Chapter 172 THE WRONG QUESTION

Chapter 172 THE WRONG QUESTION
CHAPTER 172

THE WRONG QUESTION

EMBER

Ragnar held the drawing under the nearest lamp and kept on studying it for a long time. His wings shifted once behind him.

“This is probably the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said.

I nodded. The paper looked even more unsettling in the low light. “It’s confusing. That’s why I’m going to see Brienne. I’m hoping she can give us some answers.”

Ragnar looked at me. “Why would she tell you anything?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged lightly. “But Liana died in a shadow monster attack. Then I find a drawing where she’s covered in shadows. The night before the festival she gave me that bracelet and acted strange. The Seer had mentioned her energy was dark and she couldn't see anything. And the only person we know who was corrupted by dark magic is Brienne.”

Ragnar was quiet for a moment. “You think Liana got corrupted somehow and hid it from you?”

“Maybe from the fight at the arena,” I nodded. “Maybe she hid it and none of us noticed. But the drawing still doesn’t make sense.”

“Then we talk to Brienne,” Ragnar said. “The sight didn’t show me whether she’ll actually help. It only showed that I needed to be with you. That’s why I’m here.”

I nodded. We kept walking until we reached a heavy wooden door set into the stone wall. Cold air leaked from the gaps around it. I turned to Ragnar.

“Are you ready?”

He smirked and arched an eyebrow at me. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

I rolled my eyes, pulled a thin pin from my pocket, and worked the lock. The mechanism clicked open after a few careful turns. I pushed the door. It swung inward with a low creak.

“Weird,” I muttered. “This is the only protection they used for someone supposed to be dangerous.”

Ragnar laughed under his breath. “You didn't notice? The whole building sits under strong magic. The lock doesn’t matter much. It opened for you because of your bloodline. I think this place is tied to it.”

I shrugged, not wanting to think about it that much and stepped inside. Ragnar followed close behind.

The room was larger than I expected. The air smelled of damp stone, old blood, and something sharp and rotten. A single golden cage stood in the center. Inside it, a figure sat with her knees pulled tight to her chest.

I glanced at Ragnar. He gave a short nod. I took a breath and called out.

“Brienne.” I called slowly, like the words hurt me.

The figure lifted her head.

My heart lurched. I staggered back a step.

Brienne looked destroyed. Her eyes were red and hollow, the whites gone completely. The skin that used to be brown was now dull black, cracked all over like dry earth.

Thick purple welts covered her arms and neck, raised and shiny as if something had beaten them into her from the inside. Most of her hair was gone.

Only a few thin patches remained on a bald scalp. She was thin to the point of looking breakable—arms and legs like sticks, ribs showing under the stained white gown that hung off her frame.

Her head looked too large for the rest of her body. Her lips were split and pale. She looked like the opposite of a shadow monster, drained and broken instead of powerful.

Brienne’s voice came out rough and dry. “What do I owe the visit?”

I couldn’t stop staring. My hands tightened on my jacket. “Oh, Brienne… look at yourself.”

She stood up. The movement was stiff and slow. “Save your pity. You’re the one who needs it.”

I forced myself to step closer. The cage bars were thick and cold-looking. “Did you have some kind of group for people infected with dark magic? Perhaps, do you know all of them?”

Brienne stared at me for several seconds. Her red eyes did not blink. Then she threw her head back and laughed. The sound was high and cracked. It bounced off the stone walls.

“Let me guess, you're here because of Liana,” she stated, not even a question but as a fact..

My stomach dropped, but I kept my face still.

Brienne kept laughing. “Is she dead already? Did she leave in some mysterious way? Are you here for answers? Ohhh, poor Emberlyn.”

I straightened my shoulders. “You don’t know anything about my friend. And I think coming here was a mistake. I thought you might help. Clearly the dark magic has taken whatever was left of your mind. You’re a psychopath.”

I turned toward the door. Behind me Brienne’s voice sharpened.

“Liana died in the shadow attack at the festival. Am I wrong?”

I stopped. Slowly I faced her again. “How would you know that? You've been locked in here, away from the outside world.”

Brienne’s cracked lips pulled into a smirk. “Because I know.”

I snatched the drawing from Ragnar’s hand and held it up against the bars. “Do you know what this means?”

Brienne laughed again, softer this time. “Ah. You found Liana’s little dream.”

I blinked back in confusion, “What dream?”

Brienne looked down and began playing with her fingers. “A kingdom with no borders. A world where two thrones become one.”

My fingers tightened on the paper. “What do you mean by that? Did you infect her? Was she in your little group? Tell me everything, Breienne.”

The smirk on Brienne’s face looked painful. “Fire Queen, there is a lot you still don’t know about your heritage, your bloodline, your family tree, and this world. You’re still the same naive girl who showed up at the academy gates in a torn dress, looking battered and had lost her parents. Until you step outside your small space and learn who you really are, your kingdom will be torn from under your feet by the shadow monsters. You will end up nothing but a slave to them.”

Anger flared hot in my chest. What the hell was wrong with her? Why had come to her in the first place? Now I was beginning to think this was indeed a terrible idea.
“Shut up. Just tell me if Liana was infected. That's all I want to know.”

Brienne laughed. "Is that really what you think happened?"

I turned to Ragnar. He was watching the exchange in complete silence, his expression unreadable.

I turned to Brienne and yelled. "Tell me!"

Brienne chuckled darkly, "Tell me first..." She leans against the bars. "Who told you the Dark World created the Ruihs?"

I freezed. "...What?"

Brienne smiled. "Exactly.”

She went quiet and stared at me for a long moment. When she spoke again her voice was almost normal.

“You want the truth? Liana is not who you think she is. Her death is a camouflage.”

“Enough.” Ragnar stepped in front of me before I even realised he had moved. His wings flared once behind him.His eyes never left Brienne.

“What's wrong Ragnar?” I asked.

He looked between us again and then shook his head and stepped back.

I stared at him for a while before turning back to Brienne who's smiling widely, “Did you mean what you said?”

She nodded slowly.

Hope punched through me so hard my knees felt weak. I stepped right up to the cage. “Does that mean she’s alive?”

Brienne let out a long, slow uncomfortable smile and for a second I thought she wouldn't answer me. Not until she opened her mouth and said, "You're asking the wrong question."

I frowned deeply.

Brienne leaned closer, ""The question isn't whether Liana is alive."

She paused and stared at me for a while and then smirked, "The question is who is Liana?”

She shrugged lightly and sat back in the cage, “But if you take my advice and dig into your family line… you are not going to like what you find.”

Then her eyes flashed pure red almost immediately. She slammed both hands against the bars. The metal rang. She snarled like an animal, saliva flying from her mouth.

“Let me out! Let me out of this cage and I will help you!”

She kept banging, the sound sharp and frantic. Something inside me pulled hard toward the cage. I took a step closer without meaning to. My hand started to rise.

Ragnar’s fingers closed around my wrist like a vice. He yanked me backward so fast my feet nearly left the floor. He pulled me out of the room, slammed the door, and locked it. The banging and snarling continued on the other side, muffled now.

Ragnar let out a long breath and looked at me. His usual smirk was gone.

“And I think this is exactly the reason the sight needed me to be with you.”