Chapter 130 130
Venessa’s POV
Fabian’s gaze darted nervously around the room before he shifted in his seat, straightening as though bracing himself for what he was about to say.
“When I learned about your crowning, I was furious,” he admitted. “I believed King Jamar was deliberately ensuring I would never succeed him. I thought the decree was meant to cut me out entirely. So I began searching for ways to overturn it ways to stop the crowning altogether. And at the same time, I had to prepare for the possibility that it would still go through. I knew that once you were crowned, I would need an army. My daughter and I… we were not kind to you.”
His voice faltered, but he didn’t stop.
It was safe for him to call Jalisa his daughter. She might not share his blood, but he was the man who raised her. I bit back the sharp reminder that he had once been willing to marry her off to bandits in the name of so-called peace.
He had already crossed the point of no return. Whatever absolution or relief he was chasing, the only way forward was through the truth.
“After the coronation dinner,” he continued, “one of the King’s Elders approached me. I believe it was Elder Orville.”
Denzel stiffened, his attention snapping fully into place. That was the same corrupt Elder Atabey had already exposed to me.
“He told me he believed I would make a better king,” Fabian said. “He said a daughter not raised within the palace, not molded by royalty, could never truly rule the kingdom. He argued that succession should be decided by capability, not blood. That there was only so much a slave-turned-Luna could accomplish.”
The sheer boldness of it made my stomach twist. Orville hadn’t even bothered to cloak his treachery.
“He promised to show me how to take the throne,” Fabian went on. “Even while King Jamar was still alive. He said the King would be left with no choice but to allow it. And then he told me he knew someone someone with immense power who could provide the strength and army I would need to succeed.”
I finally understood why black veins hadn’t crept into the corners of Fabian’s eyes, despite the darkness of what he was plotting. He truly believed he was acting for the greater good.
“So,” Denzel asked evenly, while King Donovan stared in open disbelief, “what did you say?”
Fabian let out a slow breath. “You know better than anyone how much I wanted this. I agreed.”
The room felt impossibly still.
“He said he would take me to meet the man after the assembly. He described him as a Lycan with unimaginable power the King’s half-sibling. A demigod, birthed by the Moon Goddess herself. He promised he would prove it to me when we met. Above all, he claimed the man was the rightful heir to the throne, but that he preferred a solitary life.”
Nyla snorted, barely holding back laughter.
Fabian didn’t notice.
“He told me this man would support my ambition. That he would become a force I could lean on when the time came. Orville was convincing disturbingly so. I said yes. He was meant to take me to see him this evening. Something about the man not appearing when the sun is high in the sky.”
I knew immediately who he was talking about.
Atabey, Nyla laughed in my head. I was grateful she kept it there. Mocking Fabian aloud would have undone everything.
It had taken immense restraint for him to confess what he had just revealed. If I humiliated him now, he would retreat into that cruel, defensive shell of his and become far more dangerous.
That restraint, that fragile honesty, was Fabian’s greatest strength.
“Eshera has limits,” Atabey said calmly. “Her son inherited them. Neither of them can endure prolonged exposure to the sun. Their strength peaks when the sun is setting.”
I locked that information away instantly.
Noon, then.
Knowing your enemy’s weakness wasn’t optional it was survival. This wasn’t about light itself, but the ultraviolet rays. I was already planning how to weaponize it, how to test it. We had three months to prepare.
I didn’t know why that number felt right. Something told me Atabey had chosen it for a reason. I hoped she would eventually explain.
“So he intends to take you to this man,” I said aloud.
Fabian nodded.
“And what do you want to do now?” I asked. The question sounded foolish, but it wasn’t. Atabey’s command wove through my words, compelling honesty.
“I was hoping we could use the meeting as a trap,” Fabian said. “I want to believe he’s a bastard because your grandfather only ever had one mate, and she was certainly not a goddess. I thought… maybe when Orville takes me to him, you could end him.”
The weight of his sense of duty stunned me. He was willing to put himself directly in danger for the sake of the kingdom. Eshera did not own his heart.
“It won’t work that way,” I said gently but firmly. “Orville is only his whisperer. He won’t take you straight to him. First, he’ll take you to a handler someone who will decide whether you’re worthy of receiving his gifts. You would have to be converted before they ever allow you to meet him.”
Fabian’s face tightened.
“We cannot let that happen,” I continued. “No matter how you see it, both you and Donovan are critical to this war.”
I met his eyes. “You will tell Orville you’ve changed your mind. That you’re content with the current arrangement. Then you’ll return home and do exactly as I say.”
He listened.
“Secure your territory. Build your army. Each Alpha will strengthen their own forces within their lands. As King, your role is to unify them forge them into a single force.”
I turned to Donovan. “Both of you will do this. When the time comes, you will merge your forces with the Lycans, and we will go to war. But above all, you must be vigilant. Corruption is the true enemy.”
Fabian nodded without hesitation. Donovan’s loyalty was absolute.
I couldn’t help wondering which king Eshera had been boasting about.
That uncertainty unsettled me more than anything else. Even Atabey didn’t know who or what Eshera was referring to when she claimed to hold the heart of a king.
All we could do now was wait.
And prepare.