Chapter 86 The Ultimate Betrayal

Chapter 86 The Ultimate Betrayal
The Forest Edge Night

Draven stormed into the woods, his footsteps hesvy with impatience. The dark veins from his earlier spell use still pulsed beneath his skin, a constant reminder of the power he now wielded and the price he paid for it. "Come out", he called into the shadows. "I don't have time for games."

A figure emerged from the darkness, moving with the fluid grace of a predator.

Rhyssa.

Her amber eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight, her expression guarded as she approached him.

"You shouldn't be here, she hissed. " If anyone sees us.."

"I don't care, Draven interrupted. "We need to talk. Now."

Hidden in the shadows several yards away, Aria pressed herself against a tree trunk, her heart pounding. She'd followed Rhyssa from the estate, curiousity and suspicion driving her forward when she'd seen her slip away into the night. She told herself there was a reasonable explanation. That Rhyssa was judt clearing her head, taking a walk, needing space.

But seeing her meet with Draven Valios,their enemy and the man that had tried to kill them on numerous occasions shattered every rationalization Aria had built. She held her breath listening.

"It's been going on for too long, "Draven said his voice sharp with frustration. "Do you want your mother to live or die?"

Aria's blood ran cold. Mother??

Rhyssa's jaw clenched. "Don't threaten me. I'm doing what you asked."

"You're stalling, "Draven countered. "I gave you a simple task. Deliver the Moonborn to me. And yet she still walks around the estate, protected, untouchable."

"I told you it takes time," Rhyssa shot back. "They're not idiots. I can't just hand her over without causing suspicion."

"Then stop being so careful!" Draven growled. "I don't care if they suspect you. By the time they figure it out, it'll be too late."

Rhyssa stepped closer, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "Look, I need you to trust me. They all trust me now. Especially Aria." Her voice caught slightly on the name. "I'll lure the Moonborn to you like I promised. Just...keep your side of the bargain and let my Mother go when I do."

Aria's hand flew to her mouth,stifling the gasp that threatened to escape.

No...No this can't be real.

Her mind raced,trying to make sense of what she was hearing. Rhyssa's mother had died years ago. Everyone knew that it's what she had told them.. Unless... It had all been a lie.. All of it.

"Your mother stays exactly where she is until I have the Moonborn,"Draven said coldly. "That was the deal. You deliver Ava to me, alive and powerless, and your precious mother goes free. Not before."

"You gave me your word," Rhyssa said desperately.

"And I intend to keep it," Draven replied. "When you keep yours. Now stop wasting my time with excuses and do what you're supposed to do."

Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her heart shattered in her chest, piece by piece, each word from Rhyssa's mouth driving another crack through her soul. Rhyssa was the traitor. The one Selene had seen in her vision. The one they'd all been searching for all this time.

The woman Aria loved had been betraying them all along. But Aria didn't make a sound. Didn't move. Didn't reveal herself.

She needed to hear it all. Needed to understand the full scope of the betrayal before she acted.

"How much longer?" Draven demanded. "The new moon is four days away. That's my deadline, with or without the Moonborn delivered, I'm moving forward with my plans."

"Four days isn't enough.."

"Then you'd better work faster,"Draven interrupted. "Because if i don't have her by then, your mother dies. Slowly. And I'll make sure you hear every sceam."

Rhyssa flinched as though he'd struck her. "You're a monster."

"I'm practical, Draven corrected. "And you knew what you were getting into when you agreed to this arrangement. So don't pretend to have a conscience now."

"I'm doing this for my mother," Rhyssa said her voice shaking. "Not for you. Not for your war. Just for her."

"I don't care about your motivations," Draven said dismissively. "I only care about results. Two days, Rhyssa. Don't even think about disappointing me."

He turned to leave, then paused. "Oh and one more thing. If you even think about warning thrm, or confessing to what you've done, I'll know and your mother will pay the price for your honesty."

"I understand," Rhyssa whispered.

"Good"

Draven disappeared into the shadows,leaving Rhyssa standing alone in the clearing.

Aria watched from her hiding place as Rhyssa's shoulders shook. Was she crying? Feeling guilty?

It didn't matter.

Nothing mattered except the fact that the woman she loved, the woman she'd trusted with her life, had been lying to her this entire time.

Aria carefully,silently backed away from her hiding spot. She needed to get back to the estate. Needed to tell her mother, her brothers, Ava , everyone needed to know what she just found out. But she needed to do it without Rhyssa knowing she'd been discovered.

Because if Rhyssa knew that they were onto her she might disappear. Or worse she might accelerate whatever plan Draven had in place. Aria slipped through the trees like a ghost,her vampire speed and training making all her movements completely silent.

Back in the clearing, Rhyssa lifted her head wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'll contact you, she said to the empty space where Draven had stood. "Don't come here again. It's too risky."

She turned to leave, but a voice drifted back through the darkness. Draven's voice mocking and cruel. "I'll do whatever I want. You don't make the rules here remember?"

Rhyssa's hands clenched into fists, but she didn't respond. She just walked away, heading back toward the estate. Unaware that she'd been discovered. Unaware that Aria had heard everything. Unaware that the woman she claimed to love now knew the truth.

Aria reached the estate first,slipping in through a side entrance. Her vision was blurred with unshed tears. But she knew she couldn't fall apart. Not yet.
She had to tell Selene. Had to warn everyone before it was too late. But as she stood in the corridor, trying to compose herself, one thought kept echoing through her mind.

Love will betray you.

The vision had been right. Love had actually betrayed her.

And now the real danger the real heartbreak was only the beginning of what she would have to deal with.