Chapter 132 132
Venessa’s POV
“I don’t want to leave him,” I sobbed. “Five months isn’t enough time to have anything at all. It will pass in the blink of an eye. Why can’t you let me have my happily ever after? Let me hold my children in my arms, watch them grow, live a long life with my mate why?”
“I’m sorry, Venessa,” she said, her voice breaking. “I take full responsibility for your pain. Truly, I do.”
She tightened her hold on me. “I will find another way. Please don’t give up.”
I looked at her through my tears. “How can I give up when the weight of the world is on my shoulders? How can I stop when the future of everyone depends on what I do? You’ve put me in a position where I cannot give up. I dare not.”
She held me quietly.
After a moment, I pulled back. “What did you want to tell me?” I asked, knowing she hadn’t appeared only to comfort me.
She hesitated. “I only wanted to console you… to ease your broken heart.”
I nodded and stepped away from her. “Then who is the king in Eshera’s camp?” I pressed, forcing us back to strategy.
She frowned. “At this point, I don’t know. I’m confused. Your father stands with us. Fabian stands with us. Donovan stands with us. Unless there is another king or unless she was referring to her son as the Lycan king. He is descended from a king, after all.”
I realized then that she was just as uncertain as we were.
“Then we stay alert,” I said. “Until it becomes clear who she meant.”
She nodded.
“Very well. It’s time for me to wake up and deal with Elder Orville.”
The white space began to dissolve, and when my eyes opened, I was back in Denzel’s arms. He was fast asleep. Evening light filtered in through the window.
“Father,” I linked him.
“Venessa,” he replied immediately. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I assumed you were resting. Orville is here. Dinner will be served in forty-five minutes. I intend to arrest him afterward.”
Of course he would wait until after dinner. My father had always favored spectacle.
All the elders and high-ranking officers would be present. Hopefully, Orville would reveal everyone he had whispered to because the last thing I wanted was traitors surrounding us, feeding our movements to the enemy.
“We’ll be there,” I said, severing the link.
I woke Denzel gently. When he stirred, I noticed the weight on him had eased slightly. I decided then that he wouldn’t accompany me for the remaining days of the procedure I couldn’t risk him breaking again.
We showered to prepare for dinner, and beneath the water, Denzel held me like he was afraid to let go. One thing led to another, and we moved from the shower to the bed. He was intense, desperate, as though trying to anchor himself to me through touch.
By the time we finished, my body was spent but my stomach growled loudly.
We both laughed.
Seeing him smile again eased something in my chest. I prayed that when I was gone, he would one day find another reason to smile.
We entered the dining hall, and to my surprise, Rayon was there as well. I smiled at him before taking my seat.
The elders greeted me respectfully. My gaze drifted to Orville. Dark veins still traced the corners of his eyes.
I forced myself to smile and pretended he looked entirely normal. A quick scan of the room confirmed it he was the only one marked.
Food was served, and I ate hungrily. I hadn’t realized how ravenous I was until Nyla linked me, attributing it to my display of power during the assembly, the intense intimacy earlier, and the hormones injected into me.
It made sense.
Once the meal ended, my father raised a hand, stopping everyone from leaving. Guards entered the room, and tension rippled through the elders.
The last time guards had entered the dining hall, Ashani, Jahlil, and Rochelle had been arrested.
Fear was understandable.
“It has come to my attention,” my father announced, “that there are traitors among us working with our enemy, Tremaine.”
At his signal, the guards moved.
Silver clamps snapped around Orville’s wrists.
“Double the chains,” I ordered calmly. “He may be immune.”
Orville’s eyes widened.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.
My father laughed. “I’ll tell you exactly what it means. You attempted to recruit Fabian for Tremaine. He confessed everything your plans, your intentions.”
Gasps filled the room.
Orville’s expression shifted. The mask slipped. He began to laugh.
“What are you afraid of, King Jamar?” he taunted. “You know he is the rightful king the son of the goddess. Your bloodline holds no dominion anymore. Your demigod legacy has been stripped by mortality. He is the new lineage of kings.”
He laughed harder. “Your days are numbered.”
That was when I stood.
And I decided to show him exactly what my bloodline was made of.