Chapter 401: The question "why" 2
CIAN
My fist tightened further, nails biting into my palm.
"So Aldric knew," I said.
"He knew," Gabriel confird. "And he used it."
Of course he did.
Rage burned low in my chest.
"It was to his advantage of course," Gabriel went on. Nocturne wanted to keep their failing a secret and my dear brother wanted to keep sothing else hidden."
I looked up sharply. "What?"
His gaze didn’t waver.
"The fact that he was the one who fed information to the rogues."
The words landed heavy.
For a second, I just stared at him.
Then sothing cold dragged its way down my spine.
My shoulders tensed before I could stop it, a sharp shudder running through
like my body had reacted before my mind could catch up.
"Why?" I asked.
The word ca out rough. Stripped down to its bare bones.
"Why was he like that?" I pressed, my voice rising slightly despite myself. "We did nothing to him. Nothing. We trusted him. We... we loved him."
The last word sat wrong in my mouth, like it didn’t belong there anymore.
Gabriel watched
quietly.
There was no imdiate answer. No quick justification. Just that sa steady look, like he had already gone through this question a hundred tis and co out the other side with sothing that didn’t feel any better.
"I guess..." he said slowly, "he just wanted to see how easy it was."
I frowned.
"What?"
The words didn’t make sense.
He shook his head lightly, like he was brushing sothing off.
"Forget that," he said.
But I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
"What do you an?" I asked again, leaning forward slightly. "What does that even an?"
He exhaled through his nose, his gaze drifting for a second before returning to .
"After years in that place," he said, quieter now, "you start to think about things differently."
Sothing in his tone shifted.
"I had a lot of ti to think about Aldric," he continued. "About the things he did. The way he moved. The choices he made."
His fingers tapped once against his knee, absent, like he wasn’t fully aware he was doing it.
"And the more I thought about it," he said, "the more I realized sothing."
I held still.
"He didn’t always do things because he had to," Gabriel said. "Or even because it gave him sothing in return."
My brows pulled together.
"Then why?"
His gaze t mine again.
"Because he wanted to know if he could," he said simply.
The words settled in my chest and refused to move.
"If he could what?" I asked.
"Manipulate people," Gabriel replied. "Turn situations. Break things that didn’t need breaking."
His voice stayed calm.
"And get away with it," he added.
Sothing in
twisted.
"That’s..." I stopped, the words catching sowhere in my throat. "That’s insane."
"Yes," Gabriel said. "It is."
I leaned back slightly, dragging a hand down my face.
"That doesn’t make sense," I muttered.
"People don’t just... do things like that for no reason."
"They do," Gabriel said.
I looked at him.
He wasn’t looking at
anymore. His gaze had gone distant again, fixed sowhere past my shoulder, like he was seeing sothing that wasn’t in the room.
"So people don’t need a reason that makes sense to everyone else," he continued. "Sotis the reason is simple."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"They want control," he said. "Or they want to prove sothing to themselves."
I swallowed.
"And we were just... what?" I asked. "Part of so experint?"
His eyes flicked back to mine.
"For him?" Gabriel said. "Maybe."
I shook my head again. I had about had enough of this. So I changed the topic.
"What do you plan to do now?" I asked.
The question ca out before I could stop it.
He blinked slightly, like he hadn’t expected it.
"Now?"
"Yes," I said. "Now that you’re back. Now that he is out of the way... What do you plan to do?"
He leaned back, exhaling slowly.
"A lot of my life has been taken from ," he said.
There was sothing quiet in his voice.
"I intend to make up for lost ti."
I watched him carefully.
"How?"
He shrugged lightly.
"Maybe I stay here for a week," he said. "Recover properly. Then I leave."
My brows pulled together.
"Leave?"
"I want to see the world," he said. "A lot has changed and I didn’t get to see it."
Sothing in his expression softened slightly.
"I’ve spent too long trapped in one place."
I nodded slowly.
"That’s... fair."
He glanced at , then smiled faintly.
"Cian."
"Yes?"
"You did good."
The words landed heavier than I expected.
"You put him on his toes," he continued. "If that bastard ever gets another chance, he’ll think twice before being so careless."
I let out a breath.
"i didn’t do anything. We... ’we’ did it," I said again, quieter this ti.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Did we?"
Sothing in his tone made my chest tighten again.
I frowned.
"What do you an?"
He exhaled softly, like he was letting sothing go.
"I’m just being real."
"Well I am too, uncle. If you hadn’t been there. Perhaps I might not have gotten shit done."
"Hmmmm." He managed before saying, "I’m going to need a phone."
The shift was abrupt.
"I have calls to make."
I studied him for a second, then nodded.
"We’ll get you one."
He nodded once.
"And I’m tired of staying in here," he added, glancing around the infirmary. "I’d rather not spend another night staring at these walls."
"This is your ho," I said. "You don’t have to stay here. You can take one of the guest rooms."
His gaze flicked back to .
"Thank you."
I nodded. "You’re welco, Uncle."
For a mont, neither of us spoke.
The quiet didn’t feel awkward. It felt... full. Like everything that needed to be said had already been laid out between us, and anything more would just circle back to the sa place.
Gabriel shifted slightly on the bed, his hands bracing against the edge as he pushed himself up. The movent was steady.
"I should let you go," he said, brushing his hands down the front of his shirt like he was settling into himself again. "You’ve got other things to attend to."
I watched him closely.
There was sothing in the way he carried himself now. Subtle, but different. Not enough to raise alarm. Just enough to make
pay attention.
"I’ll get myself acclimated," he continued, glancing toward the door. "Find a room. Get used to being here again."
Again... The word lingered.
"This place hasn’t changed much," I said.
His lips curved slightly.
"Good," he replied. "So things shouldn’t."
He stepped forward, closing the distance between us, then paused just short of where I stood. For a second, it felt like he was going to say sothing else. Sothing more.
Instead, he nodded once.
"But don’t forget," he added, his tone shifting just slightly, sothing more deliberate settling into it. "I need to speak with your mate."
My chest tightened at the ntion of her.
"To thank her," he finished.
Of course.
I inclined my head.
"Of course."
His gaze held mine for a second longer than necessary.
Then he stepped past .
I turned slightly as he moved toward the door, watching the way he walked.
The door opened, then closed behind him with a soft click.
Sothing about the conversation sat wrong with .
Not enough to na. Not enough to act on.
Just... there.
I exhaled slowly and ran a hand through my hair, pushing the thought aside.
Later.
I would deal with that later.
Right now, there was only one place I wanted to be.
I turned and headed for the door.
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