At the sound of Ray’s cautious tone, Anna sat up, her brows furrowed. Curiousity and fear warred in her eyes as she stared at him.

"He made you do this, didn’t he?"

Ray slowly shook his head. "He didn’t. I swear on my life, he didn’t."

Anna nodded.

Her heart still raced, the adrenaline pumping steadily through her veins. Ray looked okay, but he was still pale. That was saying a lot because he was naturally a warm tan, but now he looked bleached white, like someone had sucked all the color from his skin. His eyes had sunken in, giving their total inky darkness an eerie quality.

Eerie, she found. But cute. Like his eyes were full of shimmering stars.

He’s quite cute.

Oh for goodness sake Anna! Stop checking him out!

"What happened?" She shoved those thoughts aside, kept her yellow spores flowing steady, and focused on him.

He looked around the room. His ears trembling, and for a moment Anna wanted to reach out and stroke them, see if they feel as thin and silky as they look.

"Are you listening for him?" She asked. When he nodded, she sighed. Carefully, she placed her hand over his knee.

He jerked, as if she’d touched him with a hot stone.

"Sorry," she whispered as she drew her hand back. "Look, you can talk to me. What did Leon do this time? I know he’s done a lot of crazy shit. Maybe I’ve done crazier..." the last part she whispered to herself. "But you have my protection. Speak up, without fear."

"It’s not Leon that I am afraid of. It’s—"

He trailed off.

Anna didn’t need him to complete the sentence. She already knew.

"Oh,"

"But I’m going to say it anyway," he met her eyes, his lashes fluttering. "Leon asked me to spy on you and report everything back to him."

Anna stilled.

The words settled, made sense, and then made no sense all at once.

Ray watched her for any slight sign of aggression.

There was none.

Her heartbeat remained steady. 120bpm. No traces of anger. She looked...confused? Insulted? Ray couldn’t place it. With the wide range of emotion she was exhibiting recently, he’d given up trying to categorize all of them.

"Your highness?"

"You called me Anna,"

He shot to his feet. His wings flapped on instinct , propelling him away from her to the farthest corner of the room. "That was a grave mistake! I never should have—"

"Ray," she rose to her feet, "I’ll ask you one question. Why did you poison yourself?"

"I...I wanted to prove something to myself. I beg of you, your highness..."

"Anna."

"What?"

"Call me Anna. It’s my name."

"That is highly inappropriate."

"We’re married."

"On paper only, your highness. I’m not worthy of being your husband. Please don’t ask that of me, I beg of you."

Anna chewed on her tongue, only because it was the only way not to tongue lash him.

"You’re not unworthy of anything, Ray." she chose to start. Her voice cracked as she spoke because just look at him.

He was trembling.

Pale from the poison, probably still weak, pressed against the wall like it was a line of defense between the both of them.

Anna’s heart broke because looking at him reminded her of herself. The little girl she once was, running away from her Aunt Camila’s awful temper. Too scared to speak out of turn, or even breathe out of turn.

She didn’t know of Ray’s history and how he became one of the Princess Orchid’s husbands. But Anna had a good idea it was nothing good. Ray was almost nonexistent most days. Much to the point that she forgot he existed.

Her heart twisted with grief and guilt. Even I forget he exists too. Wife of the fucking year.

She gave a soft sigh.

The adrenaline slowly drained from her blood, reminding her that she was having a good night of sleep before this. The soles of her feet ached and her bruised knees burned.

"You know what? Let’s talk about this in the morning. Come, I need to finish your healing."

"No."

"No? Ray, you’re poisoned."

"That’s the thing. You never cared."

Anna’s eyes widened. "What does that mean? Of course I care. You’re...you’re..."

He shook his head. "Please, your highness, if this is a game, stop. I beg of you. I’ll do anything else you want me to do. But stop. It’s exhausting, your unpredictability. I...it’s easier when I know how you’re going to behave."

Anna felt a cold hand reach into her chest and drag her internal organs out.

"I’m not..."

"Please," he whispered, so light she barely heard him. "Stop...just stop."

And then, it dawned on her.

The reason he took the poison. The reason behind his words. The reason he was so distant. The reason why, even now, he refused her healing.

Tears sprang to her eyes.

Her spores turned green, then pale blue.

Ray’s eyes widened. Blue? Since when did her spores have blue? That’s not normal. Blue is not a natural color. Beastblooms shouldn’t be able to...what is going on with her?

"We’ll talk in the morning, Ray." Anna announced, a wistful smile on her face. "This must have been super uncomfortable for you. And I really wish I could clear the confusion up, but I can’t. I’m a lot of things, but most of the time I am a wicked woman. Perhaps...just..."

She tried to say it. The words she knew would confirm his fears, but at the same time destroyed whatever shred of understanding they had begin to grow between them.

