NORA’S POV
I was sitting in Greta’s chambers, sipping tea and trying to look calm, when she set down her cup and fixed me with that knowing look she always got when she was about to ask something personal.
“So,” Greta said, her eyes twinkling mischievously, “tell me about Lord Harry.”
I nearly choked on my tea and asked, “What about him?”
She leaned forward, with a teasing smile on her face.
“Don’t play coy with me, Nora.
I have seen the way he looks at you.
And I have seen the way you avoid him.” She tilted her head.
“Or is that just your way of playing hard to get?”
I set down my cup, as my stomach churned uncomfortably, and shrugged my shoulders lightly, “Greta, there is nothing to tell.”
“Nothing?” She raised an eyebrow in shock.
“You walk through the gardens with him, he brings you roses, and there is nothing to tell?”
I opened my mouth to deflect, to change the subject, but Greta’s eyes were too sharp.
She was not going to let this go.
“Has it gotten serious?” she pressed.
“Are you two…
you know…”
“Greta,” I said, my voice tight.
“Please.
There is nothing between Lord Harry and me.
There never was.”
Her smile faded instantly, and she sat up straight.
“What do you mean?”
I looked down at my hands, with my throat tight, and said softly, “He was using me, Greta.
He was only being nice to me because he wanted to get close to you.
To get a position in the court.”
Greta’s face went pale.
“What are you talking about?” she stammered.
I took a deep breath and told her everything.
Lucian’s warning.
The cruel words the lords had said.
The mockery.
The laughter.
Lord Harry’s pathetic attempt to win me back with roses.
When I finished, Greta’s face was a mask of cold fury.
‘Why did you not tell me this sooner?”
“I did not want to cause trouble,” I said quietly.
“I handled it.
I told him exactly what I thought of him and walked away.”
Greta stood up abruptly, her hands shaking and breathed in anger.
“I am going to—”
“Greta, please,” I said softly, reaching for her arm.
“It is over.
I already gave him a piece of my mind.
There is no need.”
She looked at me, her eyes blazing with fury.
“No need?
Nora, he used you!
He mocked you!
And he thought he could get away with it because of me?” She shook her head.
“I will not let this stand.
The position he wanted?
He will not get it.
He will be demoted.
I will make sure of it.”
I shook my head, but I could not help the small smile that tugged at my lips.
“You are stubborn, you know that?”
Greta pulled me into a tight hug.
“I am protective,” she said fiercely.
“There is a difference.
And anyone who hurts you deserves what is coming to them.”
I hugged her back, feeling a warmth spread through my chest.
Greta was fierce, loyal, and utterly unstoppable.
I was lucky to have her.
When I introduced you to those lords, I was not trying to push you into anything.
I just wanted you to see that there are good men out there.
Men who would treat you the way you deserve.”
I nodded, with my throat tight, and said, “I know, Greta.
I never doubted your intentions.”
“Then promise me something,” she said, taking both my hands.
“Promise me that you will not let this make you close yourself off again.
I know you have been hurt.
I know Trevor left scars that have not healed.
But not all men are like him.
And not all men are like Lord Harry.”
I looked down at our joined hands and muttered.
“I don’t know if I believe that anymore.”
Greta squeezed my fingers and said with a calm voice.
“Then let me believe it for you.
Until you are ready to believe it yourself.”
I felt a lump form in my throat.
“You are too good to me, Greta.”
She smiled softly at me and said, “That is what friends are for.
Now, go on.
Go to the clinic.
Work will do you good.
And if Lord Harry so much as looks at you wrong, you come to me.
Understood?”
I laughed despite myself.
“Understood.”
“Good,” she said, releasing my hands.
“Now get out of here.
I have some demotions to arrange.”
I shook my head, still smiling, and left her chambers.
After leaving Greta, I made my way to the clinic, hoping that work would distract me.
But no matter how hard I tried, my mind kept drifting back to him.
Lucian.
I knew he had gone to deal with some pack business at the border.
I knew he was miles away.
But I could not stop thinking about him.
The way his silver-gray eyes had looked at me.
The way his voice had cracked when he told me I was not a joke.
I hated myself for missing him.
I had pushed him away.
I had told him to leave me alone.
And now, he was gone, and I felt emptier than I had before.
I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the patients in front of me, because there was no point in dwelling on what I could not have.
The morning passed slowly, and I was just beginning to feel normal again when Mira appeared at my side, her sharp eyes studying me with that quiet concern she always wore.
“Nora,” she said softly, “you have been staring at that same jar of herbs for the past five minutes.
Are you alright?”
I blinked, looking down at the jar in my hands.
I had not even realized I was holding it.
“I am fine, Mira.
Just tired.”
Mira tilted her head, not convinced.
“Tired?
Or distracted?”
I set the jar down and forced a smile.
“Both, I suppose.
It has been a long week.”
She hummed thoughtfully, then reached out and gently touched my arm.
“I have known you long enough to know when something is on your mind.
You have been distant all morning.
Your hands are moving, but your heart isn’t in it.”
I looked away, my throat tight.
“I am just thinking about someone.
Someone I should not be thinking about.”
Mira was quiet for a moment, then she smiled softly.
A man.”
I laughed weakly.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Only to someone who has been watching you,” she said kindly.
“You have that look, Nora.
The look of someone who is trying to convince themselves they don’t care, when they clearly do.”
I sighed, my shoulders slumping.
“It is complicated, Mira.
He is not someone I can have.
There are too many obstacles.
Too many reasons why it would never work.” I said bitterly.
“Obstacles can be overcome,” she said gently.
“But only if you are willing to face them.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t even know if he wants to face them.
And even if he does, I don’t know if I am strong enough.”
Mira squeezed my arm lightly with a smile on her face.
“You are stronger than you think, Nora.
I have seen you heal others with nothing but your hands and your heart.
You can heal yourself too.
You just have to let yourself try.”
I looked at her, my eyes stinging.
“What if I try and I fail?”
“Then at least you tried,” she said simply.
“And that is more than most people ever do.”
I let out a shaky breath and nodded my head.
“You are wise, Mira.”
She laughed softly.
“I am old.
There is a difference.”
I smiled despite myself.
“Thank you.
I needed that.”
“Anytime,” she said, patting my hand.
“Now, stop staring at that jar and go organize the supplies.
It will keep your hands busy while your heart figures itself out.”
I nodded and turned to the shelves, but even as I reached for the first jar, my mind drifted back to Lucian.
He was miles away.
He was dealing with pack business.
He was not thinking about me.
But I could not stop thinking about him.
The morning passed slowly, and I was just beginning to feel normal again when the doors of the clinic burst open.
A group of warriors rushed in, carrying a young man on a stretcher.
He was pale, covered in blood, and his breathing shallow.
Seeing him, my healer instincts kicked in immediately.
“Move!
Get him to the back room!” I shouted, taking charge.
“Someone bring me clean cloths and water!
Now!”
I rushed to the young man’s side, checking his wounds, directing the warriors to lift him onto the bed.
“He is losing too much blood.
I need to stop the bleeding.”
“Is he going to be fine?”
The voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
I froze.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it whispering to me in the dark.
I had heard it begging me to meet him in the tower.
I had heard it cracking with pain when I pushed him away.
Slowly, I looked up.
Lucian was standing there, his silver-gray eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my heart stop.
I stared at him, with my heart pounding, and my hands frozen.
He was supposed to be gone.
He was supposed to be far away.
But here he was, standing in my clinic, looking at me like I was the only person in the room.
And I knew, with a sinking feeling in my heart, that this was far from over.