Chapter 736 RETRIBUTION

The room instantly went silent.

Mother froze.

Not for a second.

Not for a moment.

She froze completely.

The candlelight flickered across her face and for the first time since I had entered the room, she looked frightened.

Truly frightened.

“The dream?” she asked quietly.

I frowned.

“Yes.”

Mother swallowed.

“The throne room?”

I nodded.

“The throne room.”

Her hand tightened around the edge of the table.

I watched her carefully.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

“You said it stopped years ago.” Mother asked me. “The herbs worked didn’t they?”

“They did.” I acknowledged.

Mother went silent.

The silence stretched between us.

I hated silence.

Especially this kind.

The kind that felt full of things left unsaid.

“Mama?”

She blinked suddenly.

As though returning from somewhere very far away.

“What happened in the dream?” she asked.

I frowned.

“The same things mostly.”

Her expression tightened.

“The throne.”

I nodded.

“The people.”

Another nod.

“The crying woman?”

Something flashed across her face.

Pain.

Raw and immediate.

Gone so quickly I almost thought I imagined it.

“Yes.” I answered softly.

Mother looked away.

I stared at her.

The dream had always bothered me.

But tonight?

Tonight it felt as though it bothered her more.

“And there was blood.” I continued.

Mother’s head snapped toward me.

My stomach dropped.

I had never seen her react so strongly before.

“There was blood everywhere.”

The color slowly drained from her face.

“The crown was broken.”

The room felt colder.

“Mama?”

She looked as though she couldn’t breathe.

Then I said the thing that troubled me most.

“There was a name too.”

Mother’s entire body stiffened.

A strange feeling crept up my spine.

I had never seen her like this.

“What name?” she asked.

The question came too quickly.

Too sharply.

I frowned.

“I don’t know.”

Mother visibly relaxed.

“I couldn’t hear it properly.”

I watched her carefully.

She didn’t look pleased and I didn’t blame her.

Sometimes when I had been younger I would wake up screaming.

Mother stood abruptly.

“You should go back to sleep.”

I stared.

“What?”

“It’s late.”

“Mama-

“Ruby.”

Her voice cracked.

Just slightly.

But enough.

Enough for me to notice.

Enough for me to know she was close to breaking.

I immediately softened.

It hurt her.

That much was obvious.

I rose from my chair and walked over to her.

Without a word, I wrapped my arms around her waist.

Mother stiffened.

Then slowly hugged me back.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

I simply rested my head against her shoulder.

“You know you can tell me anything.” I whispered.

Her arms tightened around me.

A little too tightly.

My heart squeezed.

When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible.

“I know, darling.”

But somehow…

The way she said it made me think she never would.

And as I pulled away, I could have sworn I saw tears shining in her eyes.

❧

The smell reached me before I even opened my eyes.

Herbs.

Bitter herbs.

I groaned immediately.

“Mother.”

A soft laugh answered me.

I cracked one eye open.

Sure enough, Mother was seated beside my bed with a steaming cup resting on a tray.

Sunlight streamed through the window behind her.

The sight should have been comforting.

Instead all I could think about was the contents of that cup.

“No.”

Mother smiled sweetly.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

I pulled my blanket over my head.

“I’d rather wrestle Aston.”

“Now I know you’re lying.”

I heard the smile in her voice.

The blanket was abruptly pulled away.

I squinted up at her.

Mother held the cup out.

“Drink.”

I sighed dramatically.

“I hate your dream tea.”

“You hate all medicine.”

“Because medicine tastes terrible.”

“It is not supposed to taste good.”

I sat up with a groan and accepted the cup.

The smell alone nearly made me reconsider.

Still, I drank.

Immediately regretted it.

My entire face twisted.

Mother laughed outright this time.

“Oh that is dreadful.”

“It is.”

“You said that last time.”

“And I meant it.”

I handed the empty cup back.

Mother looked relieved.

Far more relieved than someone should have been over a cup of tea.

“Do you feel better?”

I paused.

Actually thinking about it.

The heaviness from the dream was gone.

The strange lingering feeling too.

“A little.”

Mother nodded.

“Good.”

I watched her carefully.

