Chapter 87 Eighty-Seven.

Chapter 87 Eighty-Seven.


OLIVIA’S POV.

After hearing everything the guards have to say, I don’t enter the dining area. I turn around instantly, my heart hammering violently against my ribs as I practically sprint back down the corridor toward the safety of my room.

I slam the door behind me and lean my back against the wood, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. My mind is completely exploding with what I just overheard.

Sven dropped the bounty? He pulled the scouts back from searching for my brother? Did he actually pardon Kyle in secret?

But, why would he do that? What is he up to? Just yesterday he was talking about serving justice and enforcing the laws of Māui. It makes no sense. Is he really doing this because of me, or is there a completely different game he is playing that I can't see?

I pace the length of the room, my hands trembling as I press them against my temples.

The words of those guards keep repeating in my head. They are beginning to question Sven’s authority. They think he’s losing his mind over a slave, over me. If the packs turn on him because of this, it would only make Orion’s plans of the whole kingdom being against him easier. And it will only descend into a bloody civil war.

Knock! Knock!!

The sudden sound makes me jump. Before I can even move, the handle turns and the door swings open.

Isadora walks into the room. She looks just as immaculate as always, her red robes trailing smoothly against the floor, but her brow is slightly furrowed. She stops when she sees me standing frozen by the door.

“Olivia,” Isadora says, her voice soft. “I came to see how you are doing. And to ask... what was it you wanted to tell me yesterday when I was on my way to the council meeting?”

I swallow the lump of anxiety in my throat, looking at her. “I wanted to warn you. I overheard Eliana talking to Adrian. Adrian claims he has absolute evidence that you are a traitor to the crown. Eliana said Sven is planning to replace you with him, and then Adrian is going to marry her.”

Isadora stares at me for a split second. Then, she laughs.

It is a genuine, clear laugh that echoes lightly off the stone walls. She shakes her head, a tight but amused smile playing on her lips. “Adrian? A traitor? Oh, Olivia, you really shouldn’t fill your head with the desperate delusions of slaves and low-ranking gammas. My conscience is perfectly clean. Adrian can weave whatever fairy tales he likes, but King Sven knows exactly where my loyalty lies. Do not waste another second worrying over that nonsense.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, her calm reaction settling my nerves just a little. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” she nods, adjusting the sleeve of her red robe. “I have far more important things to manage than Adrian’s petty grab for power.”

As she turns to leave, the guards conversation flashes back into my mind. I step forward, stopping her before she can reach the door handle. “Isadora, wait. Is it true?”

She halts, looking back over her shoulder. “Is what true?”

“The bounty,” I whisper, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. “I overheard the guards near the kitchen. They said Sven officially withdrew the bounty on my brother's head this morning. Is it true?”

Isadora turns around fully, studying my face. The amusement vanishes from her expression, replaced by a serious, quiet nod. “It is true, Olivia. The ledger was cleared at dawn. The posters are already being torn down from the city gates.”

My breath hits my chest hard. “Why? Why would Sven do that after everything he said?”

“To be completely honest with you, I do not know that myself,” Isadora admits, crossing her arms over her chest. “It is the most merciful, uncharacteristic thing I have ever seen King Sven do even before he took the throne. He has been doing that a lot since he met you, Olivia. The high council is furious, and the alpha pack leaders are already throwing a fit in the council room. It is a massive political risk for him, especially now there is unrest within the Kingdom about a loose Fae who the King ordered to not be attacked.”

“Kyle wouldn’t hurt anyone, unless he was protecting someone. I swear by Elysia,” I say thinking about my brother and how he must have been protecting Katniss and himself.

Isadora gives me a long, calculating look but says nothing.

Her words echo heavily in my chest as she moves; From the most ‘merciful and uncharacteristic’ thing he has done to ‘He has been doing that since he met you.’

Could it… be?

Suddenly, Maggi’s words come rushing back to haunt me. ‘And God help us all if Sven finds out his brother has come in contact with his most prized possession.’

I think about the window incident for the billionth time too, and how he had quickly taken his energy before I could even test Maggi theory. I thought he did that because he didn’t care about me anymore. But now, I wonder if he did that because he did not want me to confirm his feelings for me.

Unless I am being delusional because after all he did say he does not care for me, but if he does not care, why would he risk his own crown and his authority to pardon my brother?

Is it actually possible?

Is it even remotely possible that Sven harbours something real inside of him for me?

Does the devil himself actually feel something akin to love?

“I see you’ve stopped referring to King Sven as King Sven,” Isadora’s voice snaps me out of my dizzying thoughts.

I blink, confused. “What?”

“You refer to King Sven as ‘Sven’,” she makes air quotes with her fingers. “I just noticed it. Not out of arrogance or defiance, but it’s sweet.”

This time, I am the one left saying nothing. It’s something I never really paid attention to… the sudden change…

Isadora gives me a warm smile before turning back toward the door. Then, she stops at the door, looking back at me as if she just remembered the entire purpose of her visit. “I almost forgot the actual reason I came down here to see you.”

“What is it?” I ask, a sudden wave of fresh dread washing over my stomach.

“King Sven has ordered a public gathering in the main square tonight,” Isadora explains, her voice dropping into a formal, somber tone. “You and the Ripper Ghost will be presenting yourselves to the people of Māui. There is to be a feast held in the center of the square.”

I frown, my heart skipping a beat. “A feast? For what?”

“It is an ancient tradition for the finals of the Dance of the Dead,” Isadora says. Her ocean blue eyes lock onto mine, and for the first time, I see a deep, heavy flicker of pity drowning her gaze. “It is called the Last Supper. Because three days from now, one of you will inevitably die in that arena.”

She looks at my small frame to my bruised neck, and the utter lack of hope in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. She doesn’t expect me to survive the fight against the Ripper Ghost.

And truthfully, especially when my only hope lies in my broken staff, neither do I.

“I will send over something decent for the occasion,” Isadora says softly, stepping out into the corridor. “The carriages leave at dusk.”

The door clicks shut, leaving me completely alone in the suffocating silence of my room.