AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She does have one thing right,” Councilman Ruby says, cutting over the low murmurs. “The witches are no longer our enemy. In fact, we share a common enemy, and that is anyone who tries to destroy us.” I get the impression that had he not been wearing a mask, he would be smiling widely.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing, and I know I’m not the only one from the gasps of confusion and outrage. The werewolves seem to have been pushed beyond their unease and begin speaking out. For the council to do such an about turn on their stance on witches and magic is almost unbelievable. When and how did they come to this conclusion? It doesn’t make any sense.
The noise in the clearing gets louder, and those watching start questioning the very same thing. It’s clearly making the other councilmen nervous, as I notice them shifting from one foot to the other. Councilman Ruby has it all in hand though, clapping his hands together to gain everyone’s attention.
“Laelia, you have been charged with treason. How do you plead?” he calls loudly, making sure that every single person in attendance can hear his charge.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I stand firm. It seems that I can kiss any thoughts of a fair trial goodbye.Is this it? Is this the day I die?No, I’m determined that it won’t come down to that. I plan to live a long, happy life with my mates.
“Not guilty,” I shout, my voice clear and loud. “This is madness. You have no evidence to back up your claims!”
“Actually,” a smooth female voice says, sending a chill down my spine as I recognise it, “I have witnessed her crimes and can provide evidence.”
Seeming to materialise out of thin air, the queen of the witches steps into the clearing. The werewolves closest to her hiss and jump back to let her pass, sensing exactly what she is. Instead of walking straight to the platform like I would expect, she walks over to me, smiling widely as she looks down at me with a conceited grin.
“Hello, Laelia.”
ChapterTwenty-Five
The witch queen is here, in the heart of the werewolf compound, and none of the councilmen seem the slightest bit surprised. How long has this been going on? From their reactions to each other, it’s clearly been going on far longer than just the attack.
It makes sense how they knew of the events in Haven, and other little pieces of information that never quite settled right in my mind start to make more sense as well. They’ve been keeping this close to their chests from the looks of it, as the werewolves in the clearing seem shocked by the turn of events.
Glancing over at Syn, I see that he’s just as surprised by this revelation as we are. At least he’s not betrayed us in that matter too. If he was aware that the queen was working with the council the whole time, it would have been another blow to the heart. He attempts to hide it, but his entire body is trembling, and his smirking mask is gone, replaced with a tension that looks painful. It hurts to look at him, so I quickly yank my gaze away and focus once again on the woman who’s caused us all so much pain.
I don’t even need to look at Atlas to know this is a huge shock to him, the sudden silence in our communication giving me all the answers I need. Feelings of betrayal and disbelief meet me as I touch his bond. The very fact that she dares to stand here now with an air of superiority after selling out her entire race is only adding fuel to the growing hatred inside him. His hatred of werewolves was never discouraged by the queen, it was often encouraged, and to discover that she’s been working with them is a bitter deception. While his loyalties to the queen were already severed and have been for a time, it’s hard for him to discover this, especially with his tragic history.
Atlas struggles to control himself as he glares up at the woman he used to admire. “You.” The word is strangled and full of hatred, his lips pulled back in a snarl.
“Hello, Atlas,” she croons, her attention finally switching to him. Her body language changes as her eyes scan him in an assessing way that makes my blood boil.
Mine, my inner wolf growls. I battle with the urge to wipe the stupid smirk off her face, my power trying to burst from me and teach her a lesson. I have to remind myself once again that there’s a reason that I’m keeping the fact that I can still use my magic a secret, but it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
The queen continues on, oblivious to the death I’m planning for her in my mind. “It’s such a shame you let her taint you. I had such high hopes for you. Gone are the days where you would sit at my feet and look up at me adoringly, following my orders with a click of my fingers.” Shaking her head and pressing a hand against her ample breast, she lets out a long sigh. Turning her head, she looks at Luna, her whole expression transforming as true disgust flits across her face. “It’s neither a shame nor a surprise that you’ve turned into a traitor. You’ve always been a disappointment.”
Luna leaps forward, slapping the queen across the cheek, the sound satisfyingly loud. “Now I can finally show you how I feel about you.” Spitting at the queen’s feet, she bares her teeth. “Where is Kano?”
Atlas pulls Luna back into our protective group, fearing retribution on his cousin. I place a hand on her arm in support. The queen has always treated Luna like a second-class citizen, something that infuriated me. She doesn’t need me to stand up for her, though, because she’s perfectly capable of doing it herself—as she just demonstrated.
The queen seems genuinely shocked at the hit, her head still turned from the force and a hand pressed against the quickly reddening skin. It seems she’s become too reliant on magic protecting her, and she assumes all attacks would come in a magical form. She drops her hand and looks at Luna, her smug satisfaction slapped right off her face.
“That’s rich,” she begins, her voice sharp. “You ask for Kano after you left him for dead and ran away to protect yourself. For someone who professes to care for him so much, you sure don’t show it.” She doesn’t need weapons to hurt Luna, using her words to injure instead. The blow lands true, and Luna flinches at the accusation. Satisfied, the queen turns her attention back to me. “And you, Laelia, where is your concern for your brother? You don’t even know if he survived his injuries.”
The look I give the queen suggests that I’m not impressed with her attempts to wound me. I shouldn’t be challenging her, but I can’t seem to help myself. She’s revealing her true colours for everyone to see. When Kano was injured, he was pretty forceful about making sure we left, and sticking around wouldn’t have helped either of us, so I refuse to let her make me feel guilty. Besides, my intuition tells me that he’s alive, and I trust in that.
The need to comfort Luna is strong, and I wish I could tell her she’s not to blame for what happened to him. When all this is over, we will have that conversation, but now is not the time. She was unconscious when we escaped, so she had no say in what happened then, but Kano insisted we take her with us. I have no doubt that if she were awake, she would have stayed with him, and then we wouldn’t have been able to help her.
When I don’t give her the reaction she wants, she tries a different angle. “You should be happy, Laelia. You wanted to bring everyone together, and now you have.”
Unfortunately, she’s right. I did bring the werewolves and witches together, just not in a way I ever predicted. Their hatred for each other has been overshadowed by their hatred for me, and they’ve put their animosity aside to work together in destroying me. Is this what the prophecy meant? Am I the villain in this story?
Disturbed by the realisation and what that could mean, I reach for my mates, needing their comforting bonds to surround me. On the outside, I don’t let it show that I’m questioning everything, yet from the sparkle in the queen’s eyes, she’s worked it out anyway.
“Why are you here?” I demand, needing answers.
“Were you not listening to the councilman? We’ve united against a common enemy.” Placing her hands on her hips, she raises her brows as if scolding a difficult child. “You. Removing you from our lives is what brought us together.”
Whoa. They put aside a centuries’ old feud just to kill off little old me. Am I really so bad?You challenge their rule, and you destabilise their power, I remind myself. “The council ordered the attack on Haven. Theykilledyour people. How could you ever want to side with them?”