[Hostie,] The System warned. [You must not reveal your identity else you’ll be punished.]

Anna inhaled, her fists clenched.

"I’m trying? Okay? It’s just...it’s hard." She finished off.

Ray looked more confused than she’d ever seen him.

A short laugh made its way out of her. "So, let’s talk about this tomorrow. You’re also not sleeping here ever again. I’ll have the servants give you a room, a proper one."

"I’m fine here."

"Ray, I wasn’t asking."

He stiffened. Then he nodded, and leaned off the wall.

Anna smiled. A small win? Perhaps?

She turned to leave, but paused at the fallen poison bottle. She picked it up and turned to Ray. "Also, get ready to explain how you got your hands on Drax’s venom."

He opened his mouth to say something but Anna walked out before he could.

Once she was out, she exhaled a huge breath of relief. She held her hands to her face, watching the faint flower marks on her skin emit soft blue spores.

"Why are they blue?" She asked the System.

[You’re sad.] the System replied matter-of-factly.

Anna glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Ray’s room. "I’ve been sad in the past, they’ve never turned blue."

[You’re sad, hostie.] The System wouldn’t explain any further.

True, Anna was sad. It spread through her chest like a giant wad of numbing cream.

"He looked so frightened," she said, her throat tight with unshed tears. "What did Orchid do to him?"

[You’ve amassed quite the Memory stash. Use some of them? Hopefully one gives you the answers you seek.]

"I’m going to bed. Nothing good comes out of her memories."

[Host, you cannot keep avoiding it.]

"When will the guidebook be ready? I need it."

The System didn’t reply.

Anna didn’t call it again.

The next morning, Anna anxiously waited in a dark corner of the library after sending a message to Ray via Bella.

She didn’t know if he’d come. And the more she thought about it, the more unlikely it became.

She sipped tea, a random book open in her hand but unread, her foot vibrating under the table with nerves.

If she had a wrist watch, she’d glance at it twice in one second.

After what seemed like hours but was in fact two minutes, a shadow appeared in front of her.

Ray stood before her, his eyes glowing, and his skin a cool tan. Anna exhaled with relief upon seeing him back to normal. He was still in his signature black clothes and accents of silver.

Anna jumped to her feet, tossing the book away. "You came."

He bowed, and as he did, the silver chain he wore around his neck fell out of his collar. Anna’s eyes were drawn to the pendant, so much that she didn’t hear his greeting. By the time he straightened himself up, he tucked the chain away.

"It’s a lovely necklace," she said.

"It belonged to my mother." Ray replied.

"Well, she has good taste."

"She did."

Anna bit her tongue. "I’m sorry."

"What are you sorry for, your highness? You didn’t know her."

"It’s just an expression we say when...you know what? Sit. We have a lot to talk about."

With a raised brow, Ray obeyed.

He sat stiffly, like the chair was padded with needles and nails. His hands rested on his laps, and his wings folded neatly behind him. He looked like he’d spent all night practicing this.

"You should relax," Anna chuckled.

He shook his head. "Thank you, for last night. You didn’t have to do that."

"It’s my duty."

"I mean it. You don’t have to—"

"You’ll do as Leon asked." Anna cut in.

Ray blinked. "What?"

"You’ll heard me. You’ll play his little spy. Watch everything i do, and write a detailed fucking report for him. But, here’s the deal," she leaned in like she was about to whisper a secret. "You will only tell him what I want him to know."

"You want me to lie to him?"

"I want you to tell him what I want him to know. You’re not lying. Although I can’t for the life of me figure out why he wants to spy on me. Doesn’t he hate me?"

Ray shifted, discomfort etched on his brow. "I don’t know..."

"Don’t worry. You don’t need to know about that. Just do what I tell you to. Whatever Leon is planning can’t be good. I mean...he’s tried to kill me a lot."

"He shouldn’t have!" Ray suddenly exclaimed. His voice was so sudden and so intense that she swallowed. Ray’s eyes darted around the library and he folded into himself. "He shouldn’t have done that."

"Is that why you got the poison from Drax?"

His posture cracked.

His shoulders slumped forward as his ears flattened. His wings drooped onto the floor, no longer held upright.

"I didn’t want to see you hurt anymore...not by Leon."

Anna watched him, her heart stirring with emotions. For a bat beastman, he sure acted like a golden retriever puppy.

"What of you?"

He looked up, his brows slanted, his big eyes watery. "Me?"

Anna leaned forward, resisting the urge to reach out and squish his cheeks. "Yes, you. Do I deserve hurt at your hands?"

He didn’t reply.

"I’m sure I haven’t been very kind to you. Surely, you must want to rip that binding collar off and have your revenge. Like Leon."

"I’m nothing like Leon." Ray spat, his voice pissed.

"Oh, is that so?!" A new voice replied.

Both Anna and Ray tensed up. "Fuck." They both whispered.