Chapter 161- Toby!

Arabella pov:

After changing out of the dress, I slipped into a soft black sleeping suit. This one was decent enough compared to my oversized T-shirt. I could finally breathe after spending hours dressed up for the celebration.

Before going to sleep, I decided to check on Maya.

When I quietly pushed open her door, the room was dim except for the small lamp glowing beside the bed. A nurse sat in a chair near the window, flipping through a magazine. She looked up when I entered, then glanced toward Maya and placed a finger near her lips, letting me know she was fast asleep.

I nodded and stayed near the door. For a moment, I wished she would wake up because there was so much I needed to talk about.

I needed to tell her about Toby. He was probably sitting in the royal cell because of my stupidity. And then there was my wolf, who was being poisoned.

Just thinking about it made my head hurt. So much had happened tonight, and Maya was the one person I wanted to sit beside and pour everything out to. I gave her one last look before quietly pulling the door closed behind me.

The thought of going back to my room didn’t appeal to me at all. I wasn’t sleepy, and with everything running through my head, I doubted I would be anytime soon.

So instead of turning toward my room, I made my way outside. I decided to wander toward the garden, hoping the fresh air would help clear my head.

Small lights were scattered around, making it easy enough to see.

There were a couple of benches in the garden, but I walked past them. A large rock sat farther away from the lights, partly hidden in the darkness, and that looked much more inviting.

I had barely taken a few steps toward it when the strap of one of my flip-flops snapped. "Great," I muttered under my breath. I slipped both of them off, picked them up in one hand, and walked barefoot the rest of the way.

I climbed onto the rock and adjusted myself until I was comfortable. At least here, I could sit alone without anyone noticing me from a distance.

My mind went back to what had happened in the hall. I hadn’t missed the panic on Theodora’s face when I suggested using her magic to find Anika’s murderer. She had tried to hide it quickly, but I had seen it.

And then there was Jasmine.

Her face had gone pale the moment I started talking about Anika’s murder. She had been the first one to suggest that we should discuss it somewhere private.

Something about all of it was bothering me.

Lucien’s family had been nothing but drama over Anika’s death. They had wanted Victor punished. They had taken their anger out on me and made sure I suffered for something my brother had supposedly done.

But in all these years, had any of them actually tried to find out what really happened? They had a man to blame, and apparently, that had been enough.

Now that I was asking them to dig into Anika’s murder again, suddenly everyone seemed uncomfortable.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear anyone approaching until someone suddenly shouted, "Boo!" right beside me.

I nearly jumped off the rock. My hand flew to my chest as I looked up, half expecting some beast to be standing over me. Instead, I stared at the person in front of me in disbelief.

Toby stood there with his arms folded across his chest, laughing at the look on my face. "Toby?"

I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times, but he was still there. "Oh, my Goddess. Am I dreaming?"

I quickly got up and started climbing down from the rock. Toby held out his hand to help me, still looking far too amused by my reaction.

"I’m really here," he assured me as my feet touched the ground. "And before you start questioning your sanity, no, I’m not a ghost either."

I grabbed his shoulders and gave them a quick squeeze, just to make sure he was actually standing in front of me. The moment I realized he was real, whatever control I had left disappeared.

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly, unable to stop the tears filling my eyes. "Oh, Toby. I felt so guilty."

"I know." His laughter faded as he hugged me back. "I could tell." I pulled back slightly and looked at him.

He nodded toward the rock behind me. "I’ve been standing here watching you sit there looking miserable for the past few minutes. You didn’t even notice me."

"But... h-how? How did you..."

Toby shrugged. "There’s no one who could’ve gotten me out when I was locked up on the Queen’s order." He paused, and a knowing smile slowly appeared on his face. "Except one man who seems to forget every rule in this kingdom when it comes to you."

I stared at him for a moment. "Are you talking about Lucien?"

"Who else?" Toby raised his brows. "That man would probably argue with the Moon Goddess herself if she—" Someone cleared his throat behind us.

I spun around and found Lucien standing a short distance away, looking straight at us. My arms were still around Toby.

I quickly stepped away from him. "Lucien? What are you doing here?" Then I looked between the two of them, still confused.

"Looks like Toby already answered that question for me," Lucien said as he walked toward us.

So, it was Lucien who had gotten Toby out.

He had told me Toby would be back within twelve hours, and it hadn’t even been three. Now Toby was already standing in front of me.

I looked at Lucien, and he looked back at me without saying anything. For a few seconds, I completely forgot Toby was even there.

It wasn’t until he cleared his throat that I realized Lucien and I had been staring at each other.

"I guess... um..." Toby scratched the back of his head, glancing between us. "I’ll go to my room and get some sleep. Until then, you two can..." He trailed off and gave an awkward laugh. "Actually, forget it. I don’t want to know what you two are planning to do. Good night."

"Toby!" I hissed, but he was already walking away, laughing under his breath.