Chapter 38 The Fall

Chapter 38 The Fall
Selene’s POV
The Fall

My heart stopped beating. We were caught. The world slowed down. Cael stood before us, his face a mask of cold anger. Riven stepped in front of me, a low growl rumbling in his chest. He glared hard at Cael and I was sure that if looks could kill, he would be 6 feet beneath the ground by now.

“Step aside, Riven.” Cael’s voice was quiet, but it felt like a bomb in the quiet hallways.

“Or what, Prince Alpha? What the fcking hell are you going to do?” Riven shot back. “You gonna run to your daddy? Cry and be a grown ass baby?”

Cael’s eyes flickered to me over Riven’s shoulder. The look in them was not the one from the dance floor. It was the look of coldness. I shivered, understanding his gaze at how cold they literally felt. He looked a little like his father when he was like this.

“What is in the folder, Lira?” Cael asked, ignoring Riven completely.

My mouth was dry. I couldn’t speak.

Riven answered for me. “Proof. Proof of what your Council has been doing. The missing students. The experiments.”

Cael’s jaw tightened. For a second, I saw a flicker of something. Maybe it was pain or conflict. Then it was gone in an instant. “Give it to me.”

“No,” I whispered, finding my voice. “This can end it, Cael. This can stop the lies.”

He took a step forward. “You don’t understand what you’re playing with. Give me the folder, and I can still protect you.”

“Protect her?” Riven laughed, a harsh sound. “You’re going to protect her by handing her over? Is that your idea of protection?”

“It’s the only protection I can offer!” Cael’s voice rose, his control snapping for a second. He looked directly at me, his blue eyes pleading and furious at once. “Don’t you see? If you walk out with that, you’re dead. Both of you.”

“Then help us,” I begged, my own voice breaking. “Help us expose them.”

The silence that followed was heavy. I saw the war in his eyes. On one hand, he wanted to help and listen to me. But then…I knew he was for the academy and not for me. He took a deep breath. And I watched him make his choice.

His shoulders straightened. His face went blank. “I am the Crown Prince of the Dravenhart line. My duty is to the Council and the Academy.”

He turned his head and raised his voice, a sharp, commanding shout that echoed down the hall. “Guards! Intruders!”

The sound of heavy boots immediately thundered toward us. My legs gave way, but Riven caught my arm, holding me up. He looked at Cael with pure hatred.

“You coward,” Riven spat.

Cael didn’t flinch. He just watched as guards swarmed the hallway, surrounding us.

It was over.

They dragged us back to the Great Hall. The music had stopped. The dancing had stopped. Everyone was staring as the guards shoved Riven and me into the center of the room. The folder was ripped from Riven’s jacket and handed to the Headmaster.

I stood there, in my beautiful blue dress, in front of everyone. The girl who had danced with the prince was now a prisoner. It was ironic.

The Headmaster looked at the folder, then at me. A slow, cruel smile spread across his face.

“Students,” his voice boomed. “It seems our Gala has been interrupted by traitors.”

Lyra pushed to the front of the crowd, her eyes shining with vicious joy. “I knew it! I knew she was a snake!”

The Headmaster held up the folder. “These two were caught stealing confidential Academy documents. They are spies.”

The crowd gasped. Whispers turned into shouts. “Spies!” “Rogues!” “Traitors!”

I looked at Cael. He stood beside his father, his face a stone wall. He wouldn’t look at me.

The hall erupted in whispers and chaos. A rogue, a mere one, standing in front of them. I knew they felt played. I felt the stares like physical blows. Fear. Hatred. Disgust.

“She infiltrated our Academy to destroy us from within,” the Headmaster shouted over the noise. “And this one,” he pointed at Riven, “her accomplice, the disgraced son of a failed bloodline, helped her.”

Riven struggled against the guards holding him. “You’re the monsters! You’re the ones experimenting on students! Tell them! Tell them about Tiana! About the lab!”

But his voice was lost in the roar of the crowd. They didn’t want to hear the truth. They wanted a villain. And since it was me and Riven, they both got villains.

The Headmaster walked up to me. He was so close I could smell his sour breath.

“You thought you could win?” he whispered, so only I could hear. “You are a child playing at war.”

He turned to the guards. “Take them to the containment cells. They will be dealt with by the full Council tomorrow.”

As the guards dragged me away, my eyes locked with Cael’s one last time. He was still not looking at me. He was staring at a spot on the floor, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white.

He had chosen his crown. He had chosen his duty. But was this what he meant by 'I belong to him?' I thought he was beginning to soften toward me, that he could protect me because of his feelings, not knowing he values his crown more than his heart, his wolf. I shouldn't have cherished the night he made me strip naked before him, the way my body reacted to his touch. Right now, he had chosen the crown.

And he had destroyed me.

The last thing I saw was Lyra’s triumphant smile as I was pulled from the hall. The beautiful Gala was over. The music was gone. All that was left was the crushing weight of my failure.

The proof was gone. I was exposed. And tomorrow, the Council would finish what they started years ago.

They would kill me.