Ch. 831..835: The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 831-835
Chapter 0831
Mostly, I let my mind wander, thinking of better things. Of my family at home, and how pleasant it is to sit around a lovely fire with them, joking and laughing. Of Jackson, and how honestly I wouldn't mind rubbing his feet if it made him feel nice after a long day. How he would insist on returning the favor.
I don't have to fake the smile that comes to my mouth at the thought of his big powerful hands anywhere on my body.
My focus returns, though, at a very particular change in the tone and timbre of Gabriel's voice what must be...two hours into a dinner at which I've been fed absolutely nothing.
"The problem with that," Gabriel says, sounding smug as he brushes my hands away and begins to tug on one of his boots. "Is that the future of Atalaxia will not be heading in that direction. Not at all."
"Pardon?" Gabriel's cousin - the Crown Prince - says, turning to him with a sneer. "Gabriel, you over-step. I appreciate your input, of course, but you will never have the power to delegate such decisions."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Gabriel says with a sigh, his eyes latching onto mine as he smirks and pulls on his second boot. I go a bit rigid with surprise - he hasn't looked at me at all this entire dinner, except to give me instructions on how to massage his feet.
What...what is happening?
"You grow tiresome, Gabriel," the King murmurs, taking a long sip of his red wine and looking out over his courtiers. "With your plans for this nation and your spur- of-the-moment plans, like banquets such as this which seem to have...no point. We are all allied with Darkness, but you forget your duty to our people and traditions in your vehement dedication to the God. There must be a balance."
I watch very carefully as servants begin to file into the room, trays in their hands, starting to deliver deserts to the table. I watch carefully as the silver domes are removed from the trays, revealinging to each courtier a single cup filled to the brim with red liquid.
Is it...is it wine? Or some kind of liquid desert?
"Oh, everything as a point," Gabriel sighs, sitting back in his chair as the servants come to our table last, delivering three trays with those same red drinks.
"What on earth is this?" the Crown Prince murmurs, leaning forward to sniff at it.
"Try it, it's delicious," Gabriel says with a satisfied smile. "Everyone should have a sip of such ambrosia before they die."
The Crown Prince frowns, reaching for his glass.
As he does, the servant behind him - a tall man, too well-built for a server - draws a stiletto blade from his sleeve.
I gasp, skittering back a little even as one of my hands reaches out for the prince.
But there's nothing I can do as the servant draws the blade raw across the Crown Prince's throat.
The Prince's eyes go wide as blood spills down his front, his hand falling away from the cup, as he gasps and slumps forward.
Screams erupt in the room,
everyone leaping to their feet. I just
stare in horror as the heir to the
Atalaxian Throne gasps for breath,
his face desperate as his father
screams his name, for him.
"Come, Luna," Gabriel says, completely calm and he bends down and reaches for me, his hand wrapping firm around my arm. "Time
for us to go."
I shift my gaze up to his devious face as Gabriel pulls me to my feet. There's no
horror there at his cousin's murder - only cold pleasure.
"You," I whisper, shaking my head slightly.
"Come," he snarls, yanking me. "It is dangerous here. We go."
Before anyone can protest or react, the new Crown Prince of Atalaxia hauls me out of the banquet chamber, I stumble after him, shocked as I realize at last the true danger of this man. I spare a glance for the Moon Valley delegation, desperately afraid that they're going tébe next, but to my relieft see that guards are already on them, leading them quickly from the room even as the nobility panic and scream their shock and protest.
Clearly, this has been very carefully coordinated. And I'm fairly sure I know by whom.
Chapter 0832
Gabriel pulls me through the halls behind him, heading for my rooms. A myriad of emotions fly through me as we go - fear, of course, at this man's unpredictability and cruelness. But quickly chasing that comes anger, and rage, and the sheer determination not to follow the Prince's fate.
This jackass – he thinks he has everything figured out. And he might be in control of me for now, but I've got my own weapons up my sleeve.
As we approach my room, I begin to pull back on my wrist, determined to be free. "Let go of me, you idiot," I snarl, putting my weight back into my heels.
"Come on, mate," Gabriel bites out, glaring at me over his shoulder and tightening his grip on me. "I'm done with you now and putting you back in your cage.'
"Great man indeed," I say, my voice deep with doubt, "that needs to cage his mate."
"Only when she's a wild bitch," Gabriel snarls, hauling me forward. "Who needs to be schooled in the ways of proper femininity."
I snarl in turn and twist my wrist in the way that Blaze taught me, breaking Gabriel's grip and stepping back in the hall. When Gabriel roars and turns, reaching for me, I'm ready for him – my fingernails extended into claws that I rake first over his extended hand and then stepping close so that my second blow scrapes across the soft skin of his neck.
