Tortured Truth
Chapter 56:
"He's working with the Shadow Council!"
The accusation rang through the village square as Aria raced down the mountain, her golden light blazing like a comet. She could see them now - dozens of her former followers surrounding Lucien, their faces twisted with rage and fear.
"Traitor!" someone shouted.
"Spy!" yelled another.
Lucien knelt in the center of the angry crowd, his hands bound behind his back with silver chains. Blood streamed from cuts on his face where they'd beaten him. His amber eyes found hers across the chaos, and she saw something there that made her heart break. Relief. Even chained and bleeding, he was relieved to see her.
"Stop!" Aria commanded, landing in the square with a burst of power that sent several wolves flying backward. "What are you doing?"
"Protecting ourselves from him!" Captain Ryker, one of her former lieutenants, pointed an accusing finger at Lucien. "He led us into a trap! The Shadow Council was waiting for us!"
"That's impossible," Aria said, but doubt crept into her voice.
"Is it?" Ryker snarled. "We followed his directions to the safe house. When we got there, shadow creatures were everywhere. Half my men are dead because of him!"
"I didn't know," Lucien said weakly, struggling to stay upright. "I swear I didn't know they'd be there."
"Liar!" A woman stepped forward, her wolf form partially shifted with grief and rage. "My son died because of you! My little boy!"
Aria felt the familiar stab of guilt. Another child dead. Another family destroyed.
"Where did you get the information about the safe house?" she asked Lucien quietly.
"Marcus gave it to me," Lucien said. "He said it was secure."
"Marcus?" Aria's blood chilled. "Where is Marcus now?"
"He... he stayed behind to fight the shadow creatures," Ryker said, but his voice faltered slightly.
"Did anyone see him fall?" Aria pressed.
Silence.
"Did anyone see Marcus's body?"
More silence.
"He betrayed us," Lucien said, understanding flooding his battered features. "My own Beta. He's been working for them all along."
"Convenient story," Ryker said coldly. "Blame the man who isn't here to defend himself."
"It's not a story," Aria said, pieces clicking together in her mind. "Marcus has been with you since the beginning, Lucien. He would know all your plans, all your safe houses, all your people."
"The perfect spy," Lucien agreed bitterly. "Someone I trusted completely."
"Trust," spat one of the crowd. "Look where trust got us. Look where trusting you got us, Death Queen."
The words hit Aria like physical blows. She saw the fear in their eyes, the way they flinched back from her light. These people who had once cheered her name now looked at her like she was a monster.
Maybe they were right.
"Untie him," she said quietly.
"No," Ryker said. "He stays chained until we decide what to do with him."
"I said untie him." Aria's voice carried the authority of divine power, but Ryker didn't back down.
"You don't give orders here anymore," he said boldly. "Not after what you did. Not after you showed us what you really are."
"What am I?" Aria asked, stepping closer.
"A killer," Ryker said simply. "A child-killer who hides in caves while good people die fighting your battles."
The crowd murmured agreement. Aria felt their hatred wash over her like poison.
"You're right," she said, surprising everyone. "I am a killer. I did murder an innocent child. I am dangerous and destructive and everything you think I am."
Ryker smiled triumphantly.
"But I'm also the only one who can save him," Aria continued, gesturing to Lucien. "And right now, that matters more to me than what you think of me."
She raised her hands, golden fire dancing between her fingers.
"Last chance," she said calmly. "Untie him, or I'll do it myself."
"You wouldn't dare attack your own people," Ryker said, but uncertainty crept into his voice.
"Wouldn't I?" Aria asked. "You just said I'm a monster. Monsters don't care who they hurt."
The crowd began backing away, suddenly remembering exactly what she was capable of.
"Fine," Ryker said reluctantly. "But when he betrays you again, remember that we warned you."
Two wolves reluctantly cut Lucien's bonds. He collapsed forward, too weak to stand. Without thinking, Aria caught him.
The moment her skin touched his, she felt it. His pain. His exhaustion. His relief at seeing her safe.
But also something else. Something he was trying desperately to hide.
Guilt.
Deep, soul-crushing guilt about something that had nothing to do with Marcus's betrayal.
"Can you walk?" she asked quietly.
"I think so," Lucien said, but when he tried to stand, his legs gave out.
"I'll carry you," Aria said, scooping him up in her arms. Her power formed a protective barrier around them both.
"You came for me," he said wonderingly.
"Of course I did."
"Even after everything? Even knowing how dangerous you are?"
"Especially then," Aria said. "If I'm going to be a monster, at least I can be one who protects the people I love."
They flew up toward the mountain cave, leaving the angry crowd behind. Lucien's head rested against her shoulder, and she could feel his fever through her barrier.
"The torture," she said. "What did they do to you?"
"Beat me mostly," Lucien said, his voice slurring. "Asked me questions. Wanted to know about Shadow Council connections."
"What did you tell them?"
"Nothing," he said firmly. "I would never betray you. Never."
But that guilt was still there, pulsing through their connection like an infected wound.
They reached the cave, and Aria gently laid him down on a bed of soft furs. She started to pull away, but his hand caught her wrist.
"Don't leave," he whispered. "Please. I can't... I can't be alone right now."
"I'm not going anywhere," she promised.
Lucien's eyes were glazed with fever and pain. The beating had been worse than she'd realized. He needed medical attention, but she was afraid to touch him directly. What if her power hurt him worse?
"Aria," he said, his voice barely audible.
"Yes?"
"I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you years ago."
"What is it?"
Lucien's eyes rolled back, and for a moment she thought he'd passed out. Then he spoke again, his words jumbled with delirium.
"The baby," he whispered. "I knew about the baby."
Aria's world stopped.
"What baby?" she asked, though part of her already knew.
"Your mother," Lucien continued, his fever making him ramble. "When she was pregnant with you. I knew you were coming. Knew you were special."
"That's impossible. You would have been just a child yourself."
"My father told me," Lucien said, his words becoming clearer as some terrible truth fought through his delirium. "The prophecy. The Moon-Blessed child who would change everything. He said we had to make sure you grew up broken. Had to make sure you'd be willing to become a weapon."
Aria's hands began to shake.
"What are you saying?"
"Everything," Lucien whispered, tears streaming down his face. "Your parents' death. Your life as an omega slave. My rejection of you at the mate ceremony. All of it was planned."
"No," Aria said, backing away from him.
"My father made me promise," Lucien continued, lost in his feverish confession. "Said if I didn't break you properly, if I didn't make you desperate enough, you'd never reach your full power. Never become what the world needed."
"Stop talking," Aria begged.
"The baby," Lucien said again, his eyes focusing on her with terrible clarity. "I knew about the baby you lost. Our baby. The one you never told me about because you thought I'd reject it too."
Aria's breath stopped completely.
"How?" she whispered.
"Because I caused the miscarriage," Lucien said, the words tearing from his throat like broken glass. "The herbs in your food. The stress. The heartbreak. I made sure you lost our child because my father said a mother's grief would make your power stronger."