Anyone with even a shred of common sense would imdiately ask, "Who?"—and, unsurprisingly, that was the first thing that popped into Riona’s head. Because, really, who wouldn’t?
But, of course, Warren Zacharia wasn’t so amateur—he’d clearly seen that question coming from a mile away. While he lacked the masterful manipulation skills and ruthless precision of his sister, Nina, he was still a Zach.
And if there was one thing that ran thicker than blood in their family, it was good old-fashioned paranoia.
He knew Thorin and Riona would be dying to find out who managed to single-handedly wipe out a family of werewolves so powerful they practically treated silver like a seasoning. And Warren was ready to milk that curiosity for all it was worth.
"He insisted on telling us in person and demanded that you co along to et him," Thorin relayed, repeating the ssage he’d received from his uncle.
The ssage, of course, wasn’t delivered by Warren himself—why risk getting his perfectly suspicious hide involved after he had, sohow, escaped death twice?
No, the last surviving mber of the illustrious Zacharia clan opted for a safer (and cheaper) route: hiring so random human commoner. Yep, Warren paid a pittance to an average Joe to deliver the cryptic note to Puck.
Puck, being Puck, played the part of the ssenger’s ssenger and eventually passed it on to Thorin, completing the circle of absurdity.
Riona had to admit she was curious—who wouldn’t be? But curiosity wasn’t enough to make her abandon her brother just to et Nina’s brother. Sure, Warren had always been the most mild-mannered of the Zacharia siblings, but that wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsent.
After all, he’d stood by and done absolutely nothing while Nina trashed Thorin and dragged Riona’s father’s na through the mud.
"I love you, Thorin, you know that, right?" Riona said, her voice soft but laced with an unspoken ’but you’re not going to like what I’m about to say.’ "I get it—it’s your family, and you want answers. Honestly, I want them too. I really do. It’s just..."
She paused, taking a deep breath like she was bracing herself for a Thorin ltdown. "I can’t give up on Florian. Not now. I’ve been giving up on him for too long already. It’s ti I finally stop sucking at being his sister and make it right."
"You never sucked at being his sister! You’re literally the best sister he’s ever had!" Thorin shot back, his voice dripping with exasperation. "Granted, you’re also the only sister he’s ever had, but still! The point stands!"
He could vividly recall the way Florian’s eyes practically sparkled whenever Riona was around. That kid had been glued to her leg so tightly, he might as well have been an accessory. It was beyond Thorin’s comprehension how Riona could possibly miss the walking fan club that was her little brother.
How in the world could she even entertain the ridiculous idea that Florian hated her?
Then again, Thorin hadn’t been there to hear what Florian—Mr. Sparkling Eyes himself—had actually said to Riona in the royal palace.
Those words, brief as they were, had been enough to shatter Riona’s confidence. One mont, one sentence, and all the mories of his love for her had been buried under the weight of that single, devastating remark.
"We’re not abandoning Florian! We’re just... postponing the visit for, like, five minutes," Thorin continued, doing his best to sound like he had a clue what he was talking about.
He frantically searched his brain for a better argunt. Then, like a light bulb going off, he rembered sothing. "My uncle might be the only one who knows the truth about your parents’ deaths now."
When Riona heard about it, the incident ca to mind. Oh yeah! Nina did ntion sothing about how soone else killed my parents before she got the chance to, right? Who the heck was it again?
Before she could respond, the Fallen One cut in, as if reading Riona’s mind. "Don’t even think about it! You’ve got a bigger mission ahead of you. You can’t let yourself be distracted by love or the petty drama of the past. Besides, you can always ask about that little family mystery later, after you’ve saved the world, you know?"
It was almost impressive how the Fallen One could sound like a self-righteous motivational speaker while simultaneously acting like saving the world was so inconvenient side gig.
As much as Riona hated to admit it, the Fallen One was, annoyingly, right. She let out a resigned shrug. "Thorin, that can wait. Florian’s in danger. This can’t be put off."
"Not even for a little while? Okay, hear out: tell that smug—I an, vampire emperor—to head to the kingdom first with Lady Maris. She doesn’t trust him, so you can at least rest easy knowing she’ll keep him from pulling anything extra shady with your brother," Thorin suggested with a smug grin as if he’d just solved world peace.
He continued, feeling confident with his plan. "We’ll leave at the sa ti, but we’ll take a little detour. No stops, just a quick ’story ti’ with my uncle. He’ll spill his version on the way. Perfect, right?"
Riona mulled it over. It wasn’t a terrible deal. A detour might set them back a few hours, maybe a day at most. But, even if she agreed, would the emperor just roll with this plan? The guy looked like he had his own agenda, and it certainly didn’t involve going along with anyone else’s titable.
"And what exactly do we tell him?"
Thorin paused, looking for a smooth answer. "Uh... family ergency?" He paused, noticing Riona’s expression. "What? It’s foolproof."
***
And, shockingly, it worked. Emperor Kaan just accepted that excuse like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Sure, family’s important, after all," he said with a smirk that was 100% made of mischief and 0% sincerity.
It was strange. Actually, ridiculously strange. He didn’t even ask for details. Riona could practically feel the emperor’s plot twisting around her. She eyed him suspiciously, waiting for the inevitable villain monologue.
The emperor was definitely hiding sothing. She could feel it in her bones. She waited. And waited. Surely, any mont now, he’d demand her soul or start quoting so ancient prophecy about her doom, right?
But... nope.
And that? That only made it more suspicious.
Then, just when things were starting to feel too normal (which, in her world, was a huge red flag), soone leaped out of the bushes and stuck a dagger into Riona’s back.
"DIEE!!!!!!" the assailant screeched as if they’d been practicing that line in front of the mirror for weeks.
Well, that was a dramatic turn of events. Couldn’t say she didn’t see it coming... sort of.
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