“Why do I have them?”

Her smile faded slightly.

“The dreams?”

I nodded.

“The throne. The people. The crying.”

Mother lowered her gaze.

For a moment she seemed thoughtful.

Then she sighed.

“I honestly don’t know.”

I frowned.

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s the truth.”

She gently brushed some hair from my face.

“Perhaps it’s bad spirits. They haunt us just to torment us.”

I snorted.

“Bad spirits have terrible taste.”

That earned another laugh.

“Why?”

“If I was a bad spirit I would haunt someone rich.”

Mother shook her head.

“Ruby.”

“What?”

“You would make jokes at your own funeral.”

“I hope so.”

She pointed a finger at me.

“Do not tempt fate.”

I grinned.

The conversation seemed to ease something inside her.

Whatever had frightened her last night appeared buried once again.

Almost hidden.

Almost.

Mother rose from the bed.

“I have patients to visit.”

My eyes immediately brightened.

“I’ll come.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No.”

I stared at her.

She stared back.

The answer remained no.

I slid off the bed anyway.

“Mother.”

“No.”

“Mother.”

“No.”

“I’ll behave.”

She gave me a look.

A long look.

A look that clearly said she did not believe me.

At all.

“I can help carry supplies.”

“No.”

“I can help prepare medicines.”

“No.”

“I can help comfort frightened patients.”

Mother folded her arms.

“I distinctly remember you threatening a man in the market two days ago.”

“I did not threaten him.”

“You called him fungus-faced.”

“He looked like fungus.”

Mother pinched the bridge of her nose.

I smiled sweetly.

Finally she sighed.

The sigh of a woman accepting defeat.

“Fine.”

Victory.

I immediately hugged her.

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“And you’re wonderful.”

“I know.”

“And beautiful.”

“Ruby.”

I laughed.

Mother shook her head as she gathered her supplies.

A short while later we were preparing to leave.

Mother was fastening the strap of her medical satchel while I searched for my boots.

Everything felt normal.

Peaceful.

For once.

Then the front door exploded open.

The sound was so violent both Mother and I jumped.

Three enormous men stormed into the cottage.

My heart nearly stopped.

Before either of us could react, they threw someone onto the floor.

A body crashed into the wooden boards.

Hard.

I gasped.

Father.

His face was bruised.

His lip was split.

And blood stained the front of his shirt.

Mother rushed forward instantly.

“What happened?”

One of the men barked a laugh.

“What happened?”

The largest of them stepped forward.

“Ask your husband.”

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

Father refused to meet our eyes.

The man pointed directly at him.

“He owes money.”

The room fell silent.

The debt collectors.

Mother’s face went white.

I felt my stomach drop.

Because judging by the looks on their faces…

I knew them, they were the most troublesome set of boys in the pack.

They were destructive and even I always steered clear of them every time.

I knew who to snap and answer back to.

These men were not men to be played with.

And yet here they were.

This wasn’t the first debt.

And it definitely wasn’t the last.

I looked down at father, my heart breaking into a million pieces.

Why would he go to business with them if all people in the entire pack.

He knew what they were capable of doing and yet he had gone to them.

I hurried down to him and tried to help him.

When I turned him around to look at him, I gasped in horror.

They had beaten him to a filthy pulp.

His face was barely recognizable.

I looked up at them, without thinking and in rage.

“How could you do such a thing to a defenseless old man.” I said in agony.

“Shut up you bitch.” They hurled at me.

My fists clenced at the mention of that word.

I was fuming in rage at them.

How dare they!

I rose up to my feet and was burning, about to storm up to them when mother intervened.

She hurriedly came and stood up in front of me.

Blocking me from any confrontation with them.

“Please. We don’t want any trouble.” Mother pleaded and it only made me more furious.

Why was she pleading to them.

“Well trouble is at your door.” They spat at us.

“What do you want?” She asked.

“Our money!” They hissed. “And you better give us!”

She sighed heavily. “Okay I will give you. Just take it easy. How much is it?”

“A million gold coins.” One of the nasty men said.

Mother closed her eyes in horror, my mouth dropped agape in shock.

One million gold coins?!