My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 28: Core Memory

Violet

The air was sweet with the scent of flowers and incense.

Bright sunlight spilled across a wide balcony, filtering through very thin see-through curtains that hung from polished white marble columns. The delicate fabric rippled in the breeze, creating dancing shadows across gleaming tiles.

A little girl’s laughter echoed across the balcony, bright, unrestrained, and pure.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, her small hand outstretched toward a fluffy ball hovering in the air above her palm. The toy bobbed gently, suspended by invisible threads of gold that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

Thin trails of incense smoke drifted from the inner chambers, curling lazily through the air and creating a dreamlike haze in the air. The sound of a waterfall thundered outside the balustrade and beside the curtains.

The girl giggled again, her fingers flexing as she tried to make the ball spin.

A sudden gust of wind swept across the balcony, tugging the curtains wide open and flooding the space with more unfiltered sunlight.

The ball shot from the girl’s control, sailing over the railing and out into open air.

"No!" The girl scrambled to her feet and rushed to the balustrade.

Grabbing the marble railing, she leaned dangerously over the edge as she watched the toy tumble down, down, down toward the sprawling city far below.

"Oh, Zephyr."

The girl looked back.

A woman approached from the inner chamber, her figure tall and graceful. Her face remained shrouded in the hazy smoke, making her features appear blurred, but the girl’s heart leapt with recognition, feeling strong sense of relief, love and elation upon seeing the familiar figure.

The word formed without sound, but the feeling was overwhelming—love, safety, belonging.

The woman laughed softly. Then she spoke with a silky voice, "Come here, darling. That is not how you’re meant to hold."

The toy reversed its fall and floated back up to the balcony. It drifted past the girl and settled gently, hovering above their heads.

The girl squealed in delight and rushed forward, wrapping small arms around the woman’s legs. The woman laughed again, resting one hand on her daughter’s head as the toy continued to float and spin lazily above them.

The woman crouched down, turning her daughter to face the floating ball. She wrapped her arms around the girl’s small frame from behind, and guided the child’s arm upward.

"Look," she murmured. Her lips, just slightly visible through the haze, curved up in a gentle smile. She rubbed the girl’s shoulders in slow, soothing circles. "Your hold won’t be solid if you simply push your force at it. Sending out your essence to control Gumi is wasteful."

They both looked up at the toy.

"Use your sy...gy well," the woman continued, her voice a whisper against the little girl’s ear. "Push that force into your will and just wish to hold it. You can use your hand if you can’t use your mind yet."

One of her hands moved from the girl’s shoulders to her wrist, guiding the little outstretched hand. "Come on, you did it yesterday. Take it from my hold."

The girl’s face scrunched in concentration, her entire body tensing with effort. Her small hand trembled as she reached upward, fingers splaying wide.

The girl grunted, her face squeezing in concentration as her body tensed with effort. Her small hand trembled.

The toy immediately dropped to the floor and the girl’s face crumpled. Her lowe lip trembled and she turned around to face her mother, her eyes tearing up.

"Oh, my baby." The mother pulled her close, planting kisses all over the girl’s face. She then cupped her daughter’s cheeks in both hands. "Little by little, you will get there."

[ - ]

I heaved, my chest soaring as I dragged in a heavy breath of air into my lungs, my eyes going wide open as my consciousness slammed into me.

I grabbed my chest, bolting upright in the bed and gasping for air.

That dream...

My heart raced. The fragrances from it still lingered in my nose, and for a brief moment, I could feel the woman’s touch.

That girl...

She looked exactly like me!

How?

"Violet?"

I flinched, my head whipping toward the voice.

Tow sat in a chair beside the bed, her posture rigid, her worry smeared all over her face. She touched my forehead, looked closely at my face and took her hands back to herself.

"You’re okay." She closed her eyes and sighed with relief, sinking back into the chair.

Seeing her instantly made me recall what had happened. I paled, waiting for the pain to hit me. But I felt nothing.

"What... what happened? How long was I out?" I asked.

When she opened her eyes, this time, they burned with suppressed fury.

"You collapsed in the inner district. I am very sure you can recall why. And you have been unconscious for a few days."

A few days?

What? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Before I could even process the information, she continued.

"Do you know who attacked you?" she asked, her voice deceptively calm.

I went still, very much understanding her question. "A woman—"

"Lady Astrid Valen." Tow hissed, her face tight as the anger escaped her eyes. "Lord Kael’s older sister! And Luna of the a powerful pack here in Fresna, and you had the guts to disrespect her!"

The word landed like a slap.

"I didn’t—"

"You did! You disrespected and challenged a Luna’s authority in public!" Tow nearly jumped out of the chair, her expression thunderous. "Do you have any idea what you have done?"

My brows furrowed in worry and I touched my chest. "I really didn’t insult her, and I did not challenge—I—she called me a servant and—"

"It does not matter if she was wrong!" Tow’s voice cracked like a whip and I winced. "You do not correct a Luna in public! Especially someone of your calliber. You do not challenge someone of a higher standing, and especially in such manner as you did."

I stared at her incredulous. She was not even there when it happened.

"I only said—"

She glared. "Did the truth about your bloodline get to your head and make you think you could act as you like?"

My heart sunk. She was wrong. Dead wrong.