Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 81 - Chapitre 90

LeahThe dungeons were as cold and dark as I remembered.But this time, as I descended the stairs, I didn’t feel like I was visiting an enemy. I felt like I was going home to the only family I had left.“Leah.” Father’s voice came from the shadows. “My precious girl. You came back.”“Of course I came back.” I sank down outside his cell, wrapping my arms around my knees. “Where else would I go?”“You’ve been gone for days.” His hand reached through the bars, and I took it. “I was worried.”“I’m sorry. Ares took me somewhere. We needed to… talk.”“Talk.” Father’s voice was knowing. “Is that what they’re calling it now?”I flushed. “It wasn’t like that. Well, it was, but it was also… more.”“Tell me.”So I did. I told him about the cabin, about Ares’s family, about the two perfect days where everything seemed possible.And then I told him about the return. About Luciana’s words. About Ares walking away.When I finished, Father was quiet for a long moment.“He hurt you,” he finally said.

**REVISED SECOND HALF:**“There’s a weapon,” Father said quietly. “The blessed silver blade. You remember it, don’t you?”My stomach clenched. Of course I remembered. I’d tried to steal it twice already. Both times I’d failed, barely escaping Ares’s chambers undetected.“I remember,” I said quietly.“Your previous attempts were too risky. He was watching you too closely, keeping it locked away.” Father leaned closer. “But now… now he’s let his guard down, hasn’t he? After the cabin. After making you believe he cares.”He was right. Ares had been different lately. More relaxed around me. Less suspicious.“The blood moon is in five days,” Father continued, his good eye intense. “And this time, you know his patterns. You know when he sleeps deepest. You know how to move through his chambers without triggering suspicion.”“What are you asking me to do?”“I’m asking you to finish what you started.” His voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Steal the blade. Activate it with your blood during

My hands shook as I read:*The raid is set for tomorrow night. Target: James’s estate. Intelligence confirms his wife and daughter will be home. The wife has been asking too many questions, spreading rumors about Father’s death that could undermine the succession. She’s smart, well-connected, dangerous. She needs to be removed. The girl is young. Four years old. She won’t remember. We secure the estate, eliminate the threat, and James will be too broken to fight when we move on the throne. Clean. Efficient. No witnesses who matter.*Ice flooded my veins.My mother. He was talking about my mother.*She needs to be removed.*Like she was nothing. Like her life meant nothing.I forced myself to keep reading, even as tears blurred the words.The next entry was dated the day after my mother died:*It’s done. James’s wife is no longer a problem. She fought harder than expected, begged for her daughter until the very end. Had to be quick about it before the child woke. James is devastated, e

LEAHI locked the door, then sank to the floor.He’d had his chance.Multiple chances.And he’d chosen his secrets every single time.Well, now I had secrets too.I pulled out the journal from its hiding place under my mattress, staring at the damning words in his handwriting.Five days until the blood moon.Five days to prepare.Five days until I stole the blessed silver and activated it with my blood.And then…Then justice would finally be served.For my mother, who’d begged for my life as Ares killed her.For my father, who’d suffered twenty years for crimes Ares committed.For myself, for every lie and manipulation.I took another dose of the plant, feeling the clarity it brought. The cold certainty.Without it, I might waver.Might remember the cabin and convince myself that version of Ares was real.But with the plant keeping me focused, I could see the truth.He was a monster.A murderer.A manipulator who’d orchestrated everything from the beginning.And in five days, he woul

Elinor studied me for a long moment, her expression shifting through worry and fear and something that looked almost like grief. “Leah, I need you to listen to me. Really listen, not just hear the words and dismiss them.”“I’m listening.”“I don’t know what proof you think you have. I don’t know what anyone has told you or what you’ve read or what conclusions you’ve drawn.” She gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. “But I do know this: revenge won’t heal you. It won’t bring your mother back. It won’t fix what’s broken inside you or give you the peace you’re looking for.”“I’m not broken.”“You are.” Her voice was soft, gentle in a way that made my throat tighten. “We all are, little wolf. Every single one of us carries wounds that haven’t fully healed. But Leah, some breaks can heal if we let them. Some wounds can close with time and care. But only if we don’t keep tearing them open again and again.”“What are you saying?”“I’m saying don’t do something you can’t take back.