Eve
Rhea's presence roared in the of my mind, her hackles raised, her disgust so tangible that I could taste it on my tongue. "Do not let him pull you in, Evie. Do not let him rewrite history." Rhea pulled against the tide of shock and horror.
"I never wanted it to be like this," he continued, voice almost pleading. "You were ant to be mine once. Watching you make this decision—watching you stand beside him—" he shook his head, his jaw tightening. "You cannot really think he isn't the greater evil. He is making promises that he will break. He will turn his back on you."
His eyes searched mine, his voice dipping into sothing dangerously close to desperation. "This infatuation—"
"I love my husband," I pronounced, calm, absolute.
There were just things that needed to be spelled out for the intellectually deficient, unfortunately.
Jas flinched.
I tilted my head, the corners of my lips curling into sothing sharp, sothing vicious. "Whatever you and I had pales pathetically compared to what we have, Beta."
Silence strangled the room.
Jas swallowed, his throat bobbing, his mask slipping for the briefest mont.
"I thought cheap tricks like these would be beyond you," I mused, my voice coated in mockery. "But even with my expectations so low, you still manage to disappoint ."
A muscle in his jaw ticked. His fingers curled into fists. The softness in his eyes shattered, replaced by sothing dark, sothing livid.
Anger.
There it was.
My father exhaled sharply through his nose, his golden eyes flashing with sothing more than irritation. My mother's nails tapped against the table, faster now, betraying the storm brewing within.
They had lost.
They knew it.
We all knew it.
I looked up at the caras installed and hoped that Hades was watching this, like I knew he would be.
For the first ti, I watched Jas hold his head in his hands and stare down at his feet.
The dread in my stomach hadn't lessened, but I kept my expression neutral, my body relaxed, as if I hadn't just cracked the foundations of everything they had been trying to do.
Rhea exhaled in satisfaction. "They are grasping at straws now. Be ready."
I was.
I had been ready since the mont I walked into this room.
My father leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening as he finally—finally—tore his gaze away from . "We did it for the prophecy, you know that, right?"
I raised a brow. "This again?"
"What would you have done in my place?"
"We are going in circles, your Majesty."
"Answer , since you have so much morality." His tone was bitter. "So much morality that I am no longer your father because in your eyes, I am so insidious sinner."
I held his gaze, unfazed. "Morality?" I echoed, letting the word settle in my mouth like poison. "You speak as if you've ever had a shred of it."
His expression didn't falter, but the muscles in his jaw tensed. He was waiting for an answer. Expecting to engage in this charade where he could twist my words, pull into a discussion that would sohow justify what he had done, make see whatever mirage he had projected.
I wouldn't give him that.
I was done giving.
"Answer ," he repeated, this ti slower, as if I were so child he was attempting to reason with.
A slow breath left my lips. "If I were in your place, your Majesty," I said smoothly, "I wouldn't have created monsters just to parade them in front of a crowd." I gestured vaguely at the screen. "I wouldn't have murdered civilians to stage an illusion of control. And I certainly wouldn't have tortured my own daughter for the sake of a prophecy that—"
I stopped, watching his reaction carefully.
His nostrils flared slightly.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
There was sothing there. Sothing like dread and anticipation.
I smiled. "A prophecy that is questionable."
My mother stiffened beside him, her nails digging into the table. My father, however, gave nothing away. A master of restraint, even now.
"You don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, but there was sothing... off in his tone.
Doubt.
And surprisingly—astonishnt.
He had not expected to have any idea.
But it was my mother who shot up from her seat.
The ground tilted as her tears filled her eyes. "You know the truth. Did he tell you?" She was trembling, her lips quivering, her eyes suddenly bloodshot. "The second verse..."
"Lyra!" My father intercepted, his eyes glowing gold so bright that I had to look away.
"Heed!"
A high-pitched tone perated the air for less than a second.
And right before my eyes, as if she had been suddenly drained, she slumped down into her seat, like a half-corpse.
My blood chilled, my veins turning to ice as I reached for her—but I held myself back at the last mont.
"What did you do to her?" I demanded.
I had just caught a glimpse of the mother on the phone. The one who cried for , who apologized those months ago.
It was not just pretense.
Sothing more was happening here.
"None of your concern," my father growled.
"That..."
Suddenly, Jas got up.
"You love him? You think he loves you?"
His eyes were crazed as I looked between him and my mother.
Then—there was slamming at the door.
A thunderous, relentless pounding that made my heart lurch into my throat.
I jerked toward the sound, pulse hamring against my ribs.
The walls trembled with each impact.
Ti was up.
They were trying to get in.
Hades.
I glanced at the door, completely out of my elent.
"Stay calm, Eve," Rhea murmured.
But Jas—Jas kept talking.
The slamming against the door intensified, each hit sounding more like a warning, a promise of wrath that was monts from breaking loose.
"You think he does," Jas smirked, his eyes glinting with sothing twisted, sothing dangerous.
The wood cracked.
Another slam.
Splinters rained onto the floor.
Jas leaned forward, grinning like a man monts away from lighting a match just to watch the flas dance.
"But don't you want to know who you took from him?"
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I apologise for not updating for two days, I am in the middle of an exam so the chapters will be uneven but in little chunks but after my exams there will be the mass release that I promised.
Ps: I really thought I could update consistently during my exams but I guess I might have overestimated myself. Again, I apologise and this book will not be abandoned, please don't worry.
Thank you
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