Chapter 73: tears of relief

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: tears of relief

Night Menace held her gaze for a beat, then delivered the lie so perfectly. "They’re the ones who will lead us to our real partner. Our mate."

Amelia’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. She leaned forward so fast she nearly bumped the mirror.

"Wait—seriously? Mate? Actual mates are incredibly rare. Like, statistically-almost-a-myth rare. People write tragic poetry about never finding one."

"I know."

"Who is he?"

"You already know I’m not going to tell you that."

Amelia groaned and dragged both hands down her face.

"Of course you’re not. Fine. I’d rather it be a surprise anyway. Less chance of me overthinking it into a disaster."

Night Menace bit the inside of her lip hard enough to hide the knowing look that threatened to surface. Her eyes, however, still glittered with barely contained amusement.

Amelia dropped her hands and squinted at her.

"Okay, but what’s he like? Does he... love me too? Does the mate bond really makes you do things you logically won’t do?"

"Yeah." she answered easily. "He definitely loves you. And yeah the mate bonds do that."

Amelia pointed at her.

"That ’definitely’ sounded suspicious."

"Did it?"

"Is it the same mate from the previous lives?"

Night Menace nodded once.

Amelia’s entire face lit up. She actually bounced once on the balls of her feet.

"Yohoooo!! I’m not a lost cause after all!" The excitement flickered as a memory surfaced. Her expression scrunched. "Oh—wait. That reminds me. When I asked Swifty, the look that bird gave me said the complete opposite."

"He probably has his reasons."

Amelia tilted her head.

"He? Swifty’s male? He’s so beautiful I just assumed he was a dramatic little princess bird."

Night Menace smiled fondly. "Swifty isn’t any ordinary animal, it would be better if you started taking him with you when you go out."

Amelia jabbed a finger toward the glass.

"No. Absolutely not. I need details. I refuse to be mid-conversation with someone and suddenly have my pretty bird start shooting lasers out of his eyes, or turn into a dragon, or start giving unsolicited life advice in a British accent, or whatever ’not ordinary’ means in this cursed situation."

Night Menace was clearly enjoying herself. The fact that she was able to correctly guess some of his abilities...well she guessed close to it.

"I want you to be surprised. Trust me—you’re going to love that I didn’t tell you."

Amelia huffed, arms crossing, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her.

"Well. Since you are me, I suppose you already know the exact kind of surprises I like. Which is slightly unfair, by the way."

Night Menace rose smoothly to her feet. l

Amelia looked her up and down, gesturing at the entire ensemble.

"Why are you even wearing that? Were we some kind of ruler?"

"We were a lot of things. Being a ruler was only one of them." Night Menace’s tone changed. "It’s time to go. Before they start thinking you’re dead and do something dramatic."

"How do I get back?"

"Just imagine returning to your body. Piece of cake. Don’t overcomplicate it."

Amelia closed her eyes, exhaled, and did exactly that.

The pull came immediately—felt so disorienting, like being dragged backward through dark water. Everything went blank.

She opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.

A room that carried the same refined atmosphere of the brothers house. Distant voices filtered in from nearby.

Madame’s voice, tight with worry, the words edged with something close to fear. "Why hasn’t she woken yet? It’s been too long. I can’t lose her."

Dr. Claire’s reply was almost weary, the tone of someone who had repeated the same explanation more times than she cared to count.

"I’ve explained this multiple times. Amelia will wake when she is ready. Forcing it helps no one. Her body is recovering exactly as it should."

There was a soft shift of fabric as Amelia pushed herself up on the pillows. The movement was small, but both women turned at once.

Madame’s face transformed. Relief broke across her features so openly it almost looked painful. She crossed the space in a few quick steps and reached for Amelia’s hand, gripping it tightly between both of hers as if confirming she was solid.

"You’re awake. Thank the Goddess." Her voice wavered once before she steadied it. "I was so afraid you would never wake up."

Amelia gave a small, tired smile and squeezed her hand in return. "I can’t be taken out that easily."

Dr. Claire stepped closer, arms loosely folded, sharp eyes assessing her from head to toe.

"I heard what happened. It’s impressive you’re not dead."

The words dragged the memories back in a rush. Amelia’s expression tightened.

"The twins—Lila and Lana. They got hurt because of the destruction I caused. Are they—?"

Please be fine. Please.

If anything serious had happened to them, the guilt would never leave her. They had only been in that territory because of her.

Kate’s face in those final moments before the lightning struck still sat vividly behind her eyes.

"The twins are perfectly fine and have fully recovered. Everyone’s just been waiting for you to wake up for the past few days."

Amelia blinked. "How many days?"

"Five," Madame answered quietly.

Five days?

Night Menace hadn’t mentioned that time moved that quickly in the dream dimension. Amelia filed the question away for later.

Claire tilted her head slightly. "Did you experience anything unusual while you were unconscious?"

"No."

Claire’s gaze lingered, clearly noting the expression amelia gave when she answered, but she chose not to press it.

Madame turned toward the door.

"Bring food immediately," she ordered the servants waiting. "She must be starving." Then she looked back at Claire. "Go tell my sons the good news."

Claire inclined her head and left the room without another word.

Madame turned back to Amelia. Both of her hands rose to gently frame Amelia’s face, thumbs resting lightly against her cheeks.

Up close, the redness in Madame’s eyes was unmistakable—swollen, faintly bloodshot, the clear aftermath of tears she had tried to hide.

Amelia’s brows drew together.

"Your eyes..."

Madame gave a small, dismissive huff and started to pull her hands away. "Don’t pay attention to that. Something got in them, that’s all."

Amelia caught one of her wrists before she could fully retreat. Her voice softened.

"You’re lying. I’m sorry I made you cry."

Madame’s expression tightened and she shook her head once.

"Why should you apologize? You helped my sons. And when everything was falling apart, you chose to take the blow yourself so others wouldn’t be hurt." Her fingers tightened slightly around Amelia’s. "I have a wonderful daughter. I can’t afford to lose her. Please... don’t do something like that again."

The words landed deep.

Amelia had never been spoken to like this. Not with this kind of open care. Not with someone looking at her as if her survival mattered that much. A dull, aching warmth spread under her ribs, so unfamiliar it almost hurt.

She swallowed. "Thank you. This is... new to me. Being treated like this."

Madame’s free hand came up again, smoothing a loose strand of hair away from Amelia’s face.

"We are family now. And I will always cherish and love my family."