Chapter 146 Torn Between Choices
Chapter 146 Torn Between Choices
LYRIANNE
After the conversation about my grandmother, my father moved on to the reality of the situation in Eron, and I have to admit that I'm shocked, to say the least.
I knew Morian was cold, but I never could have guessed that his greed would reach such an extent. For him to risk the lives of so many innocent people just for the sake of the council... how can it even be worth it?
What sense does it make to kill everyone to get what he wants? What will be left by the time he actually becomes the Alpha Leader?
But the most shocking part...
"I don't understand," I admit. "What do you mean you have dragon blood in your veins?"
My father smiles softly as his gaze returns to my face. He has poured himself another drink and he's sipping it slowly. “My grandfather was a strange man. As a child, I always knew that there was something off about him, but I got my confirmation when I met Marianne for the first time and discovered that the supernatural world actually existed. To humans, they’re all stories, you see. I told you this before, didn’t I?”
I nod.
“Well, my grandfather was a dragon,” he claims. “He was a bitter man and never talked much, and he always walked about like he was in pain. Now, don’t get me wrong—I can't shift into my dragon form. My blood is too diluted with human blood for that. My father wasn’t a shifter either. The dragon gene… it fades quick. Only two purebloods can create another. I don’t believe you can shift either. But dragon blood is strong, too, and it has magical powers of all sorts.”
This has to be the strangest thing I’ve ever heard. “So, you’re human and dragon?”
“Something like that,” he claims. “And that makes you a triblood, doesn’t it? You’re the first of your kind, Lyrianne. There’s no one else on earth like you. How does that feel?”
It makes me feel like even more of an alien than I already do, but I don’t tell him that. What would even be the point?
It suddenly occurs to me, though, why the dragon rune had an effect on me and not on everyone else. My eyes widen at the realization, and my father asks, “You do know something, don’t you?”
I shake my head. “I couldn’t make sense of it when it happened, but I saw something once. I had a vision.”
The cave. The old woman.
Could it all have been real?
“A vision, huh?” he asks. “Your mother had those, too. And that was what got her killed. Don’t listen to them, Lyrianne. Nothing good can come of listening to your inner voice. It’s not here. It’s not part of our world. It doesn’t understand the mechanics behind everything else.”
I don’t make a comment, mostly because I still can’t get over the fact that Mrs. Osmond turned my mother away when she found out she was pregnant with me, and that was what led to her being killed eventually.
Is that why she treated me so nicely? Because of what she did? Did she ever regret it?
“Now, about the dragon world,” he says, interrupting my train of thought. “You’re going to have to be tough to face them. I’ve met several dragons in the course of my life and they’re the harshest people you’ll ever come across.”
“What am I going to do there?” I ask at last. He mentioned it earlier, but I have no idea what he wants me to do there.
“I’m not so sure either, but they’re demanding to see you. Since we’re allies now, I couldn’t deny them the honor.”
I frown. “That’s it?”
He gives me a measured look. “You don’t think that’s a good enough reason?”
I don’t know why, but as soon as he asks me this question, I become convinced that there’s more to the story. There’s a lot more he isn’t telling me about this trip.
Smiling slowly, he says, “Yes. You’re right about that. There’s a reason why I’m sending you to the dragon world. But, of course, the choice is still entirely up to you if you want to go or not.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s simple. Morian Zicco and I have an arrangement,” he claims, and it doesn’t escape my notice how he says Morian’s name. He practically spits it out bitterly. “He handed you to me in support of the war of his against his own kind. His greed knows no bounds, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s none of my business either. I’m not particularly fond of the werewolf world. They could all rot. I couldn’t care less.”
He watches me carefully after he says this, but I don’t know what he’s searching for in my face. He then says, “But Morian is still an enemy to me. He could’ve saved your mother, but his lupine jealousy got in the way, and now he thinks that I’ll keep my honor. You see, Lyrianne, the dragons are on my side, not his, and the dragons are essential to all this. They play a role bigger than you think.”
“Why is that?”
“The only reason why your blood holds the cure is that you’re part dragon,” he says plainly. “Normal dragons would be able to rid Eron of the sickness in a heartbeat, just by flying in the atmosphere. You see, the sickness originates from them, and the cure lies with them, too. They could stop this, and they will, at the right time. When Morian gets what he wants.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“It’s simple. If you choose to save the werewolf world and strike a deal with the dragons, you’re free to do it. I couldn’t care less about Morian Zicco or his plans. You’re safely out of Eron now. I don’t need him anymore. In fact, we don’t even have a deal anymore. My deal is with his son, who wants me to keep the promise I made to his father, under one condition, that is.”
I frown and ask, “Which is?”
He waits for a beat, then says, “He wanted my certainty that all the Delacourts would be killed when the time came. When the dragons invaded, that is.”
Something inside of me hardens. Goddess, things with Finn just get worse and worse.
What kind of monster is he?
“So, it’s up to you. What’s it going to be? Do you love the wolves enough to save them, considering you’re an expert at just how cruel they can be, or will you damn them all to a painful death?”
I have to admit that despite how cruel and harsh his words are, I hesitate.