Chapter 26 - A harsh truth
1732 Words
#musicvibe - New Rules, Dua Lipa
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Valeria POV
I waited patiently for Alexander to gather his thoughts, and I could clearly see the storm of emotions in his eyes.
“But, if you didn’t m******e the village, who did?” He asked.
I shook my head slowly.
“I have no idea.” I replied softly. “But if we can figure that out, maybe we can prove who the real culprits are and focus on getting them instead of being at war with each other for no reason.”
Alexander nodded.
“Then, why are you here?” He asked.
I shrugged.
“That’s another part of this mystery.” I replied and held up my cuffed hands, showing Alexander the power dampening cuffs beside the handcuffs locking my hands together. “These cuffs both dampen my powers and suppress my lycan side. They must have been custom made.”
“Oh, about that.” Alexander said and held out a key. “You don’t have to wear that anymore.”
He took off the cuffs and the collar and I sighed in relief when the cold metal slipped off. I rubbed my forehead tiredly and Alexander glanced at me with concern.
“How are you?” He asked.
“Do you have anything to eat?” I asked. “I’m starving.”
“When was the last time you ate?” He frowned.
I shrugged.
“Before I left for the border the day I was taken.” I replied.
“That’s three days ago.” Alexander deadpanned and set the cuffs down on his desk. “I’m gonna call for some soup to be brought up for you. In the meantime you should probably take a shower.”
He turned to me and smiled apologetically.
“No offense, but you stink”. He added.
I rolled my eyes.
“Great.” I replied. “I’m Valeria, by the way.”
“You can call me Alex.” Alexander replied and I nodded.
Alex gestured for me to follow him and he showed me to a door. Inside was a large bathroom.
“I’ll have them bring up some fresh clothes for you.” He said. “There are towels in the cupboard, so go ahead and the food will be waiting for you when you’re finished.”
I nodded and he left me to it.
The shower was pure heaven, mostly because I had been locked up in a dirty cell for the past few days.
While I scrubbed myself clean, my thoughts wandered to Tyson and my heart clenched in my chest. Even though Willow couldn’t get out, she still had her connection to Dax, and I could feel Tyson’s emotions through our bond.
He was balancing on the brink of pure despair. I wished that there was some way for him to know that I was alright, but I figured that as long as I kept my own emotions in check, he would know that I wasn’t scared or in pain, at least. Maybe that could give him some comfort.
When I was finished, I walked out of the room wearing only the towel since there were no clothes in the bathroom. Alex looked up when I came out and gave me a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and some underwear.
“Here.” He said.
“Thanks.” I replied and went back inside the bathroom to change.
My body was shaking from exhaustion, but after three days of starving, I was looking forward to eating something. My stomach churned and even if I wanted to gulp the whole thing down in one go, I forced myself to take it slow.
Alex sat down next to me.
“I don’t get it.” He said. “Who would do this?”
I shrugged.
“The vampires that attacked me told me that they came there for me.” I replied. “Ever since then, it felt like we’ve been two steps behind.”
“What happened during the first attack.” Alex asked. “This is the first time I’m hearing about any attack before the massacre.”
I told him about the attack, how we captured the vampires and that they haven’t been telling us much.
“Oh, I just remembered something.” I said. “One of them slipped up and mentioned a name.”
Alex leaned forward.
“Who?”
“Damian Cass.” I replied. “We’ve tried to figure out who that might be, but came up empty.”
I frowned when the blood drained from Alex’s face.
“Do you know that name?” I asked.
“He’s the captain of the king’s guard.” He whispered.
I sighed.
“Look, I know how this looks.” Alex said quickly. “But my father wouldn’t sacrifice his own people just like that. There must be something else going on.”
“Maybe someone else is behind this.” I suggested. “If your father is found guilty of starting a war, he might lose the throne to someone else. Who would benefit from that?”
Alex pursed his lips.
“Well, that would be me.” He replied awkwardly. “I’m next in line for the throne.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“No.” I mumbled. “I don’t think so. You hated me so much when you thought that I was the one responsible, and even though we’re supposed to be natural enemies, you’re still putting that aside to listen to what I have to say. You wouldn’t sacrifice innocent lives like that.”
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“You can tell that only from spending an hour with me?” He asked.
I shrugged and took another spoonful of soup.
“I used to be a spy.” I replied. “I know a bad guy when I see one, and you’re not.”
Alex sighed.
“Alright, so how do we find out who’s responsible for this war?” He asked.
“You get close to your father.” I replied. “He’s the one making the decisions. If someone else is influencing those decisions, you might be able to identify them. If not, and your father is the one behind all this, you might find out his reasons.”
“The only way that can happen is if I can show him that I’m making progress with you.” He retorted. “That way he might trust me more.”
I nodded.
“I like the way you think.” I yawned.
Alex seemed to notice my fatigue, because he stood up.
“Alright, get some rest.” He said and gestured to the bed. “In the meantime, I can go ask him what I’m supposed to do with you. Maybe he’ll share some of his plans with me.”
I nodded again, too tired to reply.
Alex led me over to the bed and I clumsily crawled onto it and laid down.
“I’ll lock the door so no one can get to you.” He said.
“Good luck.” I whispered before I drifted off to sleep, unable to stay awake for a second longer.
*
Alex POV
I struggled to gather my thoughts as I made my way over to the throne room. Everything Valeria told me seemed to check out, and I saw the bite mark for myself. It was much older than the rest, there was no way she could have faked it.
The fact that she knew Damian Cass’ name too was another thing. He was a very secretive guy and the lycans couldn’t have known about him unless someone told them.
Someone that shouldn’t have been on their territory in the first place.
My heart felt heavy at the thought of my father being behind all this. Valeria tried not to insinuate it, but I had to admit that it looked really suspicious and that my father was possibly guilty of a serious war crime.
I stormed into the throne room and saw my father still sitting on his throne.
“Leave.” I snarled at the guards and they all scurried out of the room.
“Where’s the lycan?” My father asked.
I shrugged.
“Locked up in my room.” I replied. “I just don’t see the point. Sure, she has powers, but they are of no use if she has them suppressed at all times.”
My father chuckled.
“Which is why you have to break her.” He replied. “Once you do, she’ll do anything for you.”
“What exactly is she supposed to do for me?” I asked. “I mean, why is she even here?”
“It’s dangerous for the lycans to have such power.” He replied matter of factly. “So I needed to take it away before they started to turn on us. And they were about to. Look at the damage they’ve already done.”
I nodded, knowing that he wasn’t going to give me any answers.
“I’ll do my best with her.” I said and turned to leave.
“Alexander.”
His voice stopped me and I turned to him again.
“You have always been a little soft.” He sneered. “If you fail with her, you might not be able to take the throne. I need a strong and tough leader to take the throne after me, and this is your opportunity to show it.”
I nodded curtly and left the room.
My mind was reeling from everything I had learned for the past hour, and I was annoyed with my father’s weird answers. He was never one to care for humans. He considered them food, so why did he care about a whole village far away from the castle being slaughtered?
I rounded the corner and stopped in my tracks.
A click was heard from my bedroom door and I saw my little brother Jamie hunched over the lock.
“What the hell are you doing?!” I shouted just as he was about to open the door.
My blood ran cold when I realized that if he opened the door, he would see the lycan I was supposed to hold prisoner, sleeping soundly in my bed.
- Writer
