Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 284: The Present

"Only my daughter can stand by the Three lords side and rule the world. Am I clear?"

As her father’s words echoed in the scene from the past, Shiqi broke the contact abruptly.

The barrier snapped shut with a sharp ripple, cutting off the scene mid-breath and Shiqi stepped back as if burned, her heels scraping against the stone floor.

For a second, she said nothing simply staring at Mira in shock. But in the next minute, she laughed and said, "After all these years, you want me to believe that it was my father who forced all that? The man who brought you home because of the prophecy? The one who did not want you to be hurt outside? He was the one who decreed the marriage?"

Her eyes lifted and locked onto Emira’s. "Mira... do you really think I would believe something like this so easily?"

Emira did not answer at once. Instead she stepped back and went to sit in the previous place, leaning against the wall and shrugged," Believe it or not, is up to you. All I know is Aron never loved me."

Shiqi took another step back away from her, then another, "So this is your story? Aron never loved you? He loved someone else? And he chose you only because my father pressured him? And of course you would have been destined with the Lords?"

Her smile twisted. "If I truly believe that, then I would be nothing but a fool."She raised her chin, and stared at her. "I was there," she said. "I saw him hold your hand. I saw the way he looked at you. I watched him slip that ring onto your finger." Her voice hardened. "Do you think I imagined that?"

Emira opened her mouth to speak. Well, if she had been there, didn’t she think it odd that there were no words of love spoken between them but they were only about promise...

But Shiqi did not let her speak. Instead, she said, "Either way, unfortunately for you, your ending will not change. You are destined to die at my hands."

"Whether he loved you or not. Whether he was forced or willing. Whether you were his sister or his bride." She pointed a finger at Emira. "You still stood in my place."

The air around her shifted. Anger bled through her composure now, raw and sharp. "You wore what should have been mine. You walked beside him. You were acknowledged as his."

Her hand curled into a fist. "And I was left watching. To get my revenge, I seduced those three lords... but what happened in the end? They left me too. All for you."

"This time, the Goddess has made you perfect for a sacrifice. As for Aron and the three lords, this time both of them will not choose you."

She watched Mira’s eyes narrow but then she said nothing. Shiqi frowned. Why was she not curious about them choosing her?

Even as she was pondering this, Emira smiled and then raised her hand... There, a ring with a black stone glinted...

Shiqi’s eyes narrowed. She’d already met with Aron! This was the ring that had saved him and foiled her plans that night all those years ago. When she would have hypnotized Aron and made him bend to her will, it was this ring that had broken the hypnosis. And then ultimately when they had duelled, Mira had stopped his soul from dispersing by using her heart’s blood on the stone to protect Aron...

Emira smiled as she noticed Shiqi’s gaze fixed on the ring and as she said slowly," Shiqi... Over the years, I cannot help but wonder if your education is as lacking as in the past or if it has improved significantly?"

Shiqi stiffened," What are you trying to say?"

Emira smiled faintly before lifting her gaze to Shiqi. It was not a warm smile. It was sharp, measured, and carried a quiet certainty that made Shiqi’s laughter falter.

She studied Shiqi for a long moment, her eyes calm and unreadable, and then asked softly,"In the past, you were not allowed to study anything related to dark magic, correct?"

Shiqi frowned at her, then straightened. Of course it was not allowed. It was not allowed in the entire village. It is why, Mira had also been asked to study only after coming of age... So that she could be sent away.

Despite this, after a brief pause, Shiqi gave a small nod. "Correct, it was forbidden for White witches to study the dark arts.

Emira inclined her head, "Then, when you became my mother’s master... did you learn anything about the dark arts?"

Shiqi scoffed instantly, "Why would I need to learn dark arts"" she said with a short laugh. "Your dear mother despised them. She believed light magic was enough for everything. When I taught her, I followed her wishes."

She paused, then added lightly, almost mockingly, "Though I will admit, there were moments when I felt... pity for her."

Emira’s fingers curled slowly into fists at her sides.

"Pity?" Emira echoed.

Shiqi smiled, her lips curving with faint amusement. "Yes. Because even then, I knew the truth. I knew she would need dark magic in the future. The world she lived in would never allow her to survive on purity alone."

Emira’s hands clenched. Her suspicions were already rising as she asked, "You knew. You knew that Councilman Aldren would hate my mother for her dark magic heritage."

Shiqi did not deny it. Instead, her smile widened. "Of course I knew," she replied smoothly. "Do you really think that man ever loved her?"

Emira’s breath caught for a fraction of a second.

Shiqi tilted her head, watching her reaction closely. "Did you truly believe he was her mate?" she continued. "That fate simply chose him for her? A mate who would hate his life partner and his off spring? The Goddess would have to be quite cruel for that."

She shook her head softly. "No. That was my doing."

The words fell heavy between them. "I fooled them," Shiqi said calmly. "I made them believe they were each other’s fated mates. It was not difficult. A small twist here, a suggestion there. People believe what they want to believe, especially when it is wrapped in destiny."

Emira stared at her, disbelief and fury clashing in her eyes. "You did that... knowing what would happen to her?"

"Yes," Shiqi answered without hesitation. "Because I wanted to make sure you would never come into this world."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Emira felt something break loose inside her chest. Her jaw tightened, and for a moment, she could not speak.

"You destroyed her life," Emira said finally, her voice low. "And you call it pity?"

Shiqi shrugged. "She was weak," she said flatly. "And weakness has no place beside power. If she had learned the dark arts, if she had embraced them, things might have been different. But she refused. That was her choice."

"She trusted you," Emira snapped. "She called you her master."

"Yes," Shiqi agreed lightly. "And I taught her exactly what she was willing to learn. Nothing more."

The air around Emira trembled faintly, responding to the storm building inside her. "You knew Aldren would turn against her," she said. "You knew he would hate her. You knew she would suffer."

"And yet she still lived," Shiqi replied. "Long enough to give birth to you. That alone was already more than I intended. Don’t you think so?"

"You were also the one who helped her run away from Aldren, didn’t you? The one who betrayed her all over again?" Emira asked slowly.

Shiqi nodded. "Yes. Your mother, when she killed one child, she succeeded in escaping him. She came to me for help. After all I was her master. Her last hope."

"If it had been any other time, I would have actually coaxed her and sent her back..But you were her last chance. So when she told me that the child in her womb had died, I thought I would be kind to her and let her escape..."

"But who would have thought that she would end up cheating me? That she would hide her pregnancy even from me? If I had known she was still pregnant and that she had sacrificed only one child to protect the other, I would have killed you and her while you were on the run..."

"Unfortunately, I found out only when she was out of my reach. And by then, it was too late. You were almost born. So, of course I did the only thing that she deserved. I made her life a living hell."

Emira clenched her hands. Her mother had trusted two people.. Her mate and her master... And both had betrayed her... Emira looked at the broach on Shiqi’s neck and clenched her hands," Shiqi...Do you know who Aron loved with all his heart?"

Shiqi’s eyes narrowed. Why was she circling back to that topic again? Wasn’t she supposed to be angry and crying about her mother...

"Aron loved Shiqi Stav... If you don’t believe me, take out the stone from that broach and check the pattern beneath it.... What the dark master had carved all those years ago."