table in the kitchen. Lots of bread was on it. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she dragged her feet to the table. With trembling fingers, she picked a piece of bread, dipping it into a stew close to the bread before placing it in her mouth.

The faint taste of bread and stew only made her hunger worse. She wanted more, but she couldn't afford being caught.

She used the back of her palm to wipe her forehead as cold sweat broke out across it.

Suddenly, she needed water.

Dragging herself toward the nearby pond, she knelt at the edge, scooping a handful of cool water and splashing it onto her face.

Relief.

For just a moment.

Then, her knees buckled. It was as if the world spun.

Cold rushed up to meet her and suddenly, she was falling.

The water swallowed her completely.

Panic seized her chest.

She wasn't a good swimmer.

The pool's depths dragged her downward.

She kicked, struggled, but her limbs were weak from exhaustion. She couldn't reach the surface.

Her hands groped blindly, searching for anything to hold onto.

Her fingers caught on a patch of grass at the edge of the pond.

With the last of her strength, she held on.

But the roots were too weak.

The grass snapped and she slipped back into the water.

Just as she was about to sink completely, a hand reach out, clamping around her wrist with a grip like iron.

With a sharp jerk, she was hauled out of the water.

Coughing, gasping, she collapsed into someone's arms.

Her body trembled violently from the shock, her breath ragged.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze....

And froze.

The man holding her was not who she had expected.

Cold.

Expressionless.

Not a flicker of concern, no relief, no warmth.

Only indifference.

And then, he murmured, his voice a frosty breeze on a winter's night.

"Careful."