Chapter 71 The Truth II
Jordan stated at Fernanda in shock of what he had just heard. “Damon... Is truly dead?” he repeated her words again, realizing so much had already happened.
“You seem too surprised father, what is it?” Fernanda stated. Jordan shook his head, ”It's nothing, I just didn't expect Damon to be killed off just like that. It seemed almost impossible when I and your mother went head to head against him fifteen years ago." He told Fernanda.
“Well Sebastian isn't just an ordinary man,” Fernanda couldn't believe she was saying this about Sebastian in front of her father who she had once hated for marrying her off to him. “Besides, he wasn't going to leave alive either way. I would have killed him myself if I knew the exact truth then.”
Jordan straightened his back, ”Your powers have been awakened.“ He simply stated with a small smile that Fernanda could swore for a second was a proud one. ”It was about time.“ She responded.
“Now there would be so many things at stake with your powers awakened. You possess something huge, something kingdoms have been warring for, for years. It puts you in great risk.” Jordan said, sighing deeply. “I am sure Sebastian knows this too, he needs to protect you more.”
“He knows. And I'm also well aware of the lurking dangers and impending war. Which is why I need you to clarify something for me regarding the order.” Fernanda said, fiddling on the ring on her forefinger.
“Which is?”
“You mentioned something about my mother being the leader of the fifteenth rank of shadow wielders before Damon got her exiled. Does that mean there are other higher ranks of shadow wielders?“ Fernanda asked.
A conflicted expression settled on Jordan's face as he stared at his daughter's face. “Fernanda...” he started to say but she stopped him, ”Please Father, I need to know who my enemies and allies are in this new world I have come to realize. I need to know who or what to look out for.“ She said pleadingly.
After a moment of quiet, the alpha finally spoke.
“Everything that you've come to know about the order was just the tip of the iceberg. The truth about the organization goes way deeper than anything you've seen.” Fernanda knew she shouldn't be surprised to hear that but she couldn't help it. Just how much did she not know?!
“But one important thing you need to know is that,” Jordan continued, “Although they may all have the same cause–to obtain the catalyst, not all of them are bad people. There are some ranks with good intentions.”
Fernanda scoffed, ”That is impossible to believe, aren't they all linked together? united by a single cause.“
“No. They aren't. They may be united by the same cause but each rank's ways of achieving that cause, is different.” Jordan clarified. Fernanda still shook her head, unable to understand how that was possible.
“Before she died, your mother told me she had friends that she trusted in the fourth and tenth rank.”
“They trusted your mother too,” he said slowly, choosing his words with care. “That alone tells you how different they were from the rest of the Order.”
Fernanda leaned forward in her seat. “Then I have to find them.”
Jordan’s eyes snapped to hers. “No.”
The sharpness of his response surprised her.
“You don’t even know who they are,” he continued. “Or where they are. Lilith never told me. She said the less I knew, the safer they would be. And the safer you would be.”
Fernanda exhaled through her nose, frustration curling in her chest. “So you’re telling me my only possible allies in the Order are faceless ghosts.”
Jordan nodded grimly. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll search for them anyway,” she said without hesitation.
He studied her for a long moment — really studied her — and something in his gaze shifted. Gone was the father clinging to the last fragments of control. In his place stood an Alpha who finally understood that his daughter was no longer someone the world happened to.
“She truly left you no choice,” Jordan murmured, more to himself than to Fernanda.
“She raised me knowing this day would come,” Fernanda replied softly. “I won’t waste that.”
The room fell quiet again, the weight of everything unsaid pressing in.
A subtle movement caught Fernanda’s attention. One of Sebastian’s soldiers stood near the far wall, his posture still but alert. He met her eyes briefly and inclined his head — a silent signal.
Time.
Fernanda rose slowly. “It’s getting dark. I have to leave.”
Jordan stood immediately. “Already?”
She nodded. “Sebastian will have my head if I don’t return before dusk fully settles.”
Jordan let out a small, humorless chuckle. “I suppose I should be grateful you have someone like him watching over you.”
Fernanda didn’t respond to that. Instead, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. Jordan stiffened for only a second before returning the embrace, holding her tighter than he had in years.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For finally telling me the truth.”
