Chapter 126 Ashes of Ambition
ADIRA
I can’t breathe.
The moment the Lycan King’s voice declared Iris would live, something in me snapped. It’s like the ground itself shifted beneath my feet. Every plan, every whisper, every careful move I’ve made for years, gone. Torn to shreds in a single heartbeat.
I stalk down the long corridor, my heels striking the marble hard enough to echo. The guards I pass lower their gazes, stepping aside, but I can feel their judgment burning into my back. Let them look. Let them whisper. I don’t care.
My hands shake as I shove open the next set of doors. The scent of cedar and steel fills my nose. Zeus’s room. I don’t even bother to knock.
He’s sitting near the window, a glass of amber liquid in his hand, moonlight cutting across his sharp jawline. He looks up, startled, his golden eyes narrowing. “I’m pretty sure you were taught to have manners.” he snaps. “You don’t just barge into my private chambers!”
“You promised me the crown!” I shout.
The words tear out of me, raw and wild. I don’t even realize I’m shaking until I see the glass in his hand stilling midair. He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Excuse me?” His tone is calm, too calm. That dangerous kind of calm that hides fire underneath.
“You promised me!” I say again, my voice cracking. I move closer, unable to stop myself. “You said once Darian was gone, you’d take the throne. You said I’d be your queen. My father and I, we’ve done everything to make that happen!”
Zeus rises slowly, placing his drink on the table. His expression shifts, irritation darkening into fury. “You think this is my fault?” he says, stepping toward me. “Do you have any idea what I risked? What I’ve done?”
“Oh, don’t act like some tragic hero,” I snap, glaring at him. “You had one job, Zeus. One. And you failed.”
He growls low, the sound vibrating through the air. “Watch yourself.”
“No!” I scream. “I will not! You made promises. You made vows! My father has risked everything, our alliances, our resources, for you. And now you just stand there, drinking, acting like this is all out of your hands?”
His eyes flare gold for a moment. “It is out of my hands,” he bites out. “Do you think I wanted this outcome? You think I didn’t want him to choose that girl over the kingdom? So we could get everything we’ve worked for?” He slams his fist onto the table, the wood cracking beneath the force. “I tried, Adira! I did everything that needed to be done. I even attempted to kill my own father for this plan!”
I’m silent.
He turns sharply toward the window. “It doesn’t matter now. The attempt failed. He’s alive, and everything is ruined.”
I shake my head, disbelief clawing through me. “My father and I stood by you! We covered your tracks. We helped you with everything, the soldiers, the weapons, the poison you wanted, every damn thing. And this is how you repay us? By shrugging your shoulders like a coward while that little wretch gets to walk free?”
Zeus turns on me, eyes blazing. “You think I owe you anything? You and your ambitious father only helped because you wanted power. Don’t pretend it was loyalty.”
“It was loyalty!” I shout, tears stinging my eyes. “You were supposed to be king, Zeus! I was supposed to be your queen! We were supposed to rule together. That was the deal.”
He opens his mouth to reply then stops.
A low, thunderous voice cuts through the air like a blade.
“What did you just say?”
My blood turns to ice.
We both freeze and turn toward the door.
The Lycan King stands there, framed by the doorway. His eyes burn like molten silver. For a long, terrible second, no one breathes. Even the air feels afraid to move.
Zeus goes pale. I can feel my heart hammering against my ribs so hard it hurts. The King’s gaze sweeps the room, cold and sharp, landing first on Zeus, then on me.
“Did I hear you correctly?” he asks, voice dangerously quiet. “You attempted to kill me?”
Zeus’s lips part, but no sound comes out.
The King steps inside, the heavy doors shutting behind him with a final boom. “Answer me,” he says, his voice dropping to a growl.
Zeus finally straightens, trying to hold what little dignity he can. “It wasn’t…” He stops, his jaw working. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”
My knees nearly give out. Fear crashes over me, cold and brutal. Without thinking, I drop to the floor, my palms pressing against the cold stone. “My king,” I whisper, trembling. “Please, forgive me. It wasn’t my fault. It was all Zeus’ plan!”
“Adira,” Zeus hisses through clenched teeth, but I don’t dare look at him. My body shakes uncontrollably as I bow lower.
“It was his idea!” I blurt out, the words spilling before I can stop them. “He came to us, he said if Darian was out of the way, the throne would be his. My father and I only helped because we believed it was the will of the royal bloodline! Please, my king, I swear I didn’t know he’d go so far!”
The Lycan King’s expression doesn’t change. That’s the most terrifying part. No anger. No outrage. Just silence.
Finally, he says, “Guards.”
The word echoes like a death sentence.
Two armored Lycans appear instantly from the corridor, their eyes flicking from him to us.
“Take her,” he says quietly, nodding toward me.
I choke on a sob. “Please…please, my king, have mercy!”
“Take her,” he repeats, voice cold as winter. “And summon her father, Alpha Conan. Now.”
The guards seize my arms, hauling me to my feet. I thrash uselessly, my heels scraping against the marble. “My king! Please! I didn’t mean-”
But his gaze is like stone. “You conspired against your crown. You aided a traitor. Your father will answer for this too.”
They drag me into the corridor. The noise of my own screams feels far away, drowned out by the sound of my heart breaking apart inside my chest.
When I’m thrown to the floor of the great hall, my father is already there. His face is pale, eyes hollow. He doesn’t look at me at first. His gaze is fixed on the Lycan King standing before him, flanked by guards.
“Alpha Conan,” the King says. “You and your daughter have conspired with my son against the throne. What do you have to say for yourself?”
My father swallows hard. “My King, I swear…”
“Don’t,” the King interrupts, voice like thunder. “I’ve heard enough lies tonight.”
He takes a step forward, his power radiating through the hall. “For your treachery, for your deceit, for raising a daughter who would undermine the crown, you are hereby stripped of your title, your lands, and your pack. All of it is seized by the Haven. You are banished. Both of you.”
The words hit me harder than any blow. I gasp, shaking my head. “No. No, please…”
My father finally turns to me then, his expression twisted with rage and shame. “Do you see what you’ve done?” he spits. “Do you see what your foolishness has cost us?”
“Father,” I reach for him, but he jerks away.
“You’ve destroyed everything. Our name, our power, our legacy.” His voice shakes, not with sorrow, but fury. “I told you to be careful. I told you not to trust him. And now look at us.”
“I was trying to help us!” I cry, tears burning down my face. “I did it for us!”
“No,” he says, stepping back as though my very presence disgusts him. “You did it for yourself.”
The King raises his hand. “Enough.”
The guards move forward again. My father lowers his gaze, shoulders heavy, and when he looks back at me, his voice is quiet, cold, final. “You are no daughter of mine.”
The words tear through me like claws. I shake my head, the room spinning. “No. Father, please. Please!”
But he turns away as the guards grab me once more.
The Lycan King’s voice booms across the hall. “Escort them both out. By dawn, I want them beyond the Haven’s borders. And make sure every pack knows, Alpha Conan’s line is no more.”
The guards drag me through the corridor, my cries echoing off the walls. The weight of everything I’ve lost crushes me until I can barely breathe.
By the time we reach the gates, the night air cuts cold against my skin. I look back once and see the lights of the Haven burning like stars behind the iron bars.
Gone.
Everything.