Not deep enough to kill - no, I'm not ready for that yet. But deep enough to let him know that I can.
"Properly feminine enough for you?" I coo, my eyes narrowed as I step back, watching his body language for sighs of how he'll strike next. "After all, cutting a man's throat does seem more of a woman's method of killing than an Alpha's."
"You damned bitch," my mate snarls, stepping forward towards me, his eyes watching my claws as blood blooms in dots across his neck.
"Gabriel!"
Elias's voice booms out in the hallway as Elias and Pippa come racing down the hall. Their sudden arrival breaks our tension and I skitter quickly out of the way, pressing myself against the wall as Elias storms past me and shoves Gabriel, hard, so that he stumbles back.
"Don't you dare -" Gabriel growls, catching his feet.
"Did you do it!?" Elias cries out, advancing again on the taller Alpha, not an ounce
of fear in his voice. "Did you - did you fucking kill our cousin!?"
Gabriel snarls, looking around the hall, aware that others could be listening. And though it's quite obvious to me that Gabriel did indeed plan the assassination that advanced him one step along the line to the throne, he does not want to make a public admission that will put him in jail. I mean, it's pretty obvious to me that he wants everyone to know that he did it - but not to the point where he can be prosecuted. No, my mate will not have left any trail behind except for rumor.
"What happened," Gabriel snarls, advancing one step towards Elias now, threat in
his voice. "Was the God of Darkness's plan. It is his decided fate."
"He's our fucking cousin, Gabe!" Elias shouts, his voice cracking. Pippa bursts into tears, ducking her face into her hands. I slip my arms around her shoulders, tugging her close.
"You fool," Gabriel grumbles, grabbing Elias by the arm and hauling him to my room, shoving the door open and forcing him inside. "To speak of such things in public -"
Anger roils at me as I consider what Gabriel just did in public, but I keep my mouth shut, instead guiding the sobbing Pippa towards the bedroom and bringing
us inside as well. As soon as we get in, Elias shuts the door behind us.
"I don't even know you anymore, Gabe," Elias says, taking Pippa from my arms
and gathering her to his chest. "A murderer? I knew Darkness had his grip on you, but to cold bloodedly murder our family -"
"I am meant to be King, Elias," Gabriel snarls, leaning aggressively forward towards his brother. "It is my fate. It is the will of Darkness."
"Oh, you're nothing but his pawn," Elias snarls, leaning forward towards him in turn. "The King still has some vestige of morals, and the Crown Prince did too, even if his wolf is as ruined as yours. Darkness is only choosing you because you're the
-
most desperate for his approval -
“Shut up,” Gabriel snarls, advancing now. "You shut your filthy mouth."
A fist pounds on the door.
"The inquest, I'm sure?" Elias says, gesturing towards it. "Though I'm sure you've
got that sewn up already, don't you, Gabe?"
"I am no fool," Gabriel snaps,
storming for the door. "I will be on a throne within days, not in a cell." Gabriel spins to me, his hand on the door handle. "Consider your place Princess,” he snarls, gesturing ` towards his neck, where blood lightly drips. "For you will either be docile by my side or death I will not accept any further trials of my patience."
Gabriel yanks the doors open and begins to speak quickly to the guards standing there, informing them that the Princess – me – is now safe and he can turn his mind to the investigation. When the door slams shut I just stare at it, as do Elias and Pippa.
Chapter 0833
We all stand quietly for a long few moments before Elias turns to me.
"Ariel," he says, his eyes meeting mine. "You need to run."
My eyes widen as I turn them to him. "What?"
He shakes his head. "He wants your power, badly, and he's making moves to take the throne, which means he thinks he can get it. If you gleaned any information from your ambassadors about how to get out of here, you need to use it. And go."
My teeth clench and I step towards the pair. "I'm not leaving without you."
"You have to," Pippa says, shaking her head. "There's no time to consider -"
"No," I say, my voice firm. "I'll find a way."
"You need to consider what is possible, highness," Elias says, falling back on formality I think to stress to me how important this is. "Not what you want. Pippa and I," he looks down at her, giving a steady nod. "We'll find our own way."
She looks up at her Alpha with a great deal of faith.
But no, in this horrible world that's just getting more and more unpredictable? I can't leave them here – not with Gabriel in charge. Not...considering what Gabriel very likely knows about these two and their relationship.
Elias and Pippa leave my room soon after that, Elias wanting to know the details of the sham investigation into the Prince's death, Pippa wanting a quiet moment to herself to process her grief. Because even if I never got the impression that Pippa was close to the Crown Prince in the same way that she was to Elias and Gabriel growing up, it was still a shocking death in the family.
I watch her go with worried eyes that drift to her stomach, knowing that she doesn't need any more stress in her pregnancy. My heart aches for Pippa even as she shuts the door behind her.
