Chapter 73 THE SECOND FACE OF BETRAYAL
"The plan is simple," Dorian said, placing a dirty stone onto the mine map. "We infiltrate through the ventilation shafts. We’ll use Atlas’s energy to short-circuit the city’s power grid."
"And when the darkness falls," Kael said, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "We’ll be at the top. With our hands around Marcus’s throat."
Serra looked into Dorian’s eyes. "Are these miners ready, Dorian? Are we sending them to their deaths?"
"They’re fighting to live, Serra, not to die. They’re already like the dead down here anyway."
Just then, there was movement at the entrance of the tunnel. The old miner nodded. "Dorian, you have a visitor. He came alone. Unarmed."
Dorian drew his sword. "Who?"
"It’s me, Dorian. Lower your weapon."
Lord Marcus stepped out of the darkness. He wasn't wearing his flamboyant cape; he just had a simple jacket and was holding a white flag.
Kael pressed the rifle against Marcus’s forehead. "Take one more step, and I’ll paint the walls of this tunnel with your brains, old man."
"Hold, Kael," Dorian said, his voice like ice. "Why are you here, Marcus? Did the taste of betrayal turn sour? Or did you come to tell me your hit squad failed?"
Marcus looked at Serra and the baby Atlas in her arms. There was no fear in his eyes, only deep sorrow. "I didn't send the assassins, Dorian. They are a unit not under the Council’s control."
"Oh, please," Serra said mockingly. "You were the one who gave the order for Protocol Omega. We heard it with our own ears."
"I had to play the part!" Marcus shouted. "If I hadn't given that order, the secret members of the Council would have torn you apart at the station in seconds. Pushing you into that tunnel, back into these mines... it was your only way out."
"You expect me to believe that?" Dorian stepped forward. "You declared us traitors!"
"Because the nation itself has been seized, Dorian!" Marcus knelt on the ground. "Why do you think your father erased Valerius from the history books? Just because he was 'defective'? No. Because Valerius had made a deal with that ancient entity beneath the palace—the 'Shadow Council.' I am your family’s last ally within that council."
Dorian paused. "The Shadow Council? They’re just a legend."
"They aren't," Marcus said, lowering his voice. "And you haven't heard the real twist yet. Valerius isn't dead, Dorian. Atlas freezing him was exactly what Valerius wanted. The ice became a shield preserving his rot. They are waiting for him to melt in the palace vaults right now."
Lukas cut in. "That’s impossible! He turned into golden dust!"
"Atlas shattered him, but didn't destroy him," Marcus said. "Now, listen to me carefully. I didn't come here to take you into custody. I brought you a key."
Marcus pulled a jet-black key from his pocket, one that didn't bear the seal of the Volcan family.
"What is this?" Serra asked.
"Your father’s true will," Marcus said, looking at Dorian. "Your father wasn't afraid of Valerius, Dorian; he was afraid of you. He knew Atlas would be born. And he hid the only thing that could stop Atlas in a room opened by this key."
Dorian took the key. It was cold. Cold as death.
"What’s inside?"
Marcus swallowed hard. "You think Atlas has a counterpart, don't you? That Lyra is his balance... You’re wrong. Lyra isn't a balance; she’s a prison guard. And when you enter that room, you’ll understand who Serra really is and why you were chosen as the 'Broken King'."
Serra’s face turned as white as chalk. "What does it have to do with me?"
"You’re not a protector, Serra," Marcus said, standing up. "You were placed into this family not to awaken Atlas’s power, but to sacrifice him. What is your surname... your real surname, Serra?"
Serra took a step back. Dorian looked at his wife. "Serra? What is Marcus talking about?"
Serra went silent. Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't cry.
"The truth is," Marcus said, delivering the final blow. "Serra is Valerius’s daughter. And when Atlas’s power reaches full capacity, Serra was raised to transfer that power back to her father."
Kael turned his rifle toward Serra this time. "What?!"
"He’s lying!" Dorian said, stepping in front of Serra. "It can't be!"
"Ask her, Dorian," Marcus said. "Why is it that whenever Atlas cries, black veins appear in Serra’s eyes instead of silver? Ask her why she never shifted into a wolf?"
Dorian grabbed Serra’s shoulders with trembling hands. "Serra... Tell me the truth."
Serra looked into Dorian’s eyes. Her voice was a whisper. "I... I didn't know, Dorian. I just... sometimes I heard a voice inside me. But I loved you. I loved the children."
"A voice?" Dorian’s world was collapsing. "What voice?"
"Your father’s voice," Marcus said. "Because Serra was the last 'experiment' your father took from Valerius. Dorian, you aren't a king; you’re a prison warden. And this child... this child isn't a baby; he’s an apocalypse engine."
At that moment, Atlas woke up and laughed. But this time, the ground didn't shake. Instead, the skin on Serra’s arms began to be covered with black veins.
"That is the twist, son," Marcus said. "The enemy isn't outside. The enemy is in the veins of the woman you sleep with every night."