Nova’s POV
Tears streamed down my face as I ran my fingers over my toes, my touch landing on a space where my smallest toe should have been. The emptiness was a harsh reminder of what I’d lost, and I could feel the grief rising inside me.
‘Oh, I’ve got something even better. Let’s go with this.’
My hand moved to my chest, grasping for the familiar weight of the necklace my aunt had given me. But it was gone, the shithead Eruba took it.
“That bastard took it from me,” I mumbled, my heart pounding in my chest. I held my breath as I heard footsteps approaching, panic rising in my throat. I slid into the shadows, desperate to avoid the man who had caused so much pain. He was a monster, and I couldn’t face him again.
The door opened, and I gripped my chest as I heard the footsteps moving towards me.
“There you are, my sweet queen.” The voice was sickeningly familiar, but I couldn’t place it. My mind raced, trying to remember where I’d heard it before. But I couldn’t think straight, the panic and fear clouding my thoughts.
“It’s not like I have anywhere else to be. I can’t even see.” I hissed, I would have rolled my eyes at him if only I could see the evil smile that must be lingering on his face.
“I’m glad you know your place,” he sneered, his footsteps echoing through the room as he approached. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor sent a shiver down my spine, and I felt my heart stop for a moment.
“Are you here to take a piece of me again?” I cried out, fear gripped me as I smuggled into the wall.
“Hmm,” he mumbled, dropping the seat in front of me, “Nope. I’m not in a good mood to do that.” I heard him propped into the seat, he let out a sigh and I wondered what he was going to do to me.
“T-Then, why are you here?” I was in a state of panic. The fact that he was there to do a greater evil to me made my heart ache.
“Have you ever wondered why I’m doing this?” he mumbled, it would have been impossible for me to hear what he was saying, if not for the stillness of the room.
“Wondered?” I chuckled, my heart was bleeding and I couldn’t help but let out that sad laughter. “Of course, I have been wondering why you were doing this, why you had me locked up here and took my sight away from me,” I yelled, my throat hurt and I felt water rolling down my eyes.
“But guess what?” I sniffed, trying to control my tears in front of the cowardly bastard who wouldn’t even let me see his face. “I asked what my offense was but you didn’t tell me.”
Instead of a reply, he let out a cruel laugh, and I had to cover my ears to block it out. It was like fingernails on a chalkboard, and I wanted nothing more than to silence him forever. But I was trapped, and all I could do was huddle in the shadows and try to escape him.
“That?” he cleared his throat, he let out a deep sigh and I guess that wasn’t the reply he wanted from me. “That isn’t what I meant. I asked if you ever wondered what led me to do this shit.” he groaned out angrily.
I let out a mirthless laugh. “A monster doesn’t need a reason to act monstrously, it’s in his nature,” I said, my voice dripping with contempt. I couldn’t help but feel a spark of defiance, despite my circumstances.
“You’re wrong,” he snarled, his voice dripping with malice. “No one just becomes a monster. It takes someone else to bring out that darkness in them. Someone did that to me, and now I’ll make them pay.” I could feel his gaze, burning into me as he spoke. I felt frozen in place, unable to move or speak.
“W-What do you mean?” I stuttered, my breath was shaking as I puffed out air.
“King Hades made me this way,” he said, his voice breaking. “He turned me into a monster, and now I’m trapped in this form. I can never go back to what I was before.” His voice was full of pain, and I knew there was more to this story than I understood. I didn’t know what to say, so I remained silent. But that barely lasted a minute.
Who the hell was King Hades? Why the hell was I paying for his crime?
“I don’t even know who that might be, why am I paying for the crime he committed?” I breathed out, my heart was racing and the nervousness in my tone must have been sensed by the man in front of me because I heard him let out a sad sigh.
“King Hades was the first king of this nation,” he said, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “And he sired a son, the boy you’re married to now.” My heart dropped into my stomach, the implication of his words hitting me like a ton of bricks. I felt dizzy as if the world was spinning around me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“What happened all those years ago, and why does it have anything to do with me?” I managed to stammer out, my mind racing to process the information. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I struggled to breathe. I needed to know the whole story, no matter how difficult it might be to hear.
“Over a century ago, when the Lycans came together to take control of the nation,” he began, his voice deep and low. “Our king, King Hades, approached me. He promised that if I supported him in his conquest, he would make my son the king of the nation. I was desperate for power, and I agreed to his terms.” His words were bitter, full of regret and shame. I sat there, frozen in place, unable to believe what I was hearing.
