Chapter 156 The Vulnerable Girl

Chapter 156 The Vulnerable Girl
Seraphine POV

After Kael spoke, the silence pressed so heavily I thought I would choke on it.

“You have her eyes when you hate me.”

I almost wished he would scream. Anything would’ve been easier than hearing that grief. If he had yelled or threatened me, I could push him back into being the monster I needed him to be. But grief made him real, almost human, and I didn’t want that. Not from the man who destroyed my mother.

Agora stepped in front of me, blocking Kael from view. Everything about him screamed protectiveness... fierce, angry, and standing his ground.

“Stay away from her,” he said, his voice so cold it felt like a slap.

Kael’s face darkened. The guards with him shifted, glancing at one another. I could feel the tension... they did too. The rebels around us gripped their weapons, ready for the worst. One wrong move, and this forest would snap into violence. We all knew it.

This was the first time Kael actually looked away from me since he rode in. That tiny act sent a shiver through me. Something changed in him. Sure, the desperation was still there, that crack of grief too. But beneath it, something froze over. Calculating.

Finally, he looked at Agora and said, “You’ve poisoned her against me.”

Agora almost laughed. “She learned the truth.”

For a second, Kael’s jaw tightened so sharply it felt like it might snap. “No. She learned your version of it.”

That twisting, sly logic set me off all over again. “You admitted it yourself,” I shot back.

His eyes snapped back to me, fast, too fast. And that same unbearable expression was there. Like every word from me was the only thing that mattered.

“I admitted I made mistakes.”

“Mistakes?” My voice shook with disbelief. “You killed her.”

Kael’s face hardened, cold as stone. “You think the world is simple because Selene protected you from its ugliness.”

The mention of my mother twisted my stomach. “Don’t talk about her like you loved her,” I said. I could barely get the words out.

For a heartbeat, real anger chipped at Kael’s mask. “I did love her.”

“No.” This time, the word left me raw. “You wanted to own her.”

I hit something vital. It was clear in his eyes... a shadow that bled across his whole face and stiffened every muscle.

And that’s when I realized something chilling: Kael probably spent years convincing himself he loved my mother. Twisted the truth over and over until his obsession sounded like devotion, his violence like grief, his guilt like an accident. The thought horrified me more than his anger ever could.

Kael drew in a slow breath and stepped back toward his horse. Instantly, tension spiked. Everyone... guards, rebels, all on edge, waiting.

But Kael didn’t attack. He changed.

I saw the exact moment his expression went blank, and the Alpha returned. Cold. Controlled. calculation.

He looked at us... First the rebels, then Agora, and, finally, me.

“You’ve made a serious mistake.”

Agora’s hand tightened on his weapon.

Kael climbed onto his horse, calm and measured. “You entered Wildfire under my protection. Now you leave with stolen royal records, rebel alliances, and accusations against your host.”

My blood went cold. He was rewriting the story. Agora got it too, right away.

“You’re lying because you’re losing control,” Agora spat.

Kael didn’t even blink. “When the pack hears what truly happened, they’ll understand exactly what this is.”

The rebels exchanged worried glances... fear almost visible now. Kael wasn’t just angry. He was playing a bigger game. And that Kael? He was terrifying.

Before Agora could stop me, I pushed forward. “You murdered Selene.”

Kael looked sad, almost. “And now Agora fills your head with rebellion.”

Nausea climbed my throat. “You think people will believe that?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t even hesitate. That confidence scared me most, because I knew. I knew there were people... maybe enough... who would believe whatever story he spun. Fear twists the truth, especially when someone powerful dangles it in front of them. Kael knew that better than anyone. He’d taught me that himself.

The guards straightened as Kael’s voice grew louder, echoing through the trees. “Crimson Pack has interfered illegally within Wildfire territory.”

Agora looked murderous. “Pathetic coward.”

Kael pressed on, ignoring him. “False succession records were spread through rebel networks.”

My heart was pounding now. I could feel it... he was pinning every crime on us.

“The rebels manipulated a vulnerable girl to destabilize Wildfire.”

The words crushed me. Vulnerable girl. Not daughter. Not princess. Not heir. Just a tool. He was erasing me, making sure no one believed a word I said.

