CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ziaani's POV

​When the nurses left, I ended up falling asleep on the massive bed. By the time I woke up the next day, Proteus was curled up beside me, purring softly. I absentmindedly scratched his stomach, feeling a strange sense of comfort in his presence.

Days passed—how many, I wasn't sure. The only people who entered my room were the servants bringing food, the nurses checking on my healing leg, and Rose, who occasionally peeked in just to make sure I was still there.

Like—what the fuck? Where did she think I was going to go with a broken leg?

One evening, after a nurse finished tending to me, she left the door slightly open. I hesitated before pushing myself off the bed. My leg still ached, but the pain had dulled. It's getting better, I realized, though I made sure to put as little pressure on it as possible as I shuffled toward the door.

To my surprise, Rose wasn't standing guard outside. That's... weird.

Just as I was debating whether to go back inside, I heard something unexpected—children laughing.

"What?" I muttered under my breath.There are kids here?

Curious, I followed the sound, slowly making my way through the corridor until I reached the garden. But what I saw next stopped me in my tracks.

The queen.

Surrounded by children.

Running, laughing, playing with them.

I blinked, sure I was hallucinating. But no—there she was, chasing them, her normally composed expression replaced with something I had never seen before. Joy.

A little girl squealed in delight as the queen finally caught her, wrapping her in her arms and attacking her with tickles and kisses. The child laughed uncontrollably, kicking her legs, and then—then the queen laughed too.

It was a sound I'd never heard before.

A little rough, but genuine.

Something in my chest tightened. What the hell is this feeling? Relief? Curiosity? Maybe even...joy? No. No way. I shook the thought away as quickly as it came.

This was weird.

I'd only seen her as cold, calculated, infuriating. But now—she was smiling, playing, being normal.

Then, as if sensing my presence, she suddenly turned.

Our eyes met.

I immediately frowned, not realizing that I had been smiling.

She walked toward me, and I instinctively leaned against the wall for support. When she stopped in front of me, she held out her hand.

I hesitated.

But for some reason—some stupid reason—I took it.

Without warning, she scooped me up like I weighed nothing. I let out a startled gasp, still processing what just happened as she carried me to a chair further inside the garden. She set me down gently, then took a seat beside me, her attention shifting back to the kids.

A comfortable silence stretched between us.

I studied her, but she didn't look at me. She just watched the children with that same soft expression.

Finally, I broke the silence.

"Are any of them yours?" I asked, keeping my gaze on the kids.

She turned to me, her voice quieter this time. "No," she said. "I, unfortunately, don't have children." There was something sad in her eyes, though she smiled as she looked back at the children.

I hesitated before asking, "What about your partner? Do they not want kids?"

She chuckled lightly. "I don't have a partner.Yet."

I raised a brow. "So, you—"

Before I could finish, she cut me off. "And you? Do you want kids?"

I shrugged. "I mean, they're cute and fun to be around, butno. Definitely not."

"Why not?"

"Okay, first off, they're noisy. Second, they make a mess. And third, I just...can't deal with all that energy," I said, shaking my head. "They're adorable when they belong to someone else."

She smirked. "How do you know? You don't have one, do you?"

"What? No!" I scoffed. "I just know I wouldn't want one."

She hummed, still smiling. "Well,I want a lot of them."

"A lot? How many?"

"A whole soccer team."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Good luck with that."

She tilted her head, teasing. "So, if not kids, what do you want? A puppy, maybe?"

I gasped. "Oh, no. I Love puppies, but they're just like kids. That's why I prefer cats. They're quiet. And gentle."

She let out a small laugh. "Gentle? Have you seen Proteus's nails?"

That actually made me laugh. "Okay, yeah,you definitely need to cut those. But still—he's cute and quiet."

"Are we talking about the same animal here?" she teased.

"Oh, shut up. He's adorable."

Before she could respond, a ball rolled to my feet. I glanced down, picking it up, but before I could say anything, a child leapt into my arms.

I tensed, startled, as the kid giggled against me.

The queen chuckled.

Still shocked, I held the kid awkwardly at arm's length, looking down at them in confusion. The queen actually laughed this time.

"You don't hold them likethat," she said, amused.

The kid, now looking up at me with wide, curious eyes, tilted their head. "What kind of vampire are you?"

I stiffened.

Before I could answer, another kid spoke up. "Your skin is weird!"

"Why is it brown? Are you sick?" another asked.

Oh, for fuck's sake."No, I'm not—"

"Why are your eyes blue and not red?" one of them asked in a whisper, their tone suddenly wary.

Then, before I could stop it—

"Are you awerewolf?!"

The word sent the kids into a panic.

They screamed and scattered, running away as if I had just grown fangs and howled.

The queen? Oh, she burst into laughter.

I shot her a glare, but she simply stood and calmed them down. "Relax, kids," she said, her voice still laced with amusement. "She's not a werewolf. She's a human."

That made them stop. They all turned to stare at me with wide, fascinated eyes.

"A human?" one of them whispered.

"You look weird," another said. "Can I bite you?"

"No, you can not," I said, stepping back.

The kid pouted in disappointment, and before she could start crying, the queen casually tossed the ball away, sending them running after it.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling.

Then, after a brief pause, she smirked. "You're terrible with kids, by the way."

"Hey—!" I turned to her, offended, but she was already chuckling.

And, despite myself... I found myself laughing, too.