When I'm alone I don't bother to light any candles, instead preferring the dark. I move to my bed and flop down into the pillows and blankets, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell I'm going to do. Because it's becoming increasingly clear that my mate is lost to Darkness and that he's determined to take me with them.
Is there a way to navigate this, to trust my grandmother's intuition - as well as my professor's instructions - and access Gabriel's magic without becoming corrupted by his bond with Darkness?
Or...would it be better to just cut and run?
I bite my lip, trying to decide, all the time terribly worried that the wrong choice here will spell destruction for us all.
Jackson dreams, the images moving slow through his mind, churning with his worry. And all of it - the worry, the dreams - revolves around Ariel. Ariel's face, her sweet laugh - they echo in his mind even as he tosses against the shirt he's rolled beneath his head as a makeshift pillow.
But is that her laugh?
Jackson's eyes fly open and he's immediately up, glaring around his tent, the sound still echoing in his ears. He wasn't fully asleep - not really - just resting his eyes, all of his senses alert and aware for any change. His magic allows for such a state resting so as not to burn through his magic in the effort to keep awake, but not sinking so deeply that he might be vulnerable.
-
Which is how he knows that that laugh...it had echoed in his mind like a dream, mixing with his memories of Ariel's voice but...it wasn't. It had been in this world.
So then who the hell was it?
Jackson snarls, sniffing the air, able to sense...something. But not even a true scent, more like... the sense of hot metal, or frozen air, which affect the nose and sinuses but don't have a smell. He sniffs again, quite sure that no person was physically here, but still, there's an... impression.
Frowning, Jackson looks around the tent carefully and sends his senses without, searching the vicinity for any movement. And as he turns to ensure his hearing catches all angles, Jackson's hand falls across something new.
He snaps his gaze down, picking up the little rectangular stone, grey and carved delicately with geometrical symbols. What...what the hell is this?
He lifts it in his palm to get a closer look and a voice softly echoes in his mind, making his wolf's hair stand on end.
I have not done much for you, it says, tender and gentle - a woman's voice. But this, I can do.
Jackson's eyes fly wide as he stares at the item and his wolf whines, frightened and confused. Because he's quite sure - quite sure in this moment that he's not just going
-
insane with lack of sleep and hunger and stress. No, he's been in worse stakeouts than this and survived just fine.
No, that voice – and this stone - they're quite real.
But who the hell did it?
Chapter 0834
Jackson crawls out of his tent, looking carefully around, trying to figure out...well, if there is actually someone here even if he can't smell or hear them. But as far as he can see and sense it's just rippling grass and the wind moving softly around him. He sighs, looking down at the little stone in his hand with a frown, wondering...what the hell it is.
Jackson inspects the rock thoroughly, looking for any sign or writing on it that makes sense to him. Then, hesitating only for a moment, he pushes on it with his magic, as he does when he passes his power to Ariel, trying to see if it engages at all.
But no, it's just a...rock.
Jackson scowls, glaring at the little chip of stone, hating it a little bit. Whatever that woman said about not being able to give him much...well, is this honestly that much of an improvement? "Thanks for the...rock," Jackson mutters, bitter. Then he folds his hand around it and turns towards the hill, hiking up the steep side until he reaches the top.
When Jackson reaches the crest of the hill he sits with a sigh, staring off towards the castle which is barely visible in the darkness. That stupid, impenetrable castle where Ariel is held. His girl, so close but...completely unreachable.
Jackson's scowl deepens as he thinks about her, wondering what she's up to tonight. Hoping that idiot who is claiming to be her mate is keeping his damn hands off her. Jackson's wolf growls at this thought, his head dipping low, his lips pulling back over his teeth. Ours, he growls, tension rippling through his fur. We will bite his hands off if he touches her.
Just to start, Jackson murmurs in agreement. His wolf's growl deepens.
Jackson sighs, though, knowing his threat is empty if he can't even get inside to help her, protect her. God, if he could just get in - if he could get close. Jackson wishes with a sudden desperation for any way to get to her -
And the world around him...shifts.
Jackson gasps as he tilts forward, like the universe has given him a mighty shove, and then he falls.
His knees hit hard into the dirt of a new world and Jackson stills with fear, his hands flat against the ground, the little rock still pressed against his palm. Jackson's head spins from side to side, trying to find anything familiar, anything to orient him.
It's dark here - as dark as it was in Atalaxia - but there is no vegetation. No... nothing.
Jackson whips his head up and stares around, confused at first by a maze of metal built into the ground before and slightly below him, and then...
Then he looks up, his eyes widening, his heart pounding as he realizes that the sky is completely black except for...
