Chapter 429: True Story 2
LYSANDER
The na ant nothing to . I didn’t know a Gabriel. I didn’t know anyone connected to Skollrend outside of Fia herself.
But this Gabriel knew my father. He knew where to send this letter. He knew what words to use to make it impossible to ignore.
I read the letter again. Slower this ti. Looking for holes. Looking for exaggeration. Looking for anything that would let
dismiss it outright.
I found nothing.
The language was too precise. Too confident. This was not the work of soone desperate or delusional. This was soone who had done their research. Soone who knew exactly what they were doing.
I looked up at my father.
He was watching
with that sa calm expression he always wore. Like he had already made his decision and was simply waiting for
to catch up.
"What do you think?" he asked.
I folded the letter carefully and set it back on his desk.
"Who is this Gabriel?" I shot back instead.
His father sighed and then says if I have to guess, and with the massacre that happened in Skollrend recently, it would be the freshly returned Alpha blood and uncle to Cian Donlon."
Family betrayal? What else was new?
"I think this is dangerous," I said.
"Dangerous how?"
"Dangerous in every possible way." I gestured toward the letter. "This Gabriel, whatever his intention is, is offering you leverage to strengthen your already tense relationship with mother’s family and in doing so go against Skollrend. Against Cian Donlon himself. That kind of power doesn’t co without a cost. Why you? It is clear who he wants to take down... and Fleshcraft? We cannot believe that. The girl was born to an Alpha of Silvercreek. She cannot be born from fleshcraft. Sothing is off, and you must know it father."
"Everything has a cost," my father said.
"This one might be higher than you’re willing to pay."
He smiled. "You don’t know what I’m willing to pay."
I didn’t respond to that.
He leaned forward slightly. "You still care about this girl."
It wasn’t a question.
"I did," I said, and when I looked into his eyes, I needed to quickly add, "Once."
"And now?"
"Now she’s married to soone else, like you had to remind . I was late. That ship has sailed. I know you worry about my fixation. But that does not matter."
"That doesn’t answer my question."
I t his eyes. "What do you want
to say?"
"I want you to tell
the truth." His voice was even. Unbothered. "Do you still care about her?"
I hesitated. It felt like he was sounding
out, and my answer would determine what ca next.
The truth was complicated. The truth was that I was still trying to forget Fia. Trying to bury whatever I had felt for her under layers of duty and logic and sheer willpower. And I would like to think that I had almost succeeded.
Almost.
But seeing her picture again brought it all back. The way she had looked at
that first ti we t. The way she had smiled. The way she had made
feel like maybe, just maybe, there was sothing in this world worth wanting that wasn’t tied to my father’s approval.
"It doesn’t matter," I said finally.
"It matters to ."
I looked at him. "Why?"
"Because if you still care about her, then you need to truly understand what this letter ans to ." He tapped the paper with one finger. "If what this Gabriel is saying is true, then Fia is not who you thought she was. She is sothing else entirely. Sothing created. Sothing illegal. But I do not intend to use the royal family. I do not intend to cozy up with your uncles and aunts for what happened to your mother. She chose to do that to herself."
I clenched and quickly unclenched my fist so he would not see how heated those words had .
I also needed to know why he was not going to make that move.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Because I am not a fucking lapdog and I don’t like the way Pauline is treating us after the deal we had. If the girl was born from fleshcraft, she would be exactly what we want... no?"
I swallowed. "I guess, she would. But we do not know that."
"I don’t," he agreed. "But Gabriel does. And he’s offering to prove it."
"Or he’s lying."
"Perhaps." My father tilted his head slightly. "But what if he’s not?"
I didn’t answer.
He stood and walked around the desk until he was standing directly in front of .
"I’m going to that eting," he said.
My stomach dropped.
"You can’t," I said.
"Why not?"
"Because it’s a trap. It has to be. No one offers this kind of information without wanting sothing in return. And whatever Gabriel wants, it’s going to cost more than you think."
"Then I’ll pay it."
"Father—"
"This is not up for debate, Lysander." His voice hardened slightly. "This is an opportunity. One that doesn’t co along often. If Gabriel has proof of what he’s claiming, then I can use it. It should make you happy, too. If your obsession still burns bright, then help
out. You will get to keep the girl for a very long ti. Your own little Seltenvogel in a cage. Wouldn’t you like that?"
The words hit
like cold water.
My own little Seltenvogel in a cage. Like mother was for him.
I stared at him.
He was smiling. That small, knowing smile ant he thought he had figured
out. That he had found the lever that would make
compliant.
"Of course," I said.
"That is my boy."
I swallowed again. "What is your plan then?"
My father’s smile widened.
"Simple," he said. "I’ll et with Gabriel. Get the information he’s offering. Verify it. And once I’m certain he’s telling the truth, once I have everything I need, I’ll take the bastard out."
I blinked. "You’ll kill him?"
"Of course." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Gabriel is offering
leverage, but he’s also a liability. n like that don’t just hand over power and walk away. They co back. They make demands. They think they’ve earned a seat at the table." He shook his head. "No. Better to eliminate the problem before it becos one."
"And Fia?"
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