Chapter 16 Sasha
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SASHA
Ipressed closer to Dominic, angling my head to see through the narrow gap in the door. The kitchen was dim, lit only by the soft glow of enchanted lights that flickered to full life as Queen Iberia moved through the space.
Blue light emanated from her hands. She held her palms over a basket of bread, magic flowing from her fingers into the loaves. The light pulsed once, twice, then faded as she moved to the eggs waiting in a bowl on the counter.
She touched each egg, infusing them with whatever spell she’d crafted.
After finishing with the eggs, she moved on to the containers of tea waiting to be steeped in the morning. Pastries made before the staff left for the day. The spices they’d taken out the night before for today’s breakfast prep.
She tested each item after touching it, as if confirming her spell had taken hold, using a careful methodology that suggested she’d done this many times before.
We’d found our culprit. The mystery that had plagued the court finally had an answer.
But it was Iberia. Dominic’s mother. The woman who’d ruled this court with wisdom and grace for decades. The fierce, loving parent who’d raised him alone after his father’s betrayal.
Dominic had gone rigid with shock. His breathing stopped, then resumed in shallow gasps.
This wasn’t some anonymous enemy or vindictive lord or lady. This was family.
I wanted to shield him from this, to take the pain of this betrayal onto myself. But all I could do was stand in front of him, offering silent support while he processed what we were witnessing.
He shifted us around until he could lean his back against the door. His hands came up to scrub his face, and his ragged breathing rang out.
When he lowered his hands and looked at me, the devastation in his eyes made everything inside me twist tight.
I touched his arm, a question in the gesture.
He jerked out a nod, straightened his shoulders, and turned back to open the door.
The hinges creaked. Iberia spun around, blue magic still glowing around her fingers before she extinguished it with a shake of her hands.
“Dominic.” Her voice held steady, regal even. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I could ask you the same question, Mother.” He stepped into the kitchen, and I followed, staying a few paces back. “Though I think I already know the answer.”
Calculation flickered across Iberia’s face, followed by resignation. “I’m checking the quality of the breakfast preparations. You know how particular Alaina can be about—”
“Don’t.” The word came out soft but firm. “Please don’t lie to me.”
Iberia’s composure cracked. She smoothed her gown, a nervous gesture I’d never seen from her before.
I could only imagine how painful this must be for Dominic, having to balance his roles as son and king. How much he must want to yell. Instead, he remained gentle.
This was leadership. Not the charming facade he showed the court, but the real strength underneath. The ability to hold someone accountable while still treating them with dignity.
My respect for him deepened.
“I saw the magic,” Dominic said. “We both did. Blue light from your hands, touching the food. The same contamination we’ve been trying to track since before I married.” He paused. “Mother, why would you do this?”
Iberia’s shoulders sagged, her regal bearing crumpling.
“I was trying to help,” she said with a touch of dignity in her voice.
“You were so serious when you first mentioned the marriage alliance. So burdened by the responsibility of finding a solution for our failing plants.” Her gaze shifted to me, then back to her son.
“I wanted to give you joy. Lightness. I thought if you laughed more, if you seemed carefree and charming, Sasha would fall in love with the performance rather than seeing how heavy the crown weighs on you.”
My stomach twisted. The logic was warped, but I understood the motivation behind it. This was a mother’s desperate attempt to protect her child from rejection.
“You made me look foolish,” Dominic said, his voice hollow. “Giggling through my wedding vows. Unable to have a serious conversation without erupting into involuntary laughter.”
“I thought I was helping,” Iberia said again, tears in her eyes. “I thought if she saw you as lighthearted and fun, she wouldn’t realize how much pressure you’re under. How afraid you are of failing your people.”
Dominic sank onto one of the kitchen stools, looking defeated in a way that made my chest crack wide open. “You didn’t trust me to be enough for Sasha as I am.”
The pain in his words cut deeply. This wasn’t about giggling or contaminated food. This was about a son realizing his mother had seen him as inadequate, as someone who needed magical intervention to be worthy of love.