Except for the three moons hanging heavy within it. One moon looms larger than the rest, orange and heavy in the sky. Jackson's eyes move immediately to it, ignoring its two dark brothers to the left and right, one mostly full, the other crescent. No, it is the big central moon which demands Jackson's attention.
He stares at it in wonder and knows, suddenly, that he's in another world.
But a world which Ariel has described before - where she has been - a land of Darkness, overhung by three moons.
Jackson gasps and scrambles to his feet, careful to take the little rock with him, glancing down at it and wondering if -
But there's no time.
"Ariel!" He shouts, desperate, cupping his hands to his mouth. The word echoes out into the nothingness that surrounds him. Jackson listens desperately for any response, willing his heart to slow its pounding rhythm so he can hear over it.
Nothing returns.
Jackson shouts her name again, louder this time, and waits, holding his breath. Again, nothing returns.
Jackson drops his hands and works hard to steady himself, taking long, calming breaths as he forces himself to adjust to this new world He glances again at the rock, knowing now that it's some sort of gift that brought him here. And hope floods him because...she said it was help, right? Or implied it? Whoever that woman was who spoke in his mind?
So...it must be getting him closer to the one thing that matters. To Ariel.
Jackson shifts his attention again to the maze of metal before him - the only thing around to really concentrate on. He frowns as he studies it, slipping the rock into his pocket, wondering ...well, wondering what the hell it is. He takes a long few minutes to study the twists and turns of the metal, noting first that it is indeed in the general location of the castle that he's been staring at for hours and hours. And then that the great outer perimeter of the circle takes the form of the general shape of the castle, from what he can discern.
Chapter 0835
Slowly, Jackson's mouth pulls into a smile as he realizes that this isn't a maze at
all.
It's a cage.
A cage with nothing in it. And if there's something that the Atalaxians have built here that they're either trying to keep in, or protect themselves from? Well. That's something he wants to know more about, isn't it?
Eager for the first time in days to have something to do, a problem to work on, Jackson strides forward.
With his long legs and magic pulsing through his veins, Jackson crosses the Land of Darkness at a pace faster than most people can run. It only takes him about fifteen minutes to reach the first set of iron bars that align with the outer rim of the castle. When he gets there, Jackson frowns, taking the iron in his hands.
Because upclose he realizes that this enclosure is much less impressive than it looks from afar. Jackson shakes the bars and finds that, absurdly, they move - not rigorously rooted in the ground or anchored to each other. He huffs a bit in derision, thinking that whoever made this cage did quick or lazy work with it, and that if he had been in charge -
But Jackson wipes the thought away. He's not in the business of making cages, is he? No, he grew up in a cage - a mental one, if not physical. And the realization of that confined upbringing over the past nine months does not make him very fond of any attempts to keep free things bound.
He snarls lightly and takes the bars in his hands, calling on his magic and pulling the metal hard to the side. The bars bend...almost too easily.
"Honestly," Jackson murmurs, glancing at the bent bars as he steps through them. "Whoever made these could have at least tried."
But he puts the thought aside and moves forward through the maze. Of course, he doesn't bother to try to find his way through or around the maze of cages. Instead he just moves forward, just casually calling on his magic and pulling the bars apart every time he comes to a new fence, as easy as pushing a little branch aside while walking through the forest.
About halfway through the maze of cages something hits Jackson's nose and his head spins to the left, his eyes immediately finding a small, dirty patch of white cloth in the distance. He sniffs again and then turns, moving faster now through the cages, heading directly for it. Because he's sure - absolutely sure - that it smells like her.
Ariel. She's been here - within the past few days, at least, she's been here.
Jackson's heart begins to pound as the pile of dirty white cloth comes into sight because - what on earth is that? That's not...that's not.it couldn't be a dress, could it?
But as he gets closer, pushing through fence after fence, Jackson's fears subside as he realizes that it's certainly not her. That it is, instead, a big pile of bedding.
Jackson comes to the final fence and leans against it, frowning down at the dirty duvet and collection of pillows resting there. Because...what the hell?
Why is this...here, when the rest of the cages are entirely empty? And why on earth does it smell like his mate?
Jackson sighs, confused and frustrated, and turns his back to the cage, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as he leans against the bars and stares down at the ground. Because he just doesn't get it why the hell does this elaborate system of eages exist? And why are they empty, except for a whole bunch of blankets that just smell like Ariel?
Is he just...wasting his time here? Should he -
A gasp sounds out behind Jackson that makes him freeze. Because...he could
swear...
"Jackson?"
He turns immediately, his hands
grasping the iron bars, and stares in shock at the pile of bedding piled in the dirt of this wasteland. Or, more specifically, at the beautiful girl now seated in its center.
Jackson's breath heaves from his lungs in a single shocked huff.
Ariel stares back at him, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a shocked "o."