Chapter 90 Bloodline
Althea flinched as the words seared through her mind. ‘A child?’ Her pulse quickened, unease coiling in her stomach.
Aloud, the sorcerer spat, “You will all bow to him! The Abyss is coming for you, for all of us!”
Althea steadied herself, forcing calm even as her head throbbed from the flood of thoughts.
She narrowed her eyes at him and asked, “Where is Hades now?”
He thrashed against his chains, sweat breaking across his brow. “Get out of my head, witch!”
Gavriel’s cold gaze flicked to Althea, noticing the sorcerer’s panic. Her knees threatened to buckle but Gavriel’s hand rested briefly on her shoulder, grounding her, though his voice was directed at the prisoner.
“Answer her.”
The sorcerer only laughed through his terror, a jagged, broken sound. “Even if I told you, it would be too late. The Abyss opens soon. His bloodline will pave the way—your walls, your borders, your kingdoms, all of it will crumble!”
Althea winced as another pulse of black energy surged from him, trying to push her out of his mind but she held her ground.
When she finally pulled back, the sorcerer’s chest heaved, his eyes bloodshot and wild. Yet the fear in them told her everything—he hadn’t expected her to pierce so deeply, hadn’t expected his secrets to be dragged into the open.
Gavriel’s jaw clenched. He moved past her, stepping directly in front of the sorcerer. “You’ve already said enough,” he said in a voice that froze the air. “And for that, you will regret not dying sooner.”
The sorcerer only laughed again, but this time there was no triumph, only desperation.
“I haven’t found out about the spies,” Althea admitted as she stepped closer. Her determination burned stronger than her fear.
She fixed her gaze on the sorcerer, her voice firm. “Tell me where Hades is hiding and give me something to identify your spies!”
The sorcerer’s smirk twisted into a snarl. “You dare command me, little witch?” His mind flared with resistance, shadows rising to block her.
Althea pushed harder, her will piercing through the black haze. She forced her way deeper, clawing past his barriers. But the more she pressed, the stronger his defiance grew.
Pain seared her head. Her vision blurred. She didn’t even realize her nose had started bleeding, crimson drops sliding down her lips. Still, she refused to let go.
“Show me… show me where he is…”
The sorcerer roared, straining against the chains. His mind fought her like a storm, lashing back with visions of fire, broken kingdoms, and the looming shadow of Hades himself.
Althea staggered but clenched her fists. “Tell me!” she demanded, her voice trembling but resolute.
The sorcerer’s laughter rang out—manic, triumphant. “You will never win. His heir will open the way. His spies walk beside you already, unseen, unmarked. You cannot stop him!”
The shadows writhed, and Althea felt herself slipping under.
“That’s enough!” Gavriel’s roar cut through the chaos.
In one brutal motion, he stepped forward. His hand blurred, and before the sorcerer could laugh again, Gavriel’s strike was swift and final. The sorcerer’s head snapped to the side, his body collapsing lifeless against the chains.
Silence fell.
Althea swayed, wiping the blood from her nose with the back of her hand. Her chest rose and fell heavily. She wanted to protest, to say she could have found more if given time, but the sharp weight of Gavriel’s presence silenced her.
His icy eyes flicked to her, narrowing at the sight of the blood. “You nearly broke yourself,” he said coldly. Yet beneath that steel edge, there was something else—a fleeting trace of concern he would never admit aloud.
Althea lowered her gaze, still trembling from the strain. “I almost had him…” she whispered.
Gavriel stepped closer, his shadow falling over her. “No,” he said firmly. “You already had more than enough.”
“You shouldn’t have killed him,” Althea said, voice sharp despite the blood on her lip. She pushed to her feet, every movement wobbly. “We could have learned their next move. He’s not alone—there are more of them. This isn’t just here. It’s happening in other continents too.”
Gavriel’s jaw tightened. For a beat, he said nothing, watching her with an unreadable expression.
The torches snapped, throwing his features into hard light. Then he spoke, low and controlled. “He chose madness over words. He smiled and begged for death while promising doom. I had no reason to keep a man who would only spread more poison.”
“He lied in the end,” Althea protested, anger and fear mingling in her tone. “But before he broke, I heard enough—spies in courts, servants marked by darkness, a throne called Hades, and a child, a bloodline, meant to open the way. You can’t pretend that wasn’t something.” She steadied herself against a stone.
“You need to secure the borders and check everyone. Look for patterns. Any face that shifts when you speak of the south. Any courier traveling oddly late. We can find them if we look—if we act.”
Gavriel’s eyes flicked to the empty corpse, then to the dark horizon. For a moment, something unreadable softened his face. “You pushed too far,” he said finally, not unkindly.
“You bled for it.” He stepped closer until his shadow fell over her.
Althea gripped the stone to steady herself. Gavriel noticed and his voice sharpened. “You rest now. You did what I asked. That is enough for tonight.”
‘Here he goes again,’ Althea groaned inwardly, her chest tightening with unease. Gavriel’s face, which had been sharp and unyielding only moments ago, suddenly softened as if a storm had cleared for a brief, unsettling calm. The change was so abrupt it made her skin prickle.
He raised his hand slowly, and Althea’s throat went dry. Her breath hitched, an involuntary gulp slipping past her lips. ‘Was he about to touch her again? Or was this yet another test—another way to keep her guessing, to remind her of the control he held over her?’
Her pulse throbbed in her ears, torn between shrinking back and holding her ground.
But Gavriel’s hand froze midway, his fingertips barely grazing the air near Althea’s cheek. The moment of quiet between them shattered as Simon stumbled in, panting heavily.
“Alpha,” Simon gasped, bending slightly to catch his breath, “I’ve got bad news. Something happened with the wounded guards.” His face was pale, his voice tight with urgency.