I wanted to go to him, to tell him how wrong Iberia was. But this moment belonged to them, and I held myself back.
“Mother.” Dominic’s voice came out steady despite the devastation in his eyes. “Are you also causing the plants to wilt? Are you sabotaging the emotion-responsive flowers and the festival preparations?”
Iberia’s head snapped up, and genuine shock crossed her face.
“No. Absolutely not.” Panic crept into her voice.
“Dominic, you have to believe me. I would never sabotage the festival or harm the gardens. This is sacred to our people, to our magic. I only—I only wanted to help your marriage. Please, you must believe me.”
The truth of her words rang clear. Whatever was affecting the plants, it wasn’t Iberia’s doing.
Which meant we still had another mystery to solve.
But that could wait.
The weight of leadership settled on Dominic’s shoulders. When he looked up, I could tell he’d made his decision. The son was stepping back, and the king stepped forward.
“You will leave the court,” he said, his voice gentle but firm. “Pack your belongings. Go stay at your eastern estate until I send for you.”
“Dominic—”
“I’m not banishing you permanently,” he added.
“But you violated my trust. You manipulated not just me, but everyone in the court. The servants, the nobles, even Sasha.” His jaw tightened.
“I need time to think about what this means. And the court needs to see that no one, not even the former queen, is above accountability.”
Tears spilled down Iberia’s cheeks, but she nodded. “You’re right. Of course you’re right.” She stiffened her spine. “I’ll be ready to leave within the hour.”
“Thank you.”
She turned and walked toward the door, pausing when she reached it to look back. Her gaze found mine, and I braced myself for blame or resentment.
Instead, I saw hope.
“Take care of him,” she said softly. “He needs someone who sees him clearly. Who loves him for who he actually is, not who he thinks he should be.”
She left, the door closing softly behind her.
Silence settled over the kitchen. Dawn light was beginning to filter through the windows. In the distance, I could hear the first stirrings of the household waking up to start the day. The kitchen staff would arrive soon.
Dominic sat on the stool, staring at his hands lying on his thighs.
I crossed the space between us, nudged his thighs apart to step between them, and wrapped my arms around him.
He stiffened before his body relaxed into mine. He dropped his head to rest his chin on my shoulder, and he released a long, shuddering breath.
“I sent my mother away,” he said.
“You did what you had to do.” I stroked his hair, trying to find the right words to help him through this. “It couldn’t have been easy.”
“She was trying to help. In her own misguided way, she thought she was protecting me.” His arms came around me, holding tight. “But she didn’t trust me. She looked at me and saw someone who wasn’t enough.”
“She’s wrong.” I pulled back enough to stroke his cheek and tilt his chin, making him look at me. “You are enough, Dominic. You’ve been enough since the moment I met you.”
“Even when I was giggling through our wedding vows?”
“Especially then.” My smile came out shaky. “I saw past the giggling to who you really are. You’re a man who handles impossible choices with compassion.”
His eyes searched mine. “You really see me?”
“I do, and what I see is extraordinary.”
He kissed me, his touch tender.
When we pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine.
We stood in the quiet kitchen while dawn painted the world gold.
Sometimes the bravest thing wasn’t solving a mystery or making a hard choice.
Sometimes it was simply allowing yourself to be comforted by someone who saw you clearly and chose you anyway.
Outside the kitchen window, I noticed something that made me pause. The ornamental vines along the wall were straightening, their leaves unfurling with new life. A cluster of emotion-responsive flowers had begun to bloom, their petals opening to greet the morning.
The plants appeared to be responding to us. Our emotional resonance was feeding them, bringing them back to life.
If we could revive these plants with authentic feeling, maybe we could solve the second mystery of what or who was draining the court’s precious magic.
But that revelation could wait.
For now, Dominic needed comfort. And I needed to hold him.
Everything else would still be there when we were ready to face it.