The worst part? It could work.

Kael controlled everything... Wildfire, its guards, the courts, what people heard, what they thought. The truth didn’t matter if he had the louder voice.

Someone in the rebel line cursed under their breath. One looked like he might bolt.

Things were spinning out of control fast.

Kael focused on Agora again. “You should’ve left when I warned you.”

Agora stepped forward, dangerous as a coiled snake. “And you should’ve burned with your lies years ago.”

Weapons came out... guards, rebels alike. One spark, and it would all go up.

Kael just smiled. That little, confident smile cut colder than all his threats.

“You’ve already lost,” he said quietly, almost kindly.

He looked at me one last time. “Both of you just don’t realize it yet.”

He turned his horse. The guards followed, disappearing into the trees.

But before they disappeared, I noticed how they looked at me. Some hate. Some with guilt. And a few, well a few with a kind of raw, uncertain loyalty.

Wildfire was splintering apart. And we were standing right in the middle of it.

The second Kael vanished into the trees, the whole clearing exploded with noise. Everyone started talking at once... panic and confusion everywhere. People argued. One rebel tugged his hair, frantic.

“He’s going to execute anyone tied to us,” he said, voice shaking.

Another spat a curse. “He'll call us traitors in front of everyone.”

“He already has,” someone muttered.

My chest felt like it was caving in. This was my fault. All of it, really... the pack, the rebels, the fear creeping through Wildfire.

Out of nowhere, Agora grabbed my arm, gentle but urgent. “Seraphine.”

I looked up and saw his face change... cold now, almost numb. But not because he was scared for himself. He was scared of what happened next.

“Kael’s getting ready for war.”

That hit me like a punch. My stomach just dropped.

“No…”

“He’s already building his story,” Agora said, voice sharp. “Foreign interference. Rebels. Threats to Wildfire’s independence.”

I stared at him. Hearing all those harsh political words coming from him made it feel way too real.

“He’s turning you into a symbol,” Agora said, eyes hard. “You’ll be either the kidnapped princess or the enemy traitor. And if rebellion spreads...”

“Civil war,” I whispered.

Agora just went silent. He didn’t need to say it. The rebels got quiet too. We all knew. If we stayed, people would die... lots of people. Kael would crush rebellion and rebels wouldn’t back down. Wildfire would rip itself apart.

One older rebel stepped up, voice shaking. “We can still hide you.”

“No,” Agora shot back right away.

The old rebel frowned. “If she leaves now, Kael gets to control everything people believe.”

“He already controls most of it,” Agora said, cold as ice.

I looked at him, voice small. “You want to leave.”

His eyes softened a little when they met mine. “I want you alive.”

I could barely breathe. “But the pack...”

“They’ll burn if we stay.”

Silence. Just silence, because he was right. God, he was right.

I thought about the hungry wolves. The terrified servants. The rebels who’d been carving their marks on stone, waiting for hope, year after year.

The weight sat on me like stones. I couldn’t save them... not now, not like this. I wasn’t strong enough. Kael knew that. That’s why he switched up his plans so fast—not because he’d lost control, but because he got it back.

My throat closed up. “So we just leave them?”

Agora stepped closer, his voice softer. “This isn’t giving up.”

“It feels like it.”

“I know.”

His gentleness almost broke me. He cupped my face in his hands.

“But if we stay, Wildfire tears itself apart before anyone has a chance.”

Tears stung my eyes. “And Kael wins anyway.”

That was the worst part. He’d backed us into a corner... stay and start a war, or leave and let him sink his claws in deeper. Either way, people got hurt.

I hated him for that.

Agora leaned his forehead against mine, just for a moment. “We can come back stronger. Someday.”

Someday. It sounded so far away.

Around us, the rebels watched, waiting, afraid... and something in their faces broke me a little. They already looked at me like I was theirs. Like I was their queen.

Panic knotted my insides. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t even know who I was supposed to be... princess, daughter, mistake, weapon. I was split into pieces.

Agora must have known I was falling apart. He held my face a little tighter. “Breathe.”

So I did. Shaky and weak, but I breathed.

And finally, Agora turned to the others and said what neither of us wanted to say.

“We leave Wildfire. Now.”