“My son, Eruba, was an excellent warrior, the greatest of our kind,” he let out, his tone solemn. “I wanted my son to have a title befitting his skill and honour, and so I agreed to King Hades’ terms. I agreed to have my son fight by his side, and in return, King Hades promised that my son would be the king of this nation. I was blinded by greed and ambition, and I made a terrible mistake.” There was a heavy silence in the room, the gravity of his words weighing on us both.
“Did your son ever become king, as promised?” I asked the question hanging in the air between us. I needed to know what had gone wrong, what had happened to turn the man into the bitter creature he was now.
“Silly,” he laughed, tapping his feet on the ground, trying to control his laughter. “If my son indeed got the title, will I be doing this? No, I would not.”
“Then, what happened? What happened between him and the King?” everything was beginning to make sense, even though I hadn’t heard the full story, the little he had said made sense and I was getting more curious to know what happened.
“When the battle was over, King Hades betrayed me. He refused to honour our agreement, and my son never became king. I was disgraced that we lost everything. So, on the night of the ceremony, my son went to the King, asking him to fulfil his promise, but what the king did broke me.” could hear the bitterness and regret in his voice, a lifetime of pain and loss laid bare before me.
“W-What did he do?” I gulped, wrapping fingers on my arm as I raised my head to stare at him, even though I couldn’t see him.
“King Hades accused my son of rebellion, and cast him out of our pack,” he continued, his words full of anger and sorrow. “Eruba was banished from our people and never allowed to return. He was left to wander the world alone, a pariah among our kind.” I could feel the pain radiating from him, and I was filled with a deep sense of sympathy.
“That’s terrible!” I exclaimed, I felt my chest burning in anger.
“You think that’s bad?” he asked, a dark laugh escaping him. “That’s nothing compared to what happened to my son in the years that followed. He faced horrors beyond imagining before he finally met his end.” I could tell there was a story there, one filled with sorrow and suffering. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it, but I felt compelled to ask.
“He died? Y-Your son died?” I stammered, trying to feel the pain he might be feeling over the years.
“Yes, Your people took his life.” the man replied bluntly. Making me arch my brows in confusion.
“My people?” I asked, unable to comprehend where he was heading.
“When Eruba was cast out from our pack, he found others like him,” he said, his voice heavy with sorrow. “Those who had been cast out, those who had no home. He banded together with them, and they made him their leader. They plotted to take over the Blue Moon pack, but they failed. My son… he died in battle against your grandfather.” I could feel the weight of the words, the loss of a son, a legacy cut short. It was a tragedy that still resonated through the years.
But was that the reason why I was there? Taking my grandfather’s crime on me? Only a maniac like him would blame people for standing up for themselves. I still don’t know why he had to blame my people for the death of his son when his son was the one who wagged war on them, and they conquered him.
“Listen, elders’ businesses are supposed to be solved by elders, what has this got to do with Prescott and me? Why are you after our lives when you could have ended everything with the King who offended you?” I was already losing my temper and I couldn’t seem to control the anger I was feeling.
“No. I have already avenged my son’s death on those that have hands in his death, you’re paying for your sin, don’t mix it.” he scoffed as if he found my reply a bit annoying.
“What sin?”
“You see, when I learned of my son’s death, I was consumed by rage and grief,” he said, his voice trembling. “I gathered a group of men who had been wronged by King Hades, and we plotted his downfall. In the end, we succeeded, and we killed him and his wife. I would have killed his son, Prescott, too, but I thought it might be better to let him live, to grow and rule. Perhaps he would marry my granddaughter, the daughter of my lost son. And for a while, it seemed as though my hope would come to fruition until you came into the picture.”
My heart skipped a beat as I connected the dots, fixing the puzzles of his tales. If he meant the only woman in Prescott’s life before I came, that would be Lady Ulrica. And it was true that the lady had a grandfather who happened to be her only family.
“Does that mean you are Elder Bighana!” a wave of panic rushed over me as I was able to disclose who my captor was. The one who has been behind every incident was Elder Bighana!
“Took you so long to realize.” he chuckled, I heard the seat dragged on the floor, which meant the man was back on his feet.
He leaned forward, I could feel his hot breath on my face. “Tonight is your last chance,” he whispered, his voice cold and resolute. “If I don’t hear from the King by dawn, you will be executed. I will give you this, though. A last chance for redemption.” He tossed a bottle to me, and it landed on my thighs, staring at my thighs in surprise. Even though I couldn’t see the object. “It will restore your sight,” he said, his voice dark and unreadable. “And then I will send you to your death.”
The tension in the room was palpable, the fate of my life hanging in the balance.
“I hope we meet in hell.”