“I should have done it sooner,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”
She pulled back, offering him a faint smile. “Do better going forward. That’s all I ask.”
As she turned toward the door, her gaze drifted — just slightly — toward the archway leading into the corridor.
That was when she saw Caroline.
The woman stood half-hidden behind the doorway, one hand pressed against the wall, her face pale and tight. She had clearly been listening for some time now.
Fernanda stopped walking.
“Caroline,” she said aloud, her voice calm but edged with steel.
Caroline startled, clearly not expecting to be addressed.
“You don’t have to pretend anymore,” Fernanda continued, turning fully toward her. “Whatever pieces you managed to hear, I suggest you make do with them.”
Jordan frowned. “Fernanda—”
She raised a hand, silencing him gently without taking her eyes off Caroline.
“I spent most of my life being spoken over,” Fernanda said, her tone sharp now. “Decisions made about me. Around me. For me. I won’t allow that anymore.”
Caroline’s lips parted, but no words came out.
Fernanda tilted her head slightly. “I’ll see you again soon, Father.”
Before either of them could respond, she walked out.
It wasn’t until the sound of the carriage wheels faded into the distance that Jordan turned slowly toward the doorway.
Caroline was still standing there.
“You were listening,” he said flatly.
She didn’t deny it.
The dungeons were colder than Maya remembered.
The air hung thick with damp stone and old magic, the torches lining the walls flickering weakly as Maya and Levi descended the narrow steps. The clang of iron gates echoed ahead, sharp and unforgiving.
Sloane sat chained to the far wall of the cell, her back turned to them.
Maya’s heart tightened.
“Sloane,” she called softly.
No response.
Levi stepped forward, his presence filling the corridor like a looming shadow. “Turn around,” he ordered.
Sloane laughed bitterly. “So the Lycans finally came to finish the job.”
Maya flinched.
“Sloane, please,” Maya said. “Look at me.”
Slowly, reluctantly, Sloane turned. Her eyes burned with something between hatred and heartbreak.
“You,” she spat. “You’re alive.”
“Because of you,” Maya replied. “I didn’t forget that.”
Sloane looked away again, jaw tightening.
Levi crossed his arms. “You will answer our questions.”
“No,” Sloane said simply.
His eyes darkened. “You are in no position to refuse.”
Maya lifted her hand slightly, shaking her head at him. Levi hesitated, then stepped back, tension coiled tight in his frame.
Maya moved closer to the bars. “You’re on the wrong side,” she said gently. “The Order doesn’t care about you. Damon didn’t care about you.”
Sloane scoffed. “You think I don’t know that? We’re all going to die anyway. Executed once he’s done tearing whatever secrets he can out of us.”
“That doesn’t have to happen,” Maya insisted. “I can help you.”
Sloane laughed again, hollow. “Help me? Or help them?”
“I want to save your life,” Maya said, voice breaking. “You saved mine. I owe you that.”
For a moment, something flickered across Sloane’s face — doubt. Pain.
Then her gaze shifted to Levi.
And everything hardened.
“I will never help the Lycans eliminate our own,” Sloane snapped. “Never. I won’t be a traitor like you.”
Maya recoiled as if struck.
“Get out,” Sloane yelled. “Both of you.”
Levi stepped forward again, his voice icy. “You really don’t want to save yourself?”
Sloane said nothing.
He turned to Maya. “She’s lost her chance.”
Maya stared at him, eyes glossy. “Levi—”
“I won’t allow you to try again,” he said firmly. “This ends here.”
They left the dungeons in silence.
By the time they reached the upper corridor, Maya’s vision blurred with tears. She wiped them angrily, refusing to let them fall.
Levi stopped suddenly.
“Choose,” he said.
She froze.
“Right now,” he continued. “Which side are you on?”
Her heart thundered.
The Order. Sloane. Fernanda. The Lycans.
Maya closed her eyes.
“I choose Fernanda,” she said quietly. “I choose the catalyst. I choose the Lycans.”
Levi searched her face, something unreadable passing through his eyes.
“Then understand this,” he said. “There’s no turning back.”
Maya nodded.
She already knew.
And somewhere deep within her chest, the uncertainty settled — heavy, aching, but resolved.