Chapter 72 Chaos is my weapon
ZEUS
I don’t bother knocking.
I’m halfway down the corridor to Father’s study when his voice rips through the thick oak door.
“Don’t come in.”
I freeze, breath caught. Of course he smells me. Of course he knows.
“I just need a few minutes,” I call, stepping closer anyway.
A long silence stretches.
“To redeem yourself?” He finally speaks, his voice holding a tad bit of mockery on it. I wince, my eyes closing.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation.
Another pause. Then paper shuffles, and I hear the slight scrape of his chair. “Enter.”
I push the heavy door open. The study reeks of ink, leather, and cold authority. He’s behind his desk, flipping through a stack of maps and reports, eyes never rising to meet mine.
I take a step inside. “Father, I am…I didn’t mean to-”
“I don’t care for sappy apologies,” he snaps, cutting me off, still not looking at me. “Say what you came to say.”
I grit my teeth. He always does this, cuts before I swing.
“Darian is missing.”
His hand stills over a document, but he doesn’t lift his eyes. “And?”
“And he knows,” I say. “About the plan. To kill Iris.”
Now he looks up.
“How?” he growls.
I shrug. “All I know is, he’s very likely taking her somewhere you can’t reach her right now.”
The temperature drops. Father rises slowly, as if the weight of fury pulls him upward. The papers on his desk scatter as his hand clenches into a fist.
“He what?”
I brace.
“I said…”
“I heard you!” he roars, and the windows tremble. “That insolent, reckless…” he pauses to catch his breath, slapping his palm against his forehead.
He storms past me, the door crashing against the wall as he throws it open and strides into the hall, fury radiating off him like waves of heat.
“SOLDIERS!” he bellows, voice thundering through the Haven like a war horn.
I trail behind him, heart pounding, not with fear, but something colder. Satisfaction that I haven’t felt in quite a while.
Doors slam open down the corridors. Footsteps echo as startled guards rush from their posts. Father barrels into the main living hall, and within seconds, the entire household is scrambling.
Adrian appears first, shirt half-buttoned, brows drawn. “What’s happening?”
Kelvin’s right behind him, blade strapped on, sensing war. “Is it an attack?”
An attack? You could say that. I fought the chuckle that threatened to spill from my throat.
Adira floats in like smoke, perfect and composed, though her eyes flash with irritation. “Who is screaming like a madman?”
Shall we talk about how insolent this girl is? Honestly, even I wouldn’t want her so I do not blame Adrian at all.
Alpha Conan steps out from the council chamber, arms folded, gaze sharp. “What is this chaos?”
Father ignores all of them.
“Bring me every available guard. Every trained scout. Every tracking unit,” he barks. “NOW.”
The soldiers rush in, lining up in a frantic half-circle before him, armor clinking and weapons at the ready.
Father’s eyes blaze.
“ Darian has committed treason. He’s taken the girl, Iris, and fled.”
Treason? That’s wayyyy better than I even imagined.
Gasps ripple across the room. Adira’s face twists in disbelief. Adrian stares at me. Kelvin shifts uneasily.
“You are to find them,” Father continues, pacing like a storm. “Search every border, every cave, every cursed tree root in this land. Tear the sky open if you must. Do not come back until you’ve brought them to me, alive or not.”
The last part lands hard. Although they wouldn’t dare kill Darian, I wish they would. It’ll make things absolutely easier for me. The throne would be mine in a finger snap.
I stay silent, watching the panic spread like wildfire. The soldiers bow and scatter. Doors slam. Boots thunder across stone.
It’s working.
Father’s voice fades behind the chaos. He’s muttering about betrayal, about disobedience, about ungrateful heirs and useless bloodlines. But I don’t hear all of it, not clearly. I’m too focused on the silence blooming inside me.
The plan is perfect.
Darian will protect Iris. He always would. That was never the question.
But in doing so, he’s handed me everything.
By going rogue, by disobeying Father, he’s done exactly what I needed him to do. He’s proven he can’t be trusted. He’s shown himself too emotional, too unstable, too willing to risk the kingdom for one girl.
And me?
I’ve stayed.
Loyal.
Obedient.
Strategic.
Exactly what Father values.
I step toward the edge of the hall, letting the others scramble, letting the mess unfold around me. No one looks at me with suspicion, only confusion. Only questions.
Good.
Let them wonder.
Let them run.
Let them chase shadows while I sit here, waiting, wearing the mask of the loyal son, the one who tried to do the right thing.
Because by the time they realize the truth, by the time Darian fails to return, or returns too late, I’ll be the only heir left standing.
And the crown?
It’ll fall right into my hands.
Just how I’ve always wanted and boy, can I not wait.