Adelaide
Everything stopped.
My breath hitched as I turned to Elyx. Was he serious? My eyes shifted to everyone in the room, but no one dared to say a word-not even James.
It had always been like that.
Back in the day, he might’ve been the leader of the Elite Team-but even then, no one dared to go against Elyx.
Mostly because he was too stubborn and too full of himself.
“I don’t know why the two of you fled,” Elyx continued. “I assume it has something to do with your mother, who has been harassing us for years. But Alaric has a duty to his people, and they need him.”
I took a small breath.
Mom…so she had been looking for me.
I wanted to ask about her, about Esther-but now was certainly not the time. Not when he was trying to take Alaric away from me.
Alaric let out a soft chuckle. “Then you’ve wasted your years looking for me for nothing because I’m not going anywhere-”
“Your father is sick, Alaric!” Elyx snapped.
My stomach twisted, watching the shocked look on Alaric’s face. Whatever that look meant, I really hoped he wasn’t considering going back.
“And as the King of Lyperia, I have come here to take you home, the future Alpha king.”
Alaric blinked. “You’re king?”
I narrowed my eyes a bit, observing my old friend. That explained why Elyx had been so stiff and formal. Somehow it all made sense.
Alaric gasped slightly. “That means your father…”
“We are not talking about my father, Alaric.”
Alaric exhaled. “Right…we’re here to talk about mine,” he said. “What does he have? Is there no cure?”
Elyx rolled his eyes, looking at James as if he were too exhausted to explain.
James shook his head. “No, Alaric-there’s no ‘cure.’ He’s mentally ill. He’s ruining your family’s name, executing anyone who looks at him the wrong way. It’s been like that ever since you left…without a word.”
Alaric’s body tensed. The outside world was close to being one huge mess, one threat after another.
A pit formed in my stomach as I realized the harsh truth-they weren’t here for me…
They had only come for Alaric, and I was just the leftover concern.
“I came here looking for you, Addy,” Claire shifted uncomfortably, as if she had been reading my mind. I gave her a small smile. Of course she did-and I had not doubted her for a second.
“I’ve been trying to convince them that the two of you were still alive for years,” she admitted. “It wasn’t until things got worse that they finally decided to believe me.”
I gulped hard as Aelius’ words ran through my head. Old friends would return, betray me-and since it looked like none of them gave a rat’s ass about me, I was starting to believe it could really be true.
Claire continued. “Almost everyone thought you were dead. Some even said you kidnapped Alaric because you didn’t want him to marry-”
“What about my mom?” I asked. “What did she tell you?”
At this point, it looked like none of them fully trusted me, so I knew I had to be very careful with my words.
“Nothing,” Claire responded quickly, meeting my gaze. “I-I mean, there was a big search because everyone said you had kidnapped Alaric, and your mom told them you hurt her and Esther… that you paralyzed them, Alaric, and ran away.”
Of course, she did.
“Ridiculous!” Alaric shouted. “Addy didn’t ‘kidnap’ me. Her mom, she…” he stopped speaking, releasing a breath.
He stared at me with blue, concerned eyes-as if he wanted to know why I wasn’t defending myself, but I knew he wouldn’t understand. He was one of them. I was a witch-I didn’t even know if it would matter.
“Addy, come on,” he said, desperately. “We trust them, right?”
Trust…right.
Now that Alaric had made it clear I was keeping something from them, I had no choice but to speak. Lying would probably just make things worse, especially since I could tell they hadn’t been completely honest either.
“I need to tell you guys something,” I confessed, nervously. “But first, I need you to promise me that you will listen. Do not interrupt me, do not walk out on me, do not call me a liar-just listen.”
“I promise,” James spoke first. “Whatever you have to say, we will listen-Addy.”
Jane hummed. “Me too.”
“Same for us,” Greg nudged Claire.
My eyes turned to the only one who hadn’t said a word-Elyx. He folded his arms and held his head high. “Speak,” he snarled. “And then I’ll decide for myself whether I want to leave or not.”
“Fine,” I sighed softly, not in the mood to argue with him. Then, I told them everything. About my glowing eyes, my purpose at Starlight, Mom’s plans, Baelor, and why we had to run.
There was only one thing I hadn’t told them-and that was the Veil.
By the time I finished, the room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.
James, Jane, and Greg stared at the ground, avoiding my eyes. Claire swallowed uncomfortably, and Elyx hadn’t stopped glaring at me ever since I started talking.
“The decision we made wasn’t easy,” Alaric told them. “But I hope you can understand why we left.”
“Understand?” Elyx said coldly. “The only thing I understand is that Adelaide is a manipulative piece of mold.”
Claire shook her head. “Elyx-”
“No,” he stopped her, raising his hand. “She used James to get to me, then used me to get to Alaric-and now she’s holding him hostage when he wouldn’t have to be stuck here in this mess if she hadn’t done this in the first place.”
“No-” I tried, only for him to hold out his hand once again.