My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 245: The Lady At Night

[Warning: Mixed POV]

- Rowan -

She was breathtaking.

Not the stars. Not the planets. Not the comets or moons or any of the wonders I had shown her tonight.

Her.

I watched her face as she spoke, her grey eyes still reflecting the light from above, still carrying that look of pure, unguarded wonder.

And it was quite endearing watching her eyes light up like that.

"It is beautiful, yes," I agreed softly.

My fingers moved without thought, brushing lightly across her forehead, and tracing the line where her dark roots met the fading reddish-brown of her hair.

She didn’t notice thankfully.

She was too lost in what she had seen, and too caught up in the magic of it all to register my touch.

And somehow, it made me both happy and sad.

I could touch her, but if she was aware, maybe she might have drawn away...

But at the moment, I was happier.

I had given her this moment.

I wanted to give her more.

I wanted to give her everything.

My fingers continued their gentle path, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, and I let myself simply watch her. It was cute how she would especially pick up the telescope to look again.

For tonight, this was enough.

At some point, her breathing slowed.

Her hand loosened around the telescope, and her head grew heavier against my chest. I glanced down to find her eyes had finally closed, her lips slightly parted in sleep.

I carefully shifted and eased her into my arms. She stirred as I lifted her, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Rowan...?"

"Sleep," I murmured. "Don’t worry. I’ll take you back."

She blinked up at me. For a moment, I expected her to pull away and insist she could walk.

But she didn’t.

To my surprise, she simply leaned her head against my chest and closed her eyes again, the telescope still cradled against her like it was something precious.

Something warm bloomed in my chest.

I held her a little tighter and carried her out into the night.

[ - ]

I returned to her room, and when I lowered her gently onto the soft linens, she didn’t stir.

I knelt beside the bed and carefully removed her sandals, setting them aside. Then I drew the light blanket up over her, tucking it around her shoulders.

I allowed myself one last moment to watch her before retrieving the telescope from where it had slipped onto the bed beside her.

I quietly left the room and closed the door quietly, only for a startling sight to strike me on the spot.

A figure stood at the end of the hallway. Slight and pale against the window at the end of the hall. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

She walked toward me with slow, uneven steps, her bare feet silent against the stone floor.

My chest tightened.

My mother drew closer, and I watched her face for any flicker of recognition. Any sign that she knew where she was or even who I was.

There was nothing.

Her gaze was vacant and she walked right past me, close enough that her sleeve brushed my arm, and continued down the corridor as though I wasn’t there.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and stepped away from the door, watching her retreating figure.

"Mother," I whispered.

She paused.

Slowly, she turned back to face me. Her eyes found mine, but they were empty.

"Aldric?" she asked softly. "Is that you?"

My father’s name.

The heaviness in my chest became almost unbearable.

I stepped closer to her, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. Her skin was cool beneath my lips.

"It’s Rowan, Mother," I said quietly. "Your son."

She blinked, her brow furrowing slightly as though trying to grasp something just out of reach.

"Oh," she said.

Just that. Nothing more.

I swallowed past the ache in my throat and gently took her hand in mine.

"Come," I murmured, guiding her down the hallway. "I’ll take you back to your room."

She followed without protest, and my chest just grew heavier.

Her condition had gotten better over the years, but it still wasn’t easy.

Some days, she was her sharp self, and other times, she drifted somewhere between the past and a place none of us could reach. She wandered the halls at night for some reason, searching for faces that were no longer there. And she would call me by my father’s name more often than my own.

I didn’t understand that, especially when I strongly resembled her rather than that man.

On the way to her room, two of her attendants burst around a corner, their eyes wide with worry.

They quickly bowed. "My Lord, I didn’t realise she had—"

"It’s fine," I said quietly. "Just stay with her."

She had likely taken advantage of them changing shifts with the other two to stray from their attention.

As absent minded as she was most of the time, she was quite skilled at slipping away.

I relinquished my hold on her, handing her back to the attendants. Her lips thinned with a sour expression at no one and I pressed one last kiss to my mother’s forehead.

She just turned away.

I smiled faintly and turned around.

Just when I was having a pleasant night.

- Violet -

I woke to the feeling of being watched, and immediately knew that someone was here.

My eyes snapped open, and my body jerked upright before I stiffened, my breath catching in my throat.

A large figure stood right beside my bed, silhouetted against the faint moonlight streaming through the window. Harsh green eyes glowed in the darkness, and they were fixed directly on me.

It was a woman?

She was large and almost as tall as Rowan. Her silver-streaked dark hair hung loose around her face, and she looked tired. But her eyes were the most active part of her face.

And they looked wild.

"Rowan?" Her voice was low and steady, carrying an edge of authority that made a chill run down my spine. "You are not Rowan... what are you doing in my son’s room?"

My eyes widened.

This was his mother.