Chapter 153

Damon

Ella’s chambers smelled like crushed petals and triumph.

It was too warm inside, the air heavy with the cloying sweetness of whatever perfume she had doused the room in.

Curtains of pale silk filtered the afternoon light, softening the gilded edges of her furniture until everything looked almost serene. It was an illusion.

Elena sat near the window on a cushioned bench, her posture straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her eyes flicked up when I entered, then away again.

She looked uncomfortable here, like a lamb trapped beside a wolf. Her acting the part of demure noble only made me angrier.

Ella, on the other hand, looked like she owned the room, and me along with it.

“Your Majesty,” she purred, rising gracefully from her seat by the hearth. The mother-of-pearl combs in her hair glinted as she moved, catching the muted light. “I trust you received my note?”

I ignored her and shut the door behind me with deliberate care, the soft click displaying more restraint than she deserved.

Ella’s smile curved, sharp at the edges. “We have much to discuss.”

She gestured toward the low table in the center of the room, where a tea service sat untouched beside neatly stacked documents. I recognized my own signature on the topmost paper, a nauseating reminder of what I’d agreed to.

I stayed standing.

“Elena,” Ella prompted, turning toward her daughter. “Come join us.”

Elena rose hesitantly, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her skirt. She moved like someone trained to obey, each step precise, chin lifted in defiance of her act of discomfort.

The silence stretched as we gathered around the table, Ella standing opposite me, Elena hovering at her mother’s side.

Ella broke it first, as I knew she would.

“The council is restless,” she began, her tone deceptively casual. “They’re eager for stability. The engagement announcement will soothe their nerves.”

My jaw tightened. “That’s not why we’re here.”

“Ah, but it is.” Her smile didn’t falter. “Perception matters, Your Majesty. A public declaration will secure your throne. And, more importantly…” She reached for the teapot, pouring a stream of dark liquid into her cup. “…it will ensure you get what you so desperately want.”

The antidote. She didn’t need to say it; the word hung unspoken, heavy in the space between us.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides. Zane bristled inside me, hackles rising at every silky syllable. Rip it from her hands, he urged. End this game now.

I forced a breath through clenched teeth. “You’ll give me the full cure after the announcement.”

“Of course,” Ella said sweetly, lifting her cup in a mock toast. “Once the council has seen the union confirmed, we’ll complete the exchange.”

Her gaze flicked toward Elena then, softening for just a moment. A performance for me or for her daughter, I couldn’t tell. Elena’s discomfort sharpened at the edges of her composure; her hands twisted in her skirts, knuckles white.

Ella noticed and placed a delicate hand over Elena’s, murmuring something I couldn’t hear. It looked like comfort. I knew it was control.

“Lila must never know,” Ella added lightly, eyes cutting back to me. “It would… devastate the poor girl.”

Something inside me snapped.

“She already suffers enough,” I said, voice low, dangerous.

Ella tilted her head, feigning pity. “Poor fragile girl. So much responsibility to carry for someone so… untested.”

My vision tunneled. Heat crawled under my skin, Zane straining at a fraying leash. Break her neck, he growled. Make her choke on that smug tongue.

I stepped closer to the table, close enough to feel the shift in Ella’s breathing, close enough for her to see the gold flicker in my eyes.

“Enjoy this while you can,” I murmured. “When she’s safe, your leverage dies with it.”

For the first time, her smile faltered. Only for a heartbeat, but I saw it.

Elena’s eyes darted between us, wide and wary. She looked like she wanted to speak, to protest, but her mother’s grip on her wrist tightened, silencing her.

Ella set her cup down gently, the soft clink against porcelain irritating my wolf. “Then let’s not keep her waiting, shall we?” she said, regaining her composure. “The council will expect an announcement by sundown tomorrow.”

I turned on my heel and left with a snarl.

I moved fast, not trusting myself to slow down, not trusting what Zane might do if I hesitated.

His rage still crackled under my skin, a low electric hum vibrating through bone and muscle. The soft clink of the door closing behind me didn’t soothe him; if anything, it made him snarl louder.

You let her spit in our face, he growled, claws dragging lines down the inside of my chest. You let her laugh at us.

I didn’t answer him with words but my silence was agreement enough.

The palace halls stretched ahead with the guards at each junction straightening as I passed, but I kept my eyes trained ahead.

I reached the war room before I realized where I was going.

The door slammed behind me, the echo loud in the vast, empty space. Maps sprawled across the table where I’d left them earlier, pieces from ongoing campaigns still scattered like the remnants of some forgotten game.

I braced both hands on the edge, head bowed, trying to catch my breath as the silence closed in.

It didn’t work.

I felt caged, the walls too close, the air too still. Every muscle screamed for release. I wanted to throw something, break something, kill something.

My fist slammed down onto the wood before I could stop it. The table shuddered and cracked. A few markers toppled, clattering to the floor and scattering across the rug.

“Soon,” I muttered aloud, my voice harsh in the emptiness. “Soon it ends.”

Zane paced in my mind, restless and eager. Not soon enough.

The scent of Ella’s chambers still clung to me and I wanted it off my skin. It reminded me of every second I’d spent standing across from her, enduring her triumph while she dangled Lila’s life like bait.

The image of her hand on Elena’s wrist burned behind my eyes, that mockery of motherly affection masking the predator within.

Elena…

I thought of the way her eyes had darted between us, full of pity and shame she couldn’t voice. There was fear there too. Not of me, but of her mother.

It didn’t absolve her, but it carved another crack into the ugly knot of this bargain. She wasn’t my enemy. Ella was.

I straightened slowly, forcing the tension from my shoulders. My hands ached from how tightly I’d been clenching them; faint crescents of blood dotted my palms where my own nails had broken skin. The sting was grounding.

I crossed the room to the far window and threw it open. Cold air rushed in, sharp and bracing, carrying with it the city beyond the palace walls. The noise of it, faint chatter in the gardens, the distant clang of blacksmiths, felt almost alien.

It was a world still carrying on while mine crumbled in place.

I closed my eyes and let the wind hit my face.

For a moment, I pictured Lila standing here with me. Her hair caught in the breeze, eyes full of quiet defiance even when she was trembling inside.

I wondered if she’d forgive me when she knew. I wondered if she’d even look at me the same way again.

She won’t, Zane said flatly.

“Doesn’t matter,” I whispered back. “She’ll live.”

That was enough. It had to be.

I opened my eyes and stared out over the grounds. From here, the gardens looked tranquil; trimmed hedges, pale leaves swaying in the wind. But I knew better. Beauty didn’t mean safety.

Ella’s days were numbered.

Once the antidote was mine and Lila was safe, I would burn every bridge I had to. Tear Ella’s web apart thread by thread until nothing remained of her power or her name.

Let the council whisper about tradition and bloodlines all they wanted; they would kneel, or they would break.

I wasn’t doing this for them. I was doing this for her. For us.

The vow sat heavy in my chest, ironclad. Zane went still inside me, his restless pacing quieting to a low rumble of agreement.

“Hold on, my Luna,” I whispered to the wind. “I’ll finish this. And then we’ll be together.”