Chapter 110 Arrest Him
Samael returned on the third night, just before moonrise, as promised.
He strode through the eastern gate with a white fur coat draped over his shoulders its surface shimmering faintly, dotted with hues of sapphire, emerald, and gold, like starlight caught in snow. In his arms, he carried a bundle of plants wrapped in damp cloth: moonpetal root, duskwillow bark, and something else rare, silver-veined, pulsing faintly with inner light.
Darius was waiting for him at the courtyard archway, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
“Took you long enough,” Darius said, voice low.
Samael shrugged the coat higher on his shoulders. “Had to go deep into the Veil Thorne. These don’t grow by the roadside.”
Darius stepped closer. “Where exactly did you go that was so urgent?”
Samael met his gaze, calm, unflinching. “I wanted to surprise Mira. She said Alberto’s healing is slow because the poison left residue in his marrow. This” he lifted the bundle “is Ashenbloom. It only grows under twin moons in the Hollow Glade. It’ll purge the last traces. He’ll be strong by coronation.”
Darius studied him. Then his eyes dropped to Samael’s sleeve.
There was blood on it.
Not fresh, dried, dark, flaking at the edges but unmistakable.
“What happened to your arm?” Darius asked, voice sharpening.
Samael glanced down as if noticing it for the first time. “Oh. That.” He shrugged. “Ran into some disturbance on the way back. Bandits. Or rogue wolves. Didn’t ask. Finished them off before they could slow me down.”
Darius didn’t blink. “You killed them.”
“They attacked first,” Samael said simply. “I didn’t come all this way to get robbed over herbs.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Darius said, “Eliana’s dead.”
Samael didn’t stop walking. Didn’t pause. Didn’t even flinch.
He just kept moving toward the infirmary wing, voice flat. “She deserves it.”
Darius stared after him, jaw tight. “You’re not even surprised.”
“No,” Samael called over his shoulder without turning. “People like her always fall. Just a matter of when.”
And then he was gone, disappearing into the shadowed corridor, the white fur coat trailing behind him like a ghost.
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Later that night, Samael went to Fernando’s chamber.
The Alpha was seated by the fire, sharpening a dagger, his face half-lit by flame. Alberto slept in the bed behind him, breathing steady, color finally returning to his cheeks.
Fernando didn’t look up when Samael entered.
“You’re back,” he said.
“Brought the Ashenbloom,” Samael replied, setting the bundle on the table. “Mira will brew it tonight. He’ll be ready for the ceremony.”
Fernando set the dagger down. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face Samael.
“Did you eliminate Eliana?”
The question hung in the air, sharp as a blade.
Samael didn’t hesitate. “No. I did no such thing.”
Fernando stood, stepping closer until only a breath separated them. His voice dropped, low and dangerous. “If you had done it… I wouldn’t think of our friendship. I’d hand you over to her father myself. Let him tear you apart in the southern square.”
Samael rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do it.”
He turned to leave.
But at the door, he paused, muttering under his breath just loud enough for Fernando to hear.
“Besides… Did the killer even leave evidence pointing to me?”
Then he walked out, closing the door softly behind him.
Fernando stood motionless for a long moment, staring at the closed door.
Outside, the wind howled through the trees.
And somewhere in the dark, the truth waited silent, patient, and stained with blood.
Three days had passed since Samael’s return.
He stood in the training yard, sweat glistening on his brow, barking orders at a line of young warriors as they sparred with wooden staves. His voice was sharp, his movements precise. He hadn’t slept much. Hadn’t eaten properly. And he hadn’t seen Alberto not since delivering the Ashenbloom to Mira. There’d been no time. Duty called, and Samael answered, as he always did.
He also hadn’t seen Darius.
Not until now.
The gate to the yard slammed open.
Darius strode in, flanked by four armored guards elite betas, handpicked from Fernando’s inner circle. Their faces were grim, hands resting on sword hilts.
Samael paused mid-sentence, frowning. “What’s this?”
Darius didn’t stop walking. He stopped just a few paces away, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
“Arrest him,” Darius ordered.
The guards hesitated.
Their eyes flickered between Darius and Samael between the Gamma Wolf who trained them and the Alpha’s right hand who commanded them. Confusion warred with loyalty in their gazes.
Samael blinked, stunned. “What?”
He turned fully to Darius. “Arrest me? For what?”
Darius stepped closer, voice low but carrying. “Do you really want to embarrass yourself out here? In front of those who still bow to you?”
Samael’s jaw tightened. He straightened, shoulders squaring. “If I’m being accused of something, name it. Don’t play games.”
Darius smiled a cold, thin thing that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Fine.” He turned to the guards. “Read the charges.”
One of the elite guards held the scroll, cleared his throat nervously, then recited from memory: “The Alpha personal Gamma Samael is hereby charged with conspiracy to poison Alberto the forest keeper under false identity Beau Crante, in cooperation with Eliana of the Southern Ember Pack. Additionally, he is accused of the murder of said Eliana and her retinue to conceal his involvement and protect state secrets.”
Silence crashed over the yard like a wave.
The warriors lowered their staves. The air grew thick.
Samael stared at Darius, disbelief twisting into outrage.
Then he laughed.
It started low, rough, disbelieving. Then it burst out of him, loud and sharp, echoing off the stone walls.
“You’ve got to be joking,” he said, shaking his head. “Is this some kind of test? A prank?”
Darius didn’t smile this time. “Guards. Hold him.”
They moved reluctantly, stepping forward with clear discomfort.
Samael held up his hands. “Wait! I didn’t do any of that! I would never never harm Alberto. You know that! I see him as a brother!”
He struggled as two guards grabbed his arms, but he didn’t fight back, not really. Not yet.
“I protected him!” Samael shouted, voice cracking. “I shielded him when no one else would! And now you’re saying I poisoned him? That I killed Eliana to cover it up? That’s insane!”
Darius walked slowly toward him, boots crunching on the gravel.
He stopped inches away, close enough that only Samael could hear what came next.
His voice dropped to a whisper, laced with something dangerous something personal.
“Is that true?” Darius murmured, eyes locked on Samael’s. “Do you really see him as a brother… or do you have